EIT Food
RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life
Summer School
Free, Hybrid Program

EIT Food RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life Summer School

Ignite Your Agrifood Journey: Learn, Innovate, Thrive!

After the success of the 2022 InnovPlanet Summer School, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of the EIT Food RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life Summer School. Prepare yourself for an exceptional 3-week hybrid course, brimming with fresh content and abundant resources. This immersive experience is specifically designed to nurture entrepreneurial skills and empower individuals who share a deep passion for agri-food and sustainability. Get ready to acquire climate farming knowledge and tools to spearhead innovative products in the agri-food sector!

Registration for the EIT Food RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life Summer School is now open! Join our vibrant community, and get the chance to be among the first participants in this edition!

Register now

EIT Food RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life Summer School

Who is it for?

This course welcomes undergraduates, MSc/PhD students, researchers, professionals, and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in innovating in the food system. We seek individuals from diverse backgrounds, including Food Science, Other Sciences, Engineering, Business/Marketing, Informatics and Computational Science, and more.

Only participants from RIS countries can apply: Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, French Guiana, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Réunion, Saint Martin, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine.

Objectives

As a learner, you will develop your knowledge on soil health and related innovative farming practices, by linking the role of soil health to climate adaptation and mitigation towards better health and wellbeing. This Summer School will provide you with a toolkit to become effective innovators in the food system, including design thinking, business idea development, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, team building, pitching, among others. You will apply your knowledge of soil health and soil functionality and sustainable farming to innovate products or techniques that impact the food system.

Advantages

Integrating entrepreneurship training with food production innovation will enable you to create solutions to global challenges such as climate change and health. The programme has been developed and will be delivered by an outstanding collaborative group composed of European universities, institutes, food industry companies, farmers, and agri-food startups. This unique programme features teaching by highly skilled mentors in entrepreneurship in the food system from Food4Sustainability (Portugal), University of Sevilla (Spain), BGI (Portugal), Idanha-a-Nova Municipality (Portugal), Castillo del Canena (Spain), and The Grand Farm (Austria).

Duration & Important Dates

This course will last 3 weeks:

From July 3rd to 14th:
online

From July 24th to 28th:
onsite, in Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal), for students selected in the final assessment of week 2.

Structure & Modules

Over a period of 3 weeks, the programme will provide a dynamic and supportive environment for you to develop your knowledge on soil health, sustainable agriculture and climate farming techniques and scientific basis. During the full programme, and especially in the third week, you will develop your entrepreneurial mindset and learn how you can transform your ideas into business propositions.

During the first and second weeks, the programme will take place online with a combination of asynchronous learning resources and live (synchronous) interactive virtual sessions:

Monday, July 3rd

HealthSoil4Life Kick-off; Introduction to the challenges in soil health, sustainable agriculture and climate smart farming techniques.

Tuesday, July 4th - Friday, July 7th

The Soil - importance, properties, interactions with plants and microorganisms, soil dynamics and best management practices

Monday, July 10th - Friday, July 14th

How to assess soil health in practice? Techniques for precision climate change & soil conservation, overview of tools for soil health assessment, case studies from soil microbiome analysis and digital technologies (start-ups) for soil monitoring

Monday, July 24th – Thursday, July 27th

Eco-Week in the village of Penha Garcia (Portugal) in the GeoPark awarded by UNESCO.Introduction of the Entrepreneurial Week; Presentation of case studies and major challenges; Sustainable Business Models, Pitch design and training; On-site visits.

Friday, July 28th

Pitch Presentation and Closing Ceremony

EIT Food RIS Inspire HealthySoil4Life Summer School

Join the HealthySoil4Life Summer School and Win Two Tickets to Boom Festival in Idanha-a-Nova!

As part of our commitment to fostering an engaging and rewarding experience, we will be raffling off two tickets to the highly anticipated Boom Festival! Boom Festival is a renowned music and arts festival that celebrates creativity, sustainability, and cultural diversity. Held in Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal), this event brings together visionaries, artists, and individuals passionate about fostering positive change in the world.
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Don't miss this opportunity and register now!

