Association for European Life Science Universities (ICA)
Bending the Curve for Biodiversity: challenges and opportunities for life science universities
&
Life science universities addressing
Knowledge Security
was held on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October 2022
at the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, Lithuania
WEDNESDAY 19 October
Location: Vytautas Magnus university (VMU) in the centre of Kaunas: S. Daukanto str. 28, small hall 2nd floor.
|
16.15 |
Coffee and Registration |
| 17.00 |
ICA General Assembly |
| 18.30 | Presentation EU Biodiversity strategy - forward looking approach, today relevant more than ever. Marius Vaščega- Head of the European Commission's Representation in Vilnius, Lithuania (from 2022 February). Earlier 2019 - 2022 Head of the Cabinet of Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries. |
|
19.30 |
Forum Welcome Reception & Walking Dinner |
THURSDAY 20 October
Location: Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA), Studentų str. 11, Akademija Kaunas District
Session 1 Addressing biodiversity loss
|
8.00 |
Transfer by bus from hotels to Agriculture Academy of the Vytautas Magnus University |
|
8.30 |
Registration & welcome coffee |
|
9.00 |
Welcome to the Forum Arthur Mol, President of ICA & Representative from Vytautas Magnus University |
| Chair Session 1 Jos Van Orshoven, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KULeuven, BE |
|
|
9.15 |
Keynote: Biodiversity policy implementation in Lithuania: challenges and achievements |
|
9.45 |
Keynote: Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy |
|
10.15 |
Keynote: The Economics of Biodiversity: |
|
10.45 |
Coffee break |
|
11.15 |
Keynote: Biodiversa+, the European biodiversity partnership: history, objectives and main achievements |
|
11.45 |
Discussion |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
Session 2 Nature based solutions in Agricultural and Forestry Systems to support the enhancement of biodiversity
| Chair Session 2 Alex Evans, School Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, IE |
|
|
13.30 |
Keynote: Enhancement of biodiversity in agriculture arable and grassland systems |
|
14.00 |
Keynote: Enhancement of biodiversity in forestry systems |
|
14.30 |
Five short interventions: Case Studies of how my university engages with society through education and outreach to encourage engagement with and enhancement of biodiversity.
|
|
15.15 |
Coffee |
|
15.45 |
Breakout round table discussions groups |
|
16.15 |
Plenary Report back |
|
16.45 |
Closure Session2 and short break |
| 17.00 | ICA Excellence Award 2022 Ceremony: Announcement & Presentation of the achievements of the winner Acceptance speech by the winner |
| 17.45 | Return by bus to the hotels |
|
19.30 |
Bus pick up from hotels to go to Raudondvaris Castle |
|
20.00 |
Gala Dinner, Raudondvaris Castle |
FRIDAY 21 October
Session 3 Addressing Knowledge Security
|
8.00 |
Transfer by bus from hotels to Agriculture Academy of the Vytautas Magnus University |
| 8.30 | Chair Session 3: European knowledge security in a polarised world Arthur Mol, President of ICA & Rector Magnificus Wageningen University and Research, NL |
|
8.50 |
Keynote: Knowledge security experiences and practice AgroParisTech |
| 9.05 |
Keynote: Knowledge security experiences and practices Estonian University of the Life Sciences |
| 9.20 | Coffee & Breakout round table discussions groups |
|
10.00 |
Plenary Report back |
|
10.30 |
Forum Closure |
|
Packed lunch available to pick up |
|
|
11.00 |
Depart for Vilnius Airport by bus (the trip to Vilnius airport will take maximum of 2 hours) |
| OR | |
| 11.00 |
Post Forum Tour "Biodiversity, history and cultural heritage Kaunas Region" There is no extra charge for this Tour, but must be booked on your registration form or reservation by email after registration to The Tour is offered by the Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University |
