The 2nd cycle Degree Course in "Firm and Quality for the agricultural and food system" is an advanced study opportunity for undergraduates of the classes L25 - Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology and L26 - agro-food science and technology who wish to consolidate and expand their professional and scientific competences in the field of agricultural entrepreneurship and in the management and enhancement of quality products and processes.
The course has been innovated by adopting a further diversification of the educational offer, stemming by the need to train professionals capable of intervening in the enhancement of the quality of agro-food systems as well as of the products of crop and animal breeding. The course is also intended as a driving force of sustainable development of the territory, based on specific and valuable characters.
The educational content related to livestock fill a need for training in the important context of the sector of the management of quality animal products, with a focus on issues relating to food safety, animal welfare, to the management of pastures and forage crops, and to the management of livestock waste.
The course primarily aims at educating professionals able to start business and supply chain initiatives related to the upgrading of products with specific quality characters, such as typical, biological, historical characters, etc .; the current international economic system and the development of food culture are driving more and more the business activity towards the ability to relate with the socio-economic system through forms of integration and coordination of the productive and organizational activities, bringing out the products specificities and raising the level of quality and food safety.
The educational activities include specialist courses aimed at the acquisition of skills in the fields of post-harvest processing of agricultural products, of systems and processes for the agro-industrial transformation, of the defence and prevention of commodities against pathogens and possible contamination; where possible courses are provided with marked interdisciplinary traits, aiming at the integration of different skills.
Other contents of class specific subjects are: the economic aspects of the company, of the market, of the food and agriculture policy at the international level as well as the specific aspects of the quality and certification economics. A better understanding of matters of logistics, packaging technology (packaging and labelling) and of the sociological aspects of consumer behaviour and perception of quality is pursued through complementary disciplines specifically included in the educational path.
The course includes the following additional courses:
- Elective activities: the training activities will be allowed and encouraged within the limits of the provisions of Art. 10 of Decree 270/04, particularly when oriented to the enrichment of a systemic and integrated vision of the problems of the food industry.
- Internships: to be carried out at companies or institutions, possibly aimed at obtaining professional qualifications in the field of certification;
- Activities related to the final examination: The final examination consists of the preparation of an original paper to be discussed publicly with a faculty Board, as required by the academic regulations; the Board might also be complemented by professional operators in the agro-food industry.
The educational activities will be carried out through lectures, laboratory and field exercises and mid-term tests.
The expected time for obtaining the degree is two academic years. To achieve the degree, students must have acquired 120 university credits (CFU), including those related to the knowledge of a European language other than Italian, subject to the special rules for the protection of linguistic minorities. The Course is divided into a teaching program consisting of 11 required courses and one elective course, plus the practical-application internship at affiliated facilities and the final examination on topics related to the Degree Course.
The 8 elective credits may be acquired, in accordance with article 10, paragraph 5, letter a) of the Ministerial Decree 270/04, choosing freely among the subjects provided by other courses at the Polytechnic School of the University of Palermo and other Italian and foreign universities.
At the end of the course students are awarded the title of “Dottore Magistrale” and, upon passing the national professional qualification examination, they may register in Section A (Senior Agronomist) of the professional register of the “Ordine dei Dottori Agronomi e Forestali”
Making judgments:
Graduates of this course develop independent judgment about:
- The efficiency and effectiveness of technical choices as well as of the effects of the same in terms of quality and safety of processes and products while respecting the environment;
- The opportunity to establish relations between operators in the agri-food system and to participate in forms of co-ordination between activities at different levels of the food system (assessing agreements for the production, supply and certification specifications, etc.);
- The social and cultural determinants that characterize the agri-food system of production and consumption, as well as the social implications of the interventions related to market issues;
- The ethical implications of the choices related to proper communication, quality and wholesomeness of food products.
The expected learning outcomes are achieved by developing the students’ ability to compare different solutions of the problem being treated, also through the preparation of specific papers.
The assessment of learning outcomes is carried out by testing, in-course tests or the final review, the critical capacity of the student and his ability to predict the effects of the choices.
Communication skills:
Graduates of this course will possess communication skills:
- Proportionate to the ability to lead and coordinate the functions of individual operators in the workplace and in particular in the context of multidisciplinary and multi-professional groups;
- Appropriate to express and discuss technical concepts and content in Italian and in another European language (preferably English, widely used in educational and scientific fields) with specialized operators as well as with non-professional actors;
- Adequate to favour the understanding and diffusion of innovation.
The expected learning outcomes are demonstrated by the students’ ability to present the knowledge acquired, in oral or written form, during the examination.
The assessment of the expected outcomes is expressed through a judgment on the ability to present the issues using a language specifically related to the course issues, but understandable even to a non-competent public.
Learning skills:
Graduates of this course will:
- Have acquired the ability to independently improve their scientific and professional skills through the study of advanced texts and publications of various fields of knowledge, and in particular: on the evolution of scientific and technological knowledge in the field of quality processes, and on the evolution of the political and socio-economic context of the food system;
- Have acquired the ability to participate profitably to further training courses such as seminars and scientific and informative conferences as well as to 2nd level Masters courses and in-depth courses.
The expected learning outcomes are achieved by maintaining the logic succession and any prerequisites, provided by the degree course regulations, of the subjects of the syllabus, with the aim of developing the ability of understanding the application as well as the use of research results.
The examinations aim at testing the students’ ability to use the acquired knowledge to solve new problems, to recognize the need for further information, to use the results of research in the sector.
