About the Project

Project Objective

To establish and implement a sustainable Jean Monnet Module in European Studies that will provide the target groups with a practical understanding of EU policies in the field of land governance and of the potential for applying European approaches to agroforestry restoration and the rehabilitation of degraded agricultural landscapes in Ukraine.

Key Objectives

1. To strengthen the teaching and learning of European Union-related topics through the interdisciplinary course “SUSTAINABLE AGROFORESTRY: EU BEST PRACTICES”, as well as through Winter Schools, Summer Schools, and Certified Courses.
2. To integrate EU policies on land resources, forests, biodiversity, climate, and ecosystem restoration into the education and training of students and professionals, with a particular focus on practical mechanisms for policy implementation, monitoring, and application.
3. To broaden access to knowledge about the European Union for audiences that are traditionally less engaged in European Studies, including students in natural sciences and agricultural disciplines, young people, farmers, representatives of local communities, civil society organisations, forestry professionals, and environmental inspection staff.
4. To strengthen dialogue between the university and society through roundtables, policy labs, and other formats of interaction involving researchers, students, public authorities, practitioners, and the wider public.
5. To create and disseminate practice-oriented knowledge through Open Educational Resources (OER), analytical materials, policy briefs, methodological guidelines, teaching materials, and scientific publications.
6. To raise awareness of EU policies, values, and practices, particularly in the context of Ukraine’s European integration, land restoration, climate change, and biodiversity conservation.
7. To ensure the long-term sustainability of project results, in particular by integrating the course into the educational process of Sumy National Agrarian University and maintaining open access to the materials developed after the end of project funding.

Main Project Activities

Over the 36-month implementation period, EU-LANDLINK will carry out a set of interconnected educational, research, and communication activities:
– 3 cycles of the interdisciplinary course “SUSTAINABLE AGROFORESTRY: EU BEST PRACTICES”;
– 3 Winter Schools;
– 2 Summer Schools;
– 2 Certified Courses;
– at least 6 roundtables involving university representatives, farmers, local authorities, civil society, forestry professionals, and environmental inspection staff;
– research activities focusing on EU policies, agroforestry, climate change adaptation, protective forest plantations, sustainable land management, and the restoration of degraded agricultural landscapes;
– development of Open Educational Resources (OER);
– preparation of analytical and methodological materials, recommendations, and scientific publications;
– development and maintenance of a bilingual EU-LANDLINK web resource in Ukrainian and English;
– information and outreach activities aimed at promoting European Union policies and values.

Expected Results

As a result of the implementation of EU-LANDLINK, a comprehensive set of educational, research, and communication outputs will be developed, including:
– a complete course on sustainable agroforestry and EU policies;
– curricula, presentations, and methodological materials;
– Open Educational Resources (OER);
– a bilingual EU-LANDLINK web hub;
– at least 6 policy briefs;
– methodological guidelines;
– materials for a practical handbook;
– research results;
– academic publications;
– materials from Winter Schools, Summer Schools, and Certified Courses;
– outcomes of roundtables and stakeholder dialogue;
– information materials for the wider public.

The total planned teaching workload within the Jean Monnet Module amounts to 338 teaching hours over three years.