Register now

Past Editions

InnovPlanet Summer School

Post-Harvest School

HealthySoil4Life Summer School Speakers

Alfred Grand

Alfred Grand

is an organic arable field farmer, market gardener and entrepreneur from Austria. Alfred is a member of three soil-related EIP-Agri focus groups, three EIP-Agri operational groups and several Horizon 2020 projects. Alfred Grand is co-author of the book ‘Biodünger selber machen’ (Make your own fertilizer). In 2019 he was selected as a member of the Mission Board for Soil Health and Food for developing a mission for Horizon Europe. He is also a board member at the Californian initiative Regenerative Organic Alliance.

Catarina Conrado

Catarina Conrado

has a degree in Environmental Engineering and Agronomic Engineering from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, and her dissertation focused on the Analysis of Environmental and Productive Impact of Portuguese dairy farms as part of the Interreg Atlantic Area program. With professional experience in soil and groundwater decontamination as well as environmental consultancy, she also serves as a trainer in the fields of regenerative agriculture and conservation agriculture. Her curriculum vitae includes numerous speaking engagements on topics such as sustainable agriculture, carbon farming, and composting.

Daniela Valente Simões dos Santos

Daniela Valente Simões dos Santos

is PhD in Agronomy Engineering - Modelling on water transfers and soil solute transport, MSc in Irrigation Engineering and Agricultural Resources and degree in Agronomy Engineering. She is Assistant Professor and Researcher at the School of Agriculture of the Polytechnic University of Coimbra (Escola Superior Agrária do Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra) since 1998 and teaches courses in the scientific areas of Soil and Fertility, Soil Organic Matter Management, Sustainable Agriculture and Environment. Daniela Santos has carried out research in national and European projects in the field of Sustainable Agriculture systems (Organic Farming and Conservation Agriculture - traditional and low input), as well as in the assessment of the sustainability of agricultural systems, composting and valorisation of agricultural and forestry by-products as organic correctives and soil fertilisers.

Elvira Domingo

Elvira Domingo

is a Regional Innovation Programme Manager at EIT Food. She works on the successful implementation of the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS), a dedicated programme we across Southern Europe including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey to accelerate agrifood innovation across Southern and Central Eastern Europe, interacting with local players, mobilising and internationalising local networks as well as facilitating the connection among business, academy, research and consumers, but also helping the best startups transform our food system. She is also responsible for EIT Food's first project to Find Innovative Solutions on Water Scarcity, designing and implementing a plan (gathering best expertise, training, community, investment and access to market) to help Southern Europe countries towards a more sustainable water management system.

Francisca Reis

Francisca Reis

is a plant Biology specialist at Food4Sustainability. Her professional path was focused on agroforestry systems, namely vine, chestnut tree, and cork oak. She also specialized on soil microbiology, with focus on positive interactions (beneficial microorganisms) and negative interactions (phytopathogenic microorganisms). She developed research on minimizing climatic changes effects on plant physiological adaptation and on emergent diseases using bioagents and biofertilizers.

Francisco Vaño

Francisco Vaño

is the director of Castillo de Canena Olive Juice. Castillo de Canena has more than two centuries of history and learning as olive oil producers in which, together with a firm commitment to sustainability, innovation, quality and excellence, has managed to become world leaders in the premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil sector. In 2003, Francisco Vañó, together with Rosa Vañó, decided to change their professional directions and fully embark on the project of transforming the family business of olive grove production and olive oil manufacturing, marketed as bulk oil, into a new Castillo de Canena: a modern company, focused on the creation of a high-end EVOO brand with a high spirit of innovation.