| 16.30 |
Tour returns to Kaunas |
Please note that "Kaunas is the European Capital of Culture' 2022". Information about the events can be found here https://kaunas2022.eu/en/about-the-project/
Interdisciplinary Education for the Bioeconomy:
embedding the mindset of the bioeconomy in the curricula of Bachelor degree programmes
Thursday 19 and Friday 20 May
was held at the Monasterium Poortackere, Ghent, Belgium
Outline Programme
|
Wednesday 18 May |
|
| 20.00 |
Welcome Reception and Walking Dinner, Klein Turkije 20, Ghent |
|
Thursday 19 May |
|
| 9.00 |
Welcome and Introduction to the Colloquium |
|
Session 1 – Framing the challenge, what learning outcomes should be achieved in order to develop the students’ mindset for the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy |
|
|
9.15 |
Keynote: Opportunities and challenges for promoting education and training to provide the skills for the developing bioeconomy |
|
9.45 |
Keynote: Developing competences and skills for Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy to meet the needs of the labour market. |
|
10.15 |
Coffee break |
|
10.45 |
Keynote: Learning from the planned learning outcomes and curriculum of a BSc Bioeconomy degree programme |
|
11.15 |
Keynote: Learning from the planned learning outcomes and curriculum of a MSc Bioeocnomy degree programme |
|
11.45 |
Panel discussion |
|
12.30 |
Lunch |
|
|
Session 2 - Addressing the learning outcomes to be achieved for the interdisciplinarity of the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy in Bachelor degree programme curricula |
|
13.30 |
Keynote: The concept of developing a learning trajectory across a BSc degree programme for embedding the interdisciplinarity of the sustainable circular bioeconomy. |
|
14.00 |
Case Study: Energy Transition at Avans Hogeschool |
|
15.00 |
Coffee break |
|
15.30 |
Roundtable discussions groups focusing on the challenge in defining the learning outcomes to be achieved for developing the mindset of the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy in discipline specific Bachelor degree programme curricula. |
|
16.30 |
Report back |
|
17.00 |
Closure |
| 17.15 |
ICA CoP Bio-Edu General Assembly |
| 20.00 |
Colloquium Dinner, De Abt, Lange Kruisstraat 4, Ghent |
|
Friday 20 May |
|
|
Session 3 – The Strategic approach for embedding an interdisciplinarity mindset for the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy across all discipline specific Bachelor degree programmes in a life science faculty/ university |
|
| 8.30 |
Keynote: A Case Study of a University strategic approach to curriculum development for embedding interdisciplinarity for the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy across all Bachelor degree programmes. |
| 9.00 |
Keynote: A Case Study of a University strategic approach to curriculum development for embedding interdisciplinarity for the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy across all Bachelor degree programmes. |
| 9.30 | Roundtable discussion groups |
| 10.30 |
Coffee break |
| 11.00 |
Roundtable discussion groups |
| 11.45 |
Report Back |
| 12.00 |
Move to the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Ghent |
| 12.30 |
Plenary Session: Report back from ICA-Edu, ICA-Edu SIG and the ICA-CoP Bio-Edu |
| 13.00 |
Closure |
| Download the Colloquium flyer |
Exploring the opportunities and challenges of mainstreaming blended learning in Life Sciences Higher Education |
Was held on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 May 2022
At the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium
PRE-COLLOQUIUM WEBINAR
held on 20 April 2022
Keynite: Find your way in delivering the digital component of blended learning: the experience of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent university.
