Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

OFINU Consortium is led by the Grantholder - Latvian University of Natural Sciences and Technologies. Also in the project are participating except of SUA; Andijan Institute of Agriculture and Agrotechnologies; Samarkand Agricultural Innovation and Research University; Andijan Institute of Agriculture and Agrotechnologies; Tajikistan University of Technology; Isfara Branch of Technological University of Tajikistan; Kulob University of Technology and Innovative Management, a total of 7 higher educational institutions.

The project aims to develop and implement in the involved Central Asia universities (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) a new innovative form of studies in which teaching and learning takes place in a modular format and in which together with full-time students participate external learners - listeners to study modules - people, having intention to acquire food processing related knowledge and/or to acquire higher education. For example, specialists in food processing industries or those who wish to become specialists can use these educational services. To this end, a legal basis will be created and strengthened, study modules developed, academic staff of partners trained, and the material base, needed for studies, developed. External learners will participate in certain modules together with full-time students, thus obtaining the credits determined for each module after completion of the training, acquiring the necessary knowledge, as well as gradually accumulating credits that allow the acquisition of a higher education diploma. This approach will enable people who have already entered the labour market to learn, increase their competitiveness in the labour market, as well as to increase the employment potential of students studying full-time programmes.

Significant role in the project is given to the associated partners – five food processing enterprises and one business association, who will participate in the new study modules designing process, will take part in their validation, and will delegate staff to take part in the piloting.

The OFINU project will be implemented from February 2024 to January 2027 and will serve to further improve the institute's national and international rating indicators by increasing the quality of education. For SPU, the responsible researcher is prof. Ing. Miroslava Kačániová, PhD, and the project administrator is Ing. Natália Čmiková. Teachers from FZKI and FBP will participate in the preparation of individual modules. Nine university teachers from the fields of fruit and vegetable growing, food management and academic writing are involved.