Master in Socio Environmental Sustainability of Agrifood Networks

first level master

"Food system is a very complex reality guided by economic, cultural, social and environmental factors. A better understanding of these drivers and their interaction, is essential for reducing the impact of food supply chains, and building a future where cultivating, transforming, distributing and consuming constitute acts of sustainable daily life. In particular, the main challenge we face is to understand, monitor and evaluate the highly dynamic contexts of food chains today and tomorrow, not only from a technological point of view but also from a socio-organizational one. Firstly public policies but also businesses of all sizes and sectors have to address this challenge in order to be competitive on an ever-changing market that address consumers more and more sensitive to environmental issues."

Cristiana Peano
MaSRA's director

Presentation

The development of sustainable agriculture and agro-food networks – that ensure access to food in sufficient quantity and quality, reducing the ecological impact through a redesign of the agricultural sectors - is a challenge for the coming decades. Various players in the area, following the Agriculture and Rural Development Programme by theEuropean Commission, aim to innovate strategies and interventions in agriculture sector with multifunctional good employment opportunities that find new centrality in policies of socio-economic development and regional planning.

The master's degree was established to train entrepreneurs of micro and small enterprises within agricultural supply chains and local food and sustainable rural development agents. These professionals will be able to promote, in local and global scenarios, the transition to environmental sustainability and provide local actors expertise for the design and management of sustainable supply chains and rural development interventions in a landscape perspective. Main fields of employment: small and medium agricultural enterprise and agribusiness, trade associations, agricultural and agri food cooperatives, business networks, consortia, networks GAS or solidarity economy.

AIMS

The purpose of the Master is to provide cognitive tools to read and interpret complex situations, assess the sustainability of a territory, analyze the elements that characterize a sustainable food chain and
relevant legislation, designing instruments for the promotion and design of local networks in sustainable agri-food sector.

The master offer an interdisciplinary approach: teachers from academia alongside professionals and technicians, it combines courses and workshops in the field of social science, agriculture, economy, local marketing and communication.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Entrepreneur of micro and small enterprises in local and sustainable food chains. Agent of rural development can move in a local / global context to promote the transition to scenarios of environmental sustainability and provide local actors expertise on the design and management of sustainable food chains and on rural development measures.

RECIPIENTS

Admission to the programme is open to students holding the equivalent of an undergraduate/first cycle degree programme (Italian Laurea triennale), who will be selected on the basis of their research skills, basic knowledge of natural and/or social sciences, and a general insight in the subject of sustainable development. Five places are researved for students that apply for national or international scholarship before the master's application deadline. It is required a basic knowledge in italian language because of the lectures and workshops are held in italian.

DURATION

1 years - 68 credits 416 hours for classes and laboratories and 350 hours for stage

 For more informations go to the ITALIAN SECTIONS

MaSRA is set by the Department of Culture, Politics and Society and Departmentof Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences at the University of Turin in the activities UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Development and Territory Management that has been operating since 2010 promoting an integrated system of research, training, information and documentation. MaSRA is organized in collaboration with COREP TORINO.