Hamada Abdelrahman

Hamada Abdelrahman

is Associate Professor of soil fertility and chemistry at Cairo University and Independent Consultant for Bio Based Agricultural Solutions. Hamada has a degree in Soil Science and agricultural microbiology from Cairo University; a MSc in organic farming from CIHEAM-Bari, Italy, and a PhD in Soil chemistry from the University of Bari, Italy (2012). Hamada has a rich international experience; he has been to the University of Bari, Italy, the USDA-ARS/Iowa State University (USA), Aarhus University, Denmark, and Jülich Research Center/the University of Bonn, Germany, and with short visits to research institutions in Turkey, Spain, France, and Portugal. Hamada research focuses on soil organic carbon and its role in building soil health and resilience. He provides technical support/solutions to farmers/enterprises on restoring soil health and bio based solutions.

Helena Moreira

Helena Moreira

holds a degree in Biology (FCUP), Master in Environmental Microbiology (UA) and PhD in Biotechnology (Environmental Science and Engineering; UCP). Her research interests are mainly focused on: i) effects of bioinoculants (mycorrhizal fungi, rhizo- and endophytic bacteria) on plant growth and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses; ii) development of new formulations and delivery systems of bioinoculants; iii) plant-microbe interactions; iv) microbial-assisted phytomanagement; (v) effects of climate change and related abiotic stresses on plant growth and development. Currently, she is a Post-doc researcher at CBQF-UCP under the scope of “Formulation of new biofertilizers for crop production: contribution for sustainable agricultures practices”.

Iris Mota

Iris Mota

is a Biologist specialized in Plant Chemistry (MSc Pharmacy and Chemistry of Plant Natural Products) but also specialized in Agronomy (Soil and Biodiversity Assessment; Regenerative Agriculture Principles) and Plant Conservation (mainly Ex-situ methodologies) based on experience acquired during my professional career. She also enjoys producing content for marketing. She took some courses in Content Marketing and Storytelling and has great pleasure in producing content and writting (graphics and text with technical language) with regards to plant natural products and agriculture.

Isabel Brito

Isabel Brito

is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology at the University of Évora. Isabel holds a PhD in Biology, and her main research field is the management of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in low input cropping systems, particularly in Mediterranean regions. Key areas of study are the effects of common agronomic practices (weed control, tillage system, crop rotation, cover crops) on AMF functional diversity and the development of strategies to manage indigenous AMF communities within cropping systems, for the bio-protection of cultivated plants. More recent research is also focused on the evaluation of different indicators of soil general microbial activity and diversity.

João Ferreira

João Ferreira

is a food fermentation researcher at Mendes Gonçalves SA since 2014. He has a degree in Biological Engineer and a MSc degree in Biological and Chemical Processes at Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra. He is involved in the regenerative agriculture project "Vila Feliz Cidade". He is passionate about the outdoors and nature and has spent the last years searching and studying regenerative agriculture systems.

Liselotte Jensen

Liselotte Jensen

is Policy Analyst at the Climate Action Research and Tracking service (CART) at the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) in Brussels. She has worked on climate, energy and sustainability policy in Brussels since 2012. Her research focuses on EU climate action, climate change mitigation and adaptation policy. She holds a MSc. in Technological and Socio‑economic Planning from Roskilde University, Denmark as well as a Master of Environment (Economics and Policy), from Griffith University, Australia. Prior to joining EPRS, she worked on European Research and Innovation funding for energy and environment projects, facilitating European collaboration.

Margarida Palma

Margarida Palma

is an Operations Researcher at Food4Sustainability where she works in projects and activities related to knowledge transfer and dissemination, educational and training actions, within the context of soil microbiology and soil health. She holds a PhD degree in Microbiology, and she was a scientific researcher for over 12 years in the field of functional genomics, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology of conventional and non-conventional yeasts with a role in Food and Industrial Biotechnology. She has additional training in Organic agriculture, Integrated agricultural systems, Sustainable agriculture, Agricultural business management, and Apiculture.

