20 graduates have today (Monday December, 11) been awarded their certificate in Sustainable Agriculture as part of the Kerry Sustainability Awards which took place at Munster Technological University (MTU), Kerry North Campus in Tralee.
The class of 2023 all came from industry collaborators, Kerry Agribusiness.
Speaking at today’s ceremony, Prof. Maggie Cusack, MTU president, said: “We are delighted that our first graduates of this programme are all from our industry collaborators.
“Key areas were identified for inclusion in the programme that enabled the upskilling of participants on current policies, innovations and systems, which can be implemented in agricultural practices to ensure the environmental, social and economic sustainability of family farms.”
MTU
The part-time programme was delivered by MTU Biological and Pharmaceutical Science (BPS) Department in a blended delivery, comprising lectures, tutorials, online discussion forums, on-site workshops and site visits.
Kerry Agribusiness, a division of Kerry Group Plc., assembles 1.2 billion litres of milk annually from 3,000 family farms.
The certificate in Sustainable Agriculture programme provided students with access to sector experts through academic staff and guest lecturers and a diversity of teaching and learning environments and networks in various areas.
These areas included: Biodiversity; industry One Health; agricultural environmental impact; climate change and mitigation.
MTU also offers an undergraduate programme in agricultural science as well as a Level 9 postgraduate diploma in Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture which is funded by Springboard+.
The BPS team has also been proactive in the research space and was awarded grant support from MTU’s Technological University Transformation Fund (TUTF) for REiSA- Research and Education in Sustainable Agriculture Group.
REiSA is a cross campus collaboration that has developed a multidisciplinary research and education group that is aimed at benefitting the agri-food sector, environmental protection and societal needs.
MTU is the southwest’s newest technological university consisting of six campuses across Cork and Kerry.
The university has a student body of 18,000. It provides of a wide range of programmes ranging from apprenticeships, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, right up to PhD.