ENHANCE project meeting at IAMO

ENHANCE focuses on strengthening the agronomic expertise of the University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) in Bucharest, Romania. Together with the University of Agricultural Science in Vienna, Austria, the Swiss Federal Research Station for Agricultural Economics and Engineering in Ettenhausen, and the USAMV, IAMO will develop and also perform training and advanced courses for faculty as well as summer schools for students at the Romanian University. Furthermore, several month stays will allow researchers to carry out joint research projects and exchanges on research and publication strategies. The aim of ENHANCE is to raise the educational level of USAMV to international standards to promote the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas in Romania. The three-year research project is funded by the European Commission with more than 1 million euros and will be completed by the end of 2018.

Central to the discussions were the fine-tuning and coordination of work in the third and final year. Particular attention was paid to planning the joint ENHANCE event, which is to take place as part of the forthcoming conference “Agriculture for Life, Life for Agriculture” to be held by the project’s Romanian partner from 7 to 9 June 2018. The remaining arrangements for the course of the year were also discussed. For example, several IAMO researchers will spend time at the USAMV as part of the researcher exchange program, while their colleagues from the USAMV will also visit IAMO. In September 2018, IAMO will be responsible for organizing the summer school. A public closing event is planned to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of December 2018.

+++ Applications are open until 31 May 2018 for Master or PhD students to participate in the ENHANCE Summer School “Institutional Economics and Agricultural Development” to take place from 17–21 September 2018 in Bucharest, Romania. +++