Nuno Cortez

Nuno Cortez

(PhD in Agronomic engineering) is Assistant Professor at the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Territory at Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, where he teaches Conservation of Soil Resources; Soil Formation and Conservation; Soils; Ecology; Environment, Resources and Society; and Landscape Planning: Natural Subsystem. He has been a collaborator of CEABN, CEF and LEAF research centers, as researcher and as consultant. His main scientific activity has been devoted to the nutrient cycling and sustainability in forestry and agro-forestry ecosystems, the importance of soil knowledge on landscape planning and the assessment of soil erosion and conservation. He is member of the Managing Committees of Portuguese Soil Science Society (SPCS) and of Portuguese Society for Landscape Ecology (APEP)

Paula Baptista

Paula Baptista

is Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB) and member of “Centro de Investigação de Montanha” (CIMO, http://cimo.ipb.pt/web/). She has a degree in Agricultural Engineering, a Master in Quality Control and a PhD in Science. Her main interests are focused on bio-prospection of biological control agents (microbial antagonist) against pests and diseases in crop ecosystem, on biotic interactions, as well as on the effects of cropping practices on biological control agents.

Pedro Dinis Gaspar

Pedro Dinis Gaspar

has a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electromechanical Engineering of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Portugal. His research has been focused on occupational health and safety, energy efficiency, production management, training needs in the agro-food industry. Currently, he is coordinator of projects researching sustainable technological solutions for the agro-food industry.

Pedro Rodrigues

Pedro Rodrigues

holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Porto and a MSc and BSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. He is an Assistant Professor at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, where he is the Co-coordinator of the Bioengineering Degree and the Coordinator of the Data Science in Biomedicine Postgraduation Program. He teaches courses in signal processing, digital electronics, computer programming and machine learning. His areas of research and interest focus on the application of automatic signal/image processing and artificial intelligence techniques in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative, cardiac and speech diseases.

Pete Smith

Pete Smith

is Professor of Soils and Global Change at the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK) and Science Director of the Scottish Climate Change Centre of Expertise (ClimateXChange). His interests include climate change mitigation, soils, agriculture, food systems, ecosystem services and modelling. He has been an author on many reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and led its work of climate change mitigation in agriculture, forestry and land for its 4th and 5th Assessment Reports and led its work interlinkages between land based mitigation options for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land.

Sara Rodrigues

Sara Rodrigues

is a Soil production specialist at Food4Sustainability. Sara holds a degree in Agronomy at the Agricultural College of Castelo Branco, Portugal, and a course in permaculture design, and believes that biodiversity is necessary for a sustainable and resilient future, and that this is within our reach.

Simon Krämer

Simon Krämer

is food system and soil policy advisor at NABU headquarters in Berlin with a focus on regenerative agriculture. He works in corporate and policy consulting to enhance socio-ecologically regenerative food value cycles that foster horizontal, political and food agency. He studied a Masters in Politics, Economics and Philosophy with a focus on the sustainability transformation of the EU food system. Privately he is engaged in Permaculture projects.

Sofia Pereira

Sofia Pereira

holds a PhD in Biology, a Master in Toxicology and a Degree in Biology from the University of Aveiro. Sofia Pereira is a researcher at the Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina and regent of the Mycology course of the Microbiology degree. Her scientific interests focus on the development of bioinocula formulations to increase the growth and resilience of crops under stress conditions, as well as on the use of phytoremediation and phytomanagement strategies for the recovery of environmentally degraded areas.

Viridiana Alcantara

Viridiana Alcantara

is a Senior Program Officer supporting the development and implementation of new VCS agricultural methodologies and projects, providing technical input on GHG measurements in agriculture, and exploring opportunities to promote regenerative agriculture within Verra’s other frameworks. Prior to joining Verra, Viridiana supported the international “4 per 1000” Initiative on soils for food security and climate in her function as Desk Officer at the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food in Germany. Before that, she worked at FAO in Rome as Land and Water Officer. Here, she supported the Global Soil Partnership and further projects on sustainable soil management around the world. Viridiana also worked at Thuenen Institute for Climate-Smart Agriculture, where she led a three-year research project on carbon sequestration in forest and cropland subsoils. Viridiana holds a PhD in soil science and a Diploma (German equivalent of Master of Science) in Geo-ecology.

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