THE PROJECT

The title of proposed JEP project is: "Agribusiness Higher EducAtion Development" with the acronym of AHEAD. This curriculum development project - in case of acceptance - will last for three years, between September, 2005 and August, 2008. The primary place of the project is at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, the contractor and the co-ordinator institution is the University of Debrecen, Hungary. In the consortium 3 other European universities (University of Hohenheim, Wageningen University and Scottish Agricultural College) will participate, from the Croatian side the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and other 7 Croatian institutes will also be involved. The total number of members in the consortium is 13. The proposed total budget is 531698 Euro, with the contribution of the consortium members (cash and in kind) 31700 Euro, and the requested Tempus grant is 499998 Euro.

The main objective of the AHEAD project is to establish new BSc and MSc trainings in Croatia at the University of Zagreb, namely at two faculties: Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology. The new trainings - that are based on the Bologna principles - are as follows: 3- year BSc training in Agribusiness and Rural Development, starting in 2005 basically at the Faculty of Agriculture with the cooperation of departments from the other Faculty. The other BSc training, named Food Safety and Quality Management is planned to start in 2006 with the same arrangement as above.

In order to meet the requirements of the national economy of Croatia, a training needs analysis (TNA) is carried out from the beginning of the project: September 2005, in order to know how many experts are needed for these areas in the Croatian national economy on medium and long run, with the assistance of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management as well as the other Croatian Consortium Members working in this field. The trainings are preceded by a retraining programme for the staff of the University of Zagreb. In case of agribusiness and rural development issues, the retraining will take place within the MBA training in Agribusiness and Commerce, based on the principles of the International MBA Network. This retraining programme makes the Faculty members capable of teaching effectively the Bachelor and later (in 2007) a pilot Master training in Agribusiness and Rural Development and related studies at the University of Zagreb.

Food Safety and Quality Management training is also preceded by a retraining programme. This programme is provided by the EU university consortium members (Debrecen, Hohenheim, Wageningen, Aberdeen). This contributes to the personal professional development of the faculty members of University of Zagreb and later makes them capable to teach these subjects in English language, as well.

After finishing the MBA retraining programme in 2007, there are two tasks for the Faculty members of Zagreb in this direction. One is to accredit the MBA programme at University of Zagreb by the International MBA Network Supervisory Board, and based on that to establish their own MBA programme in Agribusiness and Commerce in Croatia. At the same time University of Zagreb start a so-called pilot MSc programme which can later be a regular Master programme in Agribusiness and Rural Development at the University.

By the end of the AHEAD project: August, 2008, therefore, there will be at least two new BSc programmes established at the University of Zagreb, Agribusiness and Rural Development, with two outcomes: Agribusiness and Rural Development branches. The decision has to be made during the project duration. The other BSc programme is the Food Safety and Quality Management programme, which can also be shared into two branches by the end of the project. This decision should be made also under the operation of the programme.

The University of Debrecen organises the whole project on behalf of the Consortium members and provides English trainings for all the educational activities of the project with the cooperation of Wageningen, Hohenheim and Aberdeen universities in all the areas which were mentioned before.

The Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management together with the other Croatian consortium members have a double role in the project. At the beginning of the project, from September, 2005 to May, 2006, they all work together in the training needs analysis for the Croatian national economy, especially in the agriculture, agribusiness and food related areas. They also exercise professional supervision of all the programmes to be established at University of Zagreb. The supervision regards the direction of the training, the structure, the subject composition of the training as well as the inner content in case of each subject. It means that the requirements of the practice are always taken into account, in all the aspects of the educational efforts, in addition to the requirements of the Bologna process and the internationally accepted standards of training and examination. Since the retraining and the MBA courses are all carried out in English, therefore it guarantees the opportunity to teach some subjects in the BSc and MSc programmes in English by the staff of the University of Zagreb. It can mean a better opportunity for the University of Zagreb to attract foreign students and connect to the European Union's Erasmus and other exchange programmes more effectively.

The coordination of the whole programme and financial arrangement is the responsibility of the University of Debrecen. Since the number of consortium members is quite big, altogether 13, and the tasks to be carried out is also quite extensive, therefore an up-to-date and effective management tool has to be set up at just the beginning of the project execution. An Internet-based communication platform will serve for all the information exchange tasks in the project, including the communication towards the Croatian government and the general public, as well. This communication platform itself will also be a great benefit for the whole project.

Another benefit is, that - especially in the retraining parts and the MBA training - in addition to the Faculty members of the University of Zagreb, the experts of the Consortium Members of agribusiness and food processing firms can learn together. In this way effective interaction between the so-called theoretical and practical experts can be guaranteed, which means a long-term benefit for the whole programme.

The equipment to be purchased would serve the trainings of this project and can also contribute extensively to the modernisation of the training in Zagreb. Most of the activities are carried out in Zagreb, but on limited way the Zagreb staff members will visit the foreign consortium members, as well, in order to study their work on the spot, especially the methodology and examination of the specific subjects and organisation of whole courses.

The composition of the Consortium Members also serve the dissemination targets of the AHEAD project since these activities will be carried out in Middle, Northern and Southern parts of Croatia, that will ensure the effective dissemination of the results not just among the Consortium Members, but towards a larger professional general public, as well.

Since the information about the EU is involved in case of a lot of subjects, therefore the dissemination of this knowledge throughout the education directly contributes to the successful accession of Croatia to the European Union, as well. The cooperation between the previously accepted TEMPUS JEP (17108/2002) and this application can guarantee that the changes in the agricultural training in broader sense can achieve a "critical mass", moving from the so-called "traditional" training to newer ones targeting the possible future role of the "multifunctional" agriculture.

The professional content of the project is a modernised curriculum and training palette that would be available by the end of this project at University of Zagreb serving not just the higher education of the country, but the demand of national economy of Croatia, as well, in line with the basic principles of the European Union.