Evelyne de Caluwé, Educational Developer, Ghent University, BE
COLLOQUIUM PROGRAMME
Download the Colloquium programme
Download the Report of the Colloquium
| WEDNESDAY 18 May | |
| 20.00 | Reception and Walking Dinner, Klein Turkije 20, Ghent |
| THURSDAY 19 May | |
| Session 1: Opportunities and challenges: review of blended learning development over the last five years, the current state of the art and likely trajectories over the next 5 years. |
|
| 9.00 | Welcome and setting the aims of the Colloquium Julian Park, Chair of ICA-Edu and University of Reading |
| 9.15 | Keynote: Reflection of the developments since the ICA-Edu Colloquium in Bolzano in 2012: Barbara Hinterstoisser, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), AT. |
| 9.45 | Keynote: Current state of the art: benefiting from the learning and teaching behaviours in the pandemic Lawrie Phipps, Jisc & Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence (KIITE), UK |
| 10.15 | Coffee break |
| 10.45 | Case studies of blended learning interventions in curricula 1. Ivica Kos: Engaging students in collaborative online activities 2. Janna Pietikäinen: What does the data tell us about blended learning? 3. Evelyne de Caluwé: Lessons learned from the first Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) organized by UGent- FBW within ENLIGHT “Interdisciplinary Study of the Climate Neutral City mission” |
| 11.45 | Discussion Groups |
| 12.30 | Report back |
| 13.00 | Lunch |
| Session 2: The capabilities and expectations of current students for the delivery of their education experience, particularly reflecting on the blended learning approach. Do students feel well-prepared for a blended approach to learning, does it encourage greater student independence and better prepare graduates for the modern workplace? |
|
| 14.00 | Keynote: The student experience of and views of blended going forward Jana Dutordoir, The International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS) & University of Ghent. |
| 14.35 | Keynote: Does the student experience of the blended learning environment match employer expectations for working in the digital world? John Giles, Divisional Director, Promar and Genus International |
| 15.10 | Coffee break |
| 15.40 | Discussion Groups |
| 16.30 | Report back |
| 17.00 | Closure |
| 17.15 | ICA-Edu General Assembly |
| 20.00 | Colloquium dinner, De Abt, Lange Kruisstraat 4, Ghent |
| FRIDAY 20 May | |
|
Session 3: What are the characteristics of robust yet flexible blended approaches in terms of university/faculty strategy and curricula practice for on campus students? |
|
| 8.45 | Keynote: Strategic development of the Blended learning approaches at the institutional level Tammy Schellens, Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , Ghent University, BE |
| 9.30 | Keynote Staff development needs to fully benefit students using the blended learning experience Liisa Myyry, Centre for University Teaching and Learning, University of Helsinki, FI |
| 10.15 | Overviews of university/faculty approaches to mainstreaming blended learning strategies 1. Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Stefan Cesco 2. University of Reading, Julian Park 3. Wageningen University and Research, Lisa Ploum 4. Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Teodor Trasca |
| 10.45 | Coffee break |
| 11.15 | Discussion groups |
| 12.00 | Action Planning related to blended learning – delegates individual plans in relation to blended learning & nect steps for ICA-Edu |
| 12.15 | Closure of ICA-Edu Colloquium |
| 12.30 | Plenary Session Report back from ICA-Edu, ICA-Edu SIG and the ICA CoP |
| 13.00 | Lunch |
| Download the Colloquium programme | |
The Role of Life Science Universities in Transitioning to
Climate Neutrality and Open Science
was held on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 October 2021
at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven, Belgium
Wednesday 20 October
Location: Irish College Leuven, Janseniusstraat 1, Leuven
|
16.15 |
Tea and Coffee - Registration |
|
17.00 |
ICA General Assembly |
|
19.00 |
Forum Welcome Reception – walking dinner following the ICA General Assembly |
Thursday 21 October
Location: Faculty Club, KU Leuven, Groot Begijnhof 14, 3000 Leuven
Session 1 & 2: Scoping the challenge and opportunities for change in European food systems
The higlighted Keynotes were delivered online by ZOOM to registered delegates
