The future of the agri-food workforce is changing. The sector is dealing with wicked challenges like climate change and disrupted supply chains that will impact operations; sophisticated technologies are increasingly being used on farms and in processing plants; and the agricultural sector must increase productivity to feed a projected 10 billion people by 2050. Meeting these challenges will require a new kind of workforce: one that can think beyond disciplines and silos, communicate with all kinds of people, and understand how to use data and technology to develop innovative solutions.

Graduate course UNIV*6050: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Agri-Food Systems is a course designed to provide students with applied experiences that develop these skills. Now wrapping up its fifth year, this course pairs foundational lessons in communication, critical thinking and collaboration with opportunities to apply these skills to solve a challenge for an agri-food sector partner. Students learn how to develop a presentation and pitch, how to communicate in plain language, how to develop an infographic, video or podcast to share their research, how to write an op-ed or policy brief, and how to work with partners – and are given the chance to apply these skills through assignments and activities in class.

“There are a lot of awesome innovative sustainable solutions out there, but they don’t mean much if no one will buy them. This course taught us to bridge the gap between finding the best scientific solution and identifying what people will buy.”

– Domenique Mastronardi, Peter Zytner, Dharamdeo Singh, Kasra Ghasemi and Puja Lamichhane, UNIV*6050 students in 2021

They also have the chance to put their skills into action by working in interdisciplinary groups with a community partner. Each community partner identifies a challenge or question in the agri-food sector they are grappling with, and the students conduct independent research or synthesize information that can help to address it into a report, presentation and other formats. Each student group has regular touchpoints with their community partner and, at the end of the course, pitches their solution to a broad audience. 

“It was a pleasure working with the students on the food security project! It was a very positive experience for the FPD team.”

– Sandra Znajda, Senior Policy Analyst, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Food Policy Division

Community partners have involved groups from government (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, City of Charlottetown), industry associations (Grain Farmers of Ontario, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation, Cellular Agriculture Canada, SAI Platform), companies (New Harvest, De La Mer, GoodLeaf Farms, Noki Farms) and community (10C, Our Food Future, Food Day Canada, Seed Voyage). The course includes graduate students who have received the Food from Thought Scholarship, Arrell Scholars, and others. 

“The experience of working with the students was very rewarding and enjoyable! The work the students did helped our team, and the program was a good way to link in to other research happening at Arrell Institute and with other Community Partners.”

– Community Partner

To create the interdisciplinary, systems thinkers we need for health of our planet, people, and our economy, we need to adapt the educational experiences we provide for our students. Courses like UNIV*6050 are a promising way to teach communication and entrepreneurship skills while allowing students to put those skills into action to address a real-world problem.

You can learn more about becoming a community partner or contact Jeanna Rex, Education Coordinator at jeannar@uoguelph.ca. Students who are interested in participating in UNIV*6050 can apply for an Arrell Scholarship or a Food from Thought Skills for Communicating Change in Agri-Food Scholarship.