University Studies of Agricultural
Engineering in Europe (USAEE)

Thematic Network

The thematic network USAEE - University Studies of Agricultural Engineering in Europe, has been organised in the framework of the Erasmus programme of the EU, Directorate-General Education and Culture. It has completed its three years duration and is now running the dissemination year. Twenty-seven countries with thirty-one Institutions participate in this common effort. Various synergies have been established so as to support the goals of the Thematic Network.

Goals
The basic goal in this network is the development of basic core curricula in Agricultural Engineering recognised by FEANI and by EurAgEng at a European level. The establishment of a benchmark serves the purpose of determining a set of criteria/requirements against which any curriculum can be tested and decided whether or not it meets the criteria for its admission as a programme of Agricultural Engineering studies in Europe.

Events
The first workshop of the network took place in Madrid at the end of March 2003 and was devoted to the presentation of the Current structure of European University Studies in Agricultural Engineering. Various questionnaires were developed to assist the participants gather the information they need.

The second workshop took place in Palermo on 26-29 September 2003 and was devoted to the presentation of Research Activities in European University Institutes of Agricultural Engineering. A full report and further information appears in the third newsletter, available as a pdf download Newsletter no 3.

The third workshop took place on 26-28 March 2004 in Dijon, Paris and was devoted to a Review of the ECTS System. A report on this workshop and future plans can be downloaded as a pdf file in Newsletter no 4.

The fourth workshop took place on 17-18 September 2004 in Leuven, Belgium and was devoted to the presentation concerning the Agricultural Sciences core curricula in Agricultural Engineering University Studies. A full report and further information appears in the fifth newsletter, available as a pdf download. Newsletter no 5.

The fifth workshop took place on 8-9 April 2005 in Dresden, Germany and was devoted to the presentation concerning the Accreditation of Agricultural Engineering University Studies. A report on this workshop and future plans can be downloaded as a pdf file in Newsletter no 6.

The sixth workshop took place on 19-20 September 2005 in Budapest, Hungary and was devoted to the presentation concerning the Agricultural Engineering programmes meeting the FEANI and EurAgEng criteria.


Following the completion of the three years for the USAEE TN, a dissemination is needed to disseminate widely and exploit the important for the Agricultural / Biosystems studies in Europe project results.

The 7th workshop took place on 1-2 April 2006 in Vilnius, Lithuania and was devoted to the presentation concerning the Restructuring Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering studies and employability in Europe. The full proceedings and the minutes of this workshop can be downloaded by clicking in the boxes on the right.


The final workshop, the 8th Workshop, took place on 7-8 September 2006 at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Bonn, Germany. It was devoted to presentations concerning the Tools for Quality Assurance and Assessment of Agricultural Engineering programmes, TUNING templates and Disappearing rare knowledge. The minutes and proceedings are available by clicking in the boxes on the right.

More Information
To download the Workshop Proceedngs, Newsletters, the proposed Core Curriculum and the Deliverables, all in pdf format, click on the links in the box on the right.