Transforming education for youth employment in the agri-sector

Want to deliver the next generation of entrepreneurial and hands-on graduates?

As a teacher or professional in the agri-education sector, you want to prepare your students for their future jobs in the labour market. You may be uncertain if your current curriculum is doing this. Moreover, organising practice in your courses is not easy. You need to prioritise what is essential for your students to practice.

Are you looking for solutions to these kind of challenges? Are you looking for ways to motivate your students to participate actively in your courses? Then you are welcome to join the blended learning programme Making Competency-Based Education Work. This course is aimed at professionals working in agricultural and rural higher education or related fields. It aims to provide practical methods and stimulate critical thinking regarding how to improve education programmes through:

• OnNew, interdisciplinary approaches and tools for designing and delivering experiential and interactive learning programmes.
• Ideas for grounding education in real life to offer learning that goes beyond the confines of the classroom.
• Strategies to strengthen links with the labour market and partners to produce more employable graduates.

This course builds on your knowledge and experience, helps you discover new opportunities and partnerships and gives you the skills to develop exciting course programmes that enable students to put their knowledge and skills into practice.

This 8-month part-time course ensures a sustainable learning pace. It alternates 3-4 week blocks of online learning and weeks of self-paced practice. This is complemented by a one-week face-to-face module with workshops, excursions, networking, etc. Each month you will gain concrete skills to immediately apply in your work. The time investment is 8-10 hours per week.

Note: In 2023 the 8-month track will be delivered solely in French. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on future developments for English courses.

Course Overview

Welcome to our learning programme for lecturers, instructors & researchers at universities or vocational training centres in agriculture and rural development.

Are you looking for ways of motivating your students to participate actively in your courses? Are you challenged to develop curricula that prepare competent graduates for the labour market or for even start their own business? This course helps you to create links with the labour market and match the demands of the private and public agricultural sectors.

Main Topics:

Design and delivery for building competences

Session design and delivery

• Deliver the theory of your courses in a focused and engaging way.
• Motivating students through a reflective start.
• Flipping the classroom.
• Stimulating interaction in large groups.

Practice-based and real-life learning for more employable graduates 

• Problem- and Practice-based learning.
• Real-life learning and action research practices.
• Engaging with stakeholders in your community.

Competence-based education 

•  Defining profiling competences and professional tasks related to the labour market and societal needs.
• Developing competence-based study programmes.
• Create internship plans and teach your students to become entrepreneurs.

In our blended training

You will learn how to link your classes with the reality of your students’ future jobs by identifying the needs of the labour market. You will learn practical ways to go beyond conventional teaching methodology in your courses. Based on your fellow participants’ cases you will learn to assess students’ competencies beyond the traditional exams. You will also visit Dutch education institutes to see these tools in action.

Digital modules (online)

The digital modules consist of audio and video files, transcripts, ready-made templates, background reading and practical assignments deepening the materials dealt with in the face-to-face training.

Individual coaching (online)

You will get personal feedback from the iCRA trainers and fellow trainees on your practical assignments as well as coaching as you apply your learnings in your own context. We help you achieve your personal learning objectives and beyond.

Face-to-Face week.

In the middle of the course we will meet each other face-to-face for intensive group sessions, excursions to dutch educaitonal institutions, networking, workshops, social activities and more.