The Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences is a partner of the new Erasmus + project called Participatory and Integrative Support for Agricultural Initiative (PISAI), whose main coordinator is Professor Chutima Tantikitti of the Prince of Songkla University (Thailand). The project, with a budget of nearly nine hundred thousand euros, is focused on preparing a joint double-degree Master's program in sustainable agriculture to be implemented at four major Thai universities (Prince of Songkla, Kasetsart University, Chiang Mai University and Khon Kaen University). This study program will be enriched by 4 training modules (3-week field practice exercises) under the leadership of European project partners (Agrinatura, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Montpellier SupAgro, University of Helsinki, University of Copenhagen).
The Kick of meeting of the project took place at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand in January 2018 and was attended by Vice-Deans from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences Petra Chaloupková, Ph.D. (Intrnational Relations) and Olga Leuner, Ph.D. (Science and research).
Summer School "Value chain management" in Thailand 2019
This year, CZU students had another opportunity to attend the 2nd Summer School in Thailand for the MODULE 1 of this project on the topic of Value Chain Management, thanks to the cooperation of this project. The summer school lasted for three weeks, from 7 to 28 August at Chinag Mai University in northern Thailand. There were seven students from CZU and 12 students from four Thai universities (Chiang Mai University, Prince of Songkla University, Kasetsart University, and Khon Kaen University). From the CZU side, the organization and tuition were provided by Ing. Petra Chaloupková (Deputy Director for International Relations) and Ing. Olga Leuner (Vice-Dean for Science, Research and Doctoral Study) from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences.
The aims of the summer school were to introduce the basic concepts of Value Chain Management to the students; teaching the principles of agricultural production in Thailand. Moreover, students could get deep insight about the situation on the local market related to agricultural production throughout on-site excursion rather than just theorical knowledge. Hence, there were also the marketing research which connected lectures about data collection method, research methods, data processing with the real field work practice by going to the local market with survey questionnaires to collect data related to their topics (mango, banana, jasmine rice, and garlic). Some examples of the excursion sites were Cooperative farm, Royal project distribution centre, and some local markets in Chiang Mai.
Aside from scientific knowledge such as how to collect the literature reviews; how to make research design; how to analyse the data and interpret the results; preparing report and scientific writing; scientific presentation etc., international team building is one of the main purposes of this program. Therefore, students were assigned to do group work such as data collection and presentation regarding to their topics in order to share their ideas and knowledges as well as creating international bonding.
Summer School "Value chain management" in Thailand 2018
For the first time, students of CZU had the opportunity to take part in Summer School in Thailand thanks to cooperation under the Erasmus + PISAI (Participatory and Integrative Support for Agricultural Initiative) project. The three-week summer school took place from 8th to 28th August at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand and was attended by six students from the CZU, one student from the University of Helsinki, and 16 students from four Thai universities (Prince of Songkla University, Chiang Mai University, Kasetsart University and Khon Kaen University). On behalf of the CZU, organization and teaching were provided under the guidance of Dr. Petra Chaloupkova and Dr. Olga Leuner from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences and Dr. Miloslav Petrtyl for FAPPZ.
Summer School topic was focused on Value chain management, and students first learned about the aspects of agricultural production in Thailand, the situation on the local market, what are the ways of searching data, methods of research and data processing. During the excursions, they had the opportunity to get to know the local agricultural farms, local markets, processing enterprises focused mainly on the production of fruit and vegetables. At the same time, the students in the working groups processed a study on the selected product (rice, chilli, durian, tomatoes, melon), which they presented and defended before the international team. The activities during the summer school were mainly focused on working with international teams and gaining practical experience in the field.
Here you can see photos and blog from one of our student - Aleksandra Kaleová.
And HERE you can watch the video about PISAI project.
