RELIEF – Kick off meeting in Kalamata

Farming in EU is essential to livelihoods and local development, while facing many challenges such as limited resources and growing environmental challenges. Bio-economy is a solution towards this problem. For a successful bio-economy strategy in farming, further support is needed for the workforce, more knowledge about the impact and business models of bio-economy, raising more awareness and involvement of a wider range of actors. Training in bio-economy is still absent in many EU countries and there is a shortage of people with higher education in the farming sector. The transition to bio-economy needs professionals with multidisciplinary, managerial, and cross-sectoral expertise. Higher education and vocational training can play a critical role in this transition integrating dedicated curricula and training. 

This is precisely what the project RELIEF – European Bio-economy Alliance in Farming will focus on achieving. RELIEF commenced its activities in a warm and collaborative transnational kick off meeting in Kalamata last month.

The consortium of partners had the opportunity to get to know each other and set the baseline for professional and constructive cooperation to deliver high-quality services in the university curricula, course content, and VET training by integrating a learner-centered approach based on problem-based, active and transformational learning.  

During the 2-day meeting, the details regarding the overall project management, financial management, implementation steps, dissemination activities, and procedures for the project's quality assurance were also discussed. Partners agreed on the priorities and responsibilities of each stakeholder, while a timeline for each project result and intermediate tasks was set.

For more information visit the official website of the project here  and Facebook page