Project

ASKFOOD

ASKFOOD – Alliance for Skills and Knowledge to Widen Food Sector-related Open Innovation, Optimization and Development.

The food & drink industry is the EU largest manufacturing sector in terms of turnover, value added and employment, contributing for more than 1,3% to the overall EU added value (FDE, 2015). A better coordination among these sectors is necessary to tackle emerging challenges, to catch common opportunities in the job market to graduates in HE food studies, to lead innovation in the food production chain especially to SMEs.

Opportunities;
> The food and drink industry is the EU's biggest manufacturing sector for jobs and value added.
> Modern skills and competences matching with the job market future challenges are required to food technologists and professionals in a continuously changing working and societal environment.
> Education methodologies in Higher Education and professional environments need to be innovated to apply to the new generations of students and trainees.
> A Responsible Research and Innovation of the Food value chain needs Education as key element.

    Threats;
    > High dispersion of skills and competences in the food- and food-related sectors.
    > Conventional, passive, and low-level training/educational interactions between University and industry as well as among other stakeholders of the food value chain.
    > Lack of communication and constructive training frameworks for joint educational activities among all stakeholders, thus inhibiting the modernization and innovation of the food value chain.

    Aim
    The Erasmus + KA ASKFOOD main aim is to create a permanent knowledge alliance between businesses and HEIs in the food-related sectors. 

    Approach
    ASKFOOD will develop:

    1. Cross-industry knowledge platforms (ASKFOOD Knowledge and Training Hub and Clusters) to support innovativemulti-actor food clusters in EU.
    2. Open Innovation framework to modernize higher education in Food studies (ASKFOOD Digital Business and TrainingEcosystem).
    3. Innovative mapping and co-design of training supported by Open Innovation Methodologies (ASKFOOD Labs, VirtualIncubator).
    4. Interactive repository of emerging skills and professional profiles (ASKFOOD Interactive Atlas) to forecastfuture skill needs in the food sector (ASKFOOD Forecast Aggregator).
    5. ASKFOOD Permanent Observatory (international, multisectorial, multidisciplinary environment on food education).

    The ASKFOOD consortium is made of 6 Universities, 2 research and consulting companies,3 food industry associations and 1 non-profit, organisation.

    References
    Project website: ASKFOOD 

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