The project aims at building the capacities of higher education institutions in Western Balkans countries, in order to help them offer curricula aligned with the needs of the labour market and society. The objective of the project is the development and the implementation of a new Joint MSc programme on “Sustainable Food Production Systems” (STEPS), which will be linked with the national – and regional – priorities of the countries involved.

The scope of the preparatory tasks is to analyse the needs of stakeholders, the structure and the content of relevant MSc programmes at national, European and international level, and identify and analyse “best practices” on the links of education with the world of work, national strategies and rural societies. The objective is to meet stakeholders’ needs through the development of scientific background and competencies of graduates. The STEPS programme will be a blend of courses on engineering, management, economic and social sciences, structured according to the Bologna convention.

Courses will be designed and developed based on modern educational methodologies and ICT tools. Seminars will be organised for transferring and exchanging knowledge between peers, aiming at improving the quality of education offered by HEIs and also, their capacity to innovate and increase their participation in European and international projects. The joint degree programme will be applied for accreditation in the national authorities and agencies. The programme will be delivered, monitored and evaluated, based on standards and guidelines of the European Higher Education Area. A dissemination campaign will focus on raising the awareness of project results and exploitation tasks will be devoted to ensure their sustainability after the project lifetime. Coherent management with transparent processes and responsibilities clear decision-making and conflict resolution procedures will ensure the successive implementation of the project.