|
9.00 |
Welcome to the Forum |
|
9.10 |
Introduction to Session 1 Chair: Jos Van Orshoven, Dean Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven |
|
9.15 |
Keynote 1 Characterisation of the GHG emissions in food systems - agriculture, the food value and logistics chain, and in food consumption. |
|
9.45 |
Keynote 2 The potential for carbon sequestration in the soil and by re-afforestation of land released from animal production. |
|
10.15
|
Keynote 3 Resourceful with food contributing to climate neutrality: reduction of food waste and energy saving in the food value chain. |
| 10.45 |
Coffee |
| 11.15 | Keynote 4 Stimulating consumers to make dietary choices to eat sustainably in the diverse landscape of European culinary cultures. Liesbet Vranken, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, BE |
| 11.45 | Discusssion |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 13.30 |
Introduction to Session 2 Chair: Alex Evans, Former Dean of Agricultural Science & Head of UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin. |
| 13.45 | Keynote 5 EU vision and policies toward climate neutrality for the land sector and the role of the CAP policy in ensuring the viability of farmer’s income and food security Nicola Di Virgilo, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, EU Commission, Brussels, BE |
| 14.15 | Keynote 6 Helping farmers mitigate climate change - the multiple roles of agricultural inputs in managing the carbon footprint from production to application Petra Laux, Head of Business Sustainability, Syngenta Crop Protection, Basel, Switzerland |
| 14.45 | Coffee |
| 15.15 |
Panel:Four short interventiona from ICA Members How my university will engage with society through education, research and outreach to encourage the desired transition to climate neutrality. • Michal Lostak, Czech University of Life Sciences, CZ |
| 16.00 | Breakout Discussion Groups |
| 17.00 | Pleanary Report Back |
| 17.30 | Closure |
| 19.00 | Reception offered by the City of Leuven and Welcome by Alderman David Dessers (Alderman for Agriculture, Climate and Sustainability) at Leuven Town Hall |
| 20.00 | Forum dinner at Restaurant Tafelrond, Grote Markt 5, Leuven |
Friday 22 October
Location: Faculty Club, KU Leuven, Groot Begijnhof 14, 3000 Leuven
Session 3. Open Science and implications for Life Science Universities
Theme: Open Science is the overarching title, under which is Open Access, Open data, Open Education and sometimes also Citizen Science
| 9.00 | Introduction to Session 3 Chair: Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus Wageningen University and Research (WUR) |
| 9.10 | Keynote 11 The grand challenge to deliver the European Open Science Cloud Karel Luyben, Rector Magnificus Emeritus at the Delft University of Technology |
| 9.50 | Keynote 12 Open Science to deliver on the grand challenges Kostas Glinos, Head of Unit for Open Science at European Commission |
| 10.30 | Coffee |
| 11.00 | Keynote 13 The experience of my university in addressing the introduction of an Open Science strategy and its implementation. Anna Lundhagen, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Collaboration and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) |
| 11.40 | Breakout discussions |
| 12.30 | Plenary Report Back |
| 13.00 | Closure and Lunch |
| Download the flyer |
10th ICA Rectors and Deans Forum 2020 - Online
Agricultural and Life Science Universities Responding to
Covid-19 and the European Green Deal
was held online on Thursday 22 October 2020,
13.30 – 18.00 (Central European Summer Time, CEST)
Download the the full programme
PROGRAMME
13.15 CEST Opening of the online session
13.25 Welcome and Introductions
Marek S Szyndel, President of ICA and Warsaw University of Life Sciences, PL
13.30 – 15.30 CEST
Session 1 Disruption of our agricultural and life science universities in 2020, what we have learnt for future management
Chair Michal Lostak, Vice Rector, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, CZ
Speaker 1: Higher Education 2030: a decade of disruption for sustainable development
Daniella Tilbury, Commissioner for Sustainable Development and Future Generations, HM Government of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Gibraltar and Hon. Fellow, Cambridge University, UK
Speaker 2: Will the disruption of Covid-19 irreversibly change teaching and learning in our traditional European universities for the better?
