Bridging Academia and Industry for Sustainable Agri-Food Solutions

Abstract

The European agri-food sector faces pressing global challenges, including food security, climate change, and sustainability. To address these, it must adopt a knowledge-driven strategy rooted in cutting-edge research and innovations towards a sustainable food system. Promoting interoperable R&I careers that bridge academic and non-academic (NA) sectors is essential for fostering new solutions. <p>LETSGROW is based on three pillars: training, mobility of talents and policy development to support this effort. These aim to foster collaboration between sectors, ensuring knowledge and resource exchange that mutual benefits. This mutualistic approach can nurture a fertile environment for R&I talents. Training focuses on equipping R&I talents with the evolving competencies of both sectors. LETSGROW addresses current gaps by building up talents’ skills as well as the institutional competence to support talents and their careers, offering a set of 37 training activities. Mobilities play a critical role in preparing R&I talents to work across sectors. <p>LETSGROW offers: quality-based talent selection, a mentoring system, a return plan to maximise impact, and mobilities coupled with training. The cross-sectoral exchanges will allow NA talents to gain practical, industry-related experience, while gaining insights from academic research. Mobilities are designed so R&I talents gain critical competencies while involved entities establish and promote future collaborations. Evidence-based and needs-based policy is essential to enable positive change, and lessons learned from both training and mobility activities will feed co-creation of policy recommendations to enhance R&I talents career interoperability and employability. LETSGROW’s combined impact of targeted training, cross-sector mobilities, and supportive policy development will promote competitiveness of the R&I talents and the consortium, which gathers 11 Partners (7 from 5 Widening countries), including 4 NA entities.