Current Skills of Students and Their Expected Future Training Needs on Precision Agriculture: Evidence from Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education Institutes
Thomas Bournaris,
Manuela Correia,
Alessandro Guadagni,
Jeremy Karouta,
Anne Krus,
Stefania Lombardo,
Dimitra Lazaridou,
Efstratios Loizou,
José Rafael Marques da Silva,
Jorge Martínez-Guanter,
Anastasios Michailidis,
Stefanos Nastis,
Aikaterini Paltaki,
Maria Partalidou,
Manuel Pérez-Ruiz,
Ángela Ribeiro,
Constantino Valero,
Marco Vieri
Affiliations
Thomas Bournaris
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Manuela Correia
Department of Rural Engineering, University of Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7004-516 Évora, Portugal
Alessandro Guadagni
ValueDo srl, Via Filippo Corridoni 91, 50134 Florence, Italy
Jeremy Karouta
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Center for Automation and Robotics, Calle Serrano 117, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Anne Krus
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Stefania Lombardo
Department of Agricultural, Food Production and Forest Management, University of Florence, P.zza S. Marco, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy
Dimitra Lazaridou
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Efstratios Loizou
Department of Regional Development and Cross Border Studies, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Kozani, Greece
José Rafael Marques da Silva
Department of Rural Engineering, University of Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7004-516 Évora, Portugal
Jorge Martínez-Guanter
Área de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Departamento de Ingeniería Aeroespacial y Mecánica de Fluidos, Universidad de Sevilla, C. San Fernando, 4, 41004 Sevilla, Spain
Anastasios Michailidis
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Stefanos Nastis
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Aikaterini Paltaki
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Maria Partalidou
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Manuel Pérez-Ruiz
Área de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Departamento de Ingeniería Aeroespacial y Mecánica de Fluidos, Universidad de Sevilla, C. San Fernando, 4, 41004 Sevilla, Spain
Ángela Ribeiro
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Center for Automation and Robotics, Calle Serrano 117, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Constantino Valero
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Marco Vieri
Department of Agricultural, Food Production and Forest Management, University of Florence, P.zza S. Marco, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy
This paper set out to explore the precision agriculture (PA)-training needs of students studying in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). SPARKLE is a Knowledge Alliance Project, funded by the European Union (EU), and one of its main goals is to narrow the innovation divide between entrepreneurship and the effective application of sustainable PA. During the project, the research conducted in all countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region revealed differences in the PA-training needs of university students. Additionally, this paper set out to explore the socioeconomic characteristics of students that affect their interest and knowledge towards PA. Finally, this paper aimed to understand the scope, present status and strategies for improving PA training in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The following descriptive statistics and two multivariate analysis techniques were used: Two-Step Cluster Analysis (TSCA) and Categorical Regression (CATREG). Results support the notion that the lack of “PA knowledge/interest” adds to the technological gap amongst university students, slow adoption of PA and lower levels of overall rural economic development. These findings will be used as the fundamental cognition for the development of a joint action plan and several other national plans in the selected regions.