Stefano Cesco, Former Dean Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy
Presentation powerpoint pdf
Speaker 3: What are the medium to long term implications of Covid-19 on universities' research, innovation programmes and engagement with society, defining a roadmap forward.
Martin Scholten, Principlal Advisor of European Affairs to the Board of Directors, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Presentation powerpoint pdf
Round table discussions:
Defining exit strategies from the 2020 disruption of agricultural and life science universities caused by Covid-19" – 40 minutes.
In moderated breakout groups of about 8 to 10 people. The delegates in each group will be able to see themselves online in the discussion.
When you register online for the Forum you will be able to choose to start your discussion session focusing on either "education and student engagement" or "research and innovation", and then there would be the possibility to switch to the other topic in the same breakout group.
Report back to whole group by discussion Chairs
Expected Outcome: Shared experience and proposed topics for future Webinars to expand the discussion on topics of specific concern, e.g. mental health of students, equality and equity for education of campus based and distance learners.
15.30 – 16.00 Virtual Coffee Break
16.00 – 18.00 CEST
Session 2 Defining the opportunities of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal for Agricultural and Life Science Universities
Chair Alex Evans, Dean of Agricultural Science & Head of UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, IE
Speaker 1: 21st Century Challenges - EGD and the Importance of Natural Resources Management
Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair International Resource Panel, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Partner in SYSTEMIQ
Presentation powerpoint pdf
Speaker 2: The ambition of the Farm to Fork Strategy
Luis Vivas-Alegre, Policy Coordinator, Unit Farm to Fork Strategy, Directorate General on Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Presentation powerpoint pdf
Speaker 3: Reflections on the current US Policies towards transitioning to a Green Economy
Douglas L Steele, Vice President Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), US
Round table discussions:
Priorities for our universities in responding to the challenge of the Farm to Fork Strategy - 40 minutes
In moderated breakout groups of about 8 to 10 people. The delegates in each group will be able to see themselves online in the discussion.
Report back to whole group by discussion Chairs
Expected Outcome: Reflection of the opportunities for agricultural and life science universities within the EU Green Deal policy and call. Proposals of how ICA might support the engagement of ICA members with these strategies.
Action to keep the entrepreneurial genie out of the bottle!
Engaging students with sustainable entrepreneurial education in your curriculum
was held online each morning from Wednesday 26 May to Friday 28 May 2021
Supported by: the University of Copenhagen (UCPH),
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), and
Wageningen University (WU)
See the Action Summary of the Outcomes of the Colloquium
Download the Colloquium Programme
The Online Colloquium programme is structured around three sessions. In each session there are keynote presentations, followed by “roundtable discussions” of 12 to 15 persons and a moderator in an online Zoom breakout room. At the end of the session there will be a report back from each of the breakout rooms to the whole Colloquium.
SESSION 1 Wednesday 26 May 9.00 - 12.00 CET
Curriculum models for the development of students’ entrepreneurial sustainable competences
Keywords: Students’ sustainable entrepreneurial competences, and support for reflection and validation of curriculum models
Chair: Lisa Ploum, Academic Coordinator Entrepreneurship, Corporate Value Creation, Wageningen University, NL
| 9.00 | Welcome and Introduction to the Session |
| 9.10 | Keynote: Making an Entrepreneurial Difference: new approaches to entrepreneurial learning in Life Sciences Education Lisa Ploum, Academic Coordinator Entrepreneurship, Corporate Value Creation, Wageningen University, NL |
| 9.30 | Keynote: eLearning course Ecosystem Services Entrepreneurship: from ideas to business Davide Pettenella, University of Padova, IT |
| 9.50 | Keynote: CASE project: the curriculum of the MSc Sustainability-driven Entrepreneurship Michael Ambros, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), AT |
