UNIV*6050
Experiential learning in agri-food
The Canadian agri-food sector is at the forefront of facing the demands of a rapidly growing global population while endeavouring to maintain environmental sustainability as a strategic priority. To meet and overcome the imminent challenges associated with a growing world, the agri-food sector is in need of a workforce of qualified individuals with transferable skills that can cross disciplines, innovate, and solve real-world problems. Experiential learning in higher education provides valuable opportunities for students to harness these essential skills. The Arrell Food Institute developed a course aimed at bridging the gap between traditional graduate education and workplace readiness for the agri-food sector designed to allow graduate students from diverse fields to develop transferable skills through interdisciplinary, problem-based collaboration with community partners in the agri-food sector.
Overview
This highly competitive program is run by Arrell Food Institute and supported by Food From Thought. It brings together 20-30 high-achieving Masters and PhD students studying food & agriculture from all disciplines at the University of Guelph. This course consists of a series of lessons and presentations that cover project management, intellectual property, media skills and knowledge mobilization and is designed to develop their potential as future leaders in the agriculture and food sectors. This unique program provides them opportunity to practice collaborating with non-academic partners and other students in the program from different disciplines, and to work on real-life, contemporary challenges facing the sector. It aims to provide graduate students with a unique opportunity to undertake innovative research and gain business and government experience to facilitate a career in agri-food sectors in Ontario and beyond.
Past Partners
2023 – 2024 Projects Overview
Continue reading to learn more about the latest projects, outputs, and findings from UNIV*6050 scholars.
Enhancing Traceability for Food Safety Across the Supply Chain
GS1 Canada
GS1 Canada is a neutral, not-for-profit association that develops and maintains global standards for efficient business communication and supports Canadian businesses of all types and sizes. GS1 aims to enable traceability across the food service supply chain using GS1 standards. The student group worked to identify the current barriers and opportunities for Canadian growers to successfully implement GS1 standards on Canadian farms.
Adoption of Best Management Practices
Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs (ASL-LL)
Providing access to healthy, local food at school
Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC)
Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC) is a pan-Canadian non-profit charitable organization whose purpose is to transform how food is experienced, learned and celebrated in all schools across Canada. Students worked in collaboration with the Coalition for Healthy School Food (CHSF) and Student Nutrition Ontario Central East Region to identify primary barriers and opportunities impacting procurement to distributing local food in school food programs.
How has your partnership with the Arrell Food Institute been beneficial to your organization?
“Working with AFI has been crucial for advancing our strategic goals and strengthening our role in sustainable agriculture. Their support has significantly boosted our advocacy efforts and collaboration with key organizations.”
Can you describe the impact of your collaboration with AFI?
“Collaborating with AFI has helped us improve our local procurement efforts. The webinar, infographic, and roundtable summary have become valuable resources on our website, aiding in the dissemination of key insights and progress.”
Get Involved
These projects prepare our students to become leaders in the agri-food sector through experiential learning, while providing partner organizations with a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team to work through a challenge identified by the partner. Interested partners can contact Jeanna Rex, Education Lead at jeannar@uoguelph.ca.