| 10.10 | Coffee break |
| 10.30 | Roundtable discussions groups (Zoom breakout rooms) The discussion will evaluate the sustainable entrepreneurship competence model developed by Wageningen University and the experience of dedicated entrepreneurial programmes to address the challenge of embedding sustainable entrepreneurship across the curriculum in discipline specific degree programmes. See the summary of the ICA-Edu Colloquium 2019 as preparation for this session. |
| 11.15 | Report Back from group discussions |
| 11.45 | Closure |
SESSION 2 Thursday 27 May 9.00 - 12.30 CET
The role and implementation of Student Innovation Hubs
Keywords: What are the criteria for the success of a student incubator hub– proof of principle, proof of concept and customer validation. Students IPR. Credits for students. Involvement of Faculty
Chair: Carsten Nico Hjortsø, Associate Professor, Unit of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen
| 9.00 | Welcome and Introduction to the Session |
| 9.10 |
Virtual visit to the SCIENCE Innovation Hub - a student startup incubator at the University of Copenhagen Keynote: Science Innovation HUB An introduction to working with curricular and extra-curricular programs. The virtual visit will focus on the continuing effort of introducing entrepreneurship into the curricula, with special emphasis on the project oriented courses at the Faculty of SCIENCE. Subsequently two students, Liam Joseph McGill and Hjalte Jørgensen, from startups will tell about their experiences and how they feel the University of Copenhagen helps develop their entrepreneurial competencies. |
| 10.00 |
Keynote: DTU Skylab – Lessons learned from building an innovation hub |
| 10.20 |
Keynote: The evolution of the StartHub Wageningen |
| 10.40 | Coffee break |
| 11.00 | Roundtable discussions groups (Zoom breakout rooms) |
| 11.45 | Report Back from group discussions |
| 12.30 | Closure |
SESSION 3 Friday 28 May 9.00 - 12.00 CET
Approaches to validating the success in developing my students' entrepreneurial competences.
Keywords: Reflection on my success in developing my students' entrepreneurial competences. Alternative forms of assessment to measure my students' entrepreneurial sustainable competences. Developing students' capacity to reflect on their achievements and develop actions for further development of those skills.
Chair: Marije Lesterhuis, Comproved/ University of Antwerp, Antwerp, BE
| 9.00 | Welcome and Introduction to the Session |
| 9.10 | Keynote: Comparative judgement: an alternative approach for the assessment of students' entrepreneurial competences Marije Lesterhuis, Comproved/ University of Antwerp, Antwerp, BE |
| 9.30 | Keynote: Retrospective pretest-posttests as reflection exercises Kåre Moberg, The Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Odense, DK |
| 9.50 | Keynote: Capturing the development of entrepreneurial competence: practical experiences from situational judgment tests and storyline approaches Thomas Lans, Senior Manager Research, National Centre of Expertise in Vocational Education and Training in the Netherlands (ECBO), 's-Hertogenbosch, NL |
| 10.10 | Coffee Break |
| 10.30 | Roundtable discussions groups (Zoom breakout rooms) |
| 11.15 | Report back from group discussions |
| 11.45 | Closure |
12.00 |
ICA-Edu General Assembly (including elections) |
| 13.30 | Closure of the ICA-Edu General Assembly |
See the Action Summary of the Outcomes of the Colloquium
- 2019 ICA Rectors & Deans Forum Detailed Programme 2019
- Dr Christian Patermann
- 2018 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum programme
- ICA-Edu Colloquium 2019 Progarmme
- 2017 ICA Forum Programme & Presentations
- 2016 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum Programme
- 2016 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum Themes
- 2915 ICA Forum - programme & presentations
- 2017 ICA-Edu Colloquium: Programme & Presentations
- 2014 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum - Detailed Programme & Presentations
- 2013 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum - Programme & Presentations
- 2012 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum presentations
- 2012 Educating the Net Generation in the Life Sciences (ICA-Edu)
- 2014 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum - outline programme
- Colloquium Programme
- 2011 ICA Rectors and Deans Forum presentations
- 2011 ICA Forum Roundtable Discussion Issues