Interdisziplinäre Lehre: Meeting Global Challenges
Is our agriculture fit for grandchildren?
Agricultural systems today and their shape of tomorrow
Academic Responsibility
Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andreas Schäffer
Chair of Environmental Biology and Chemodynamics
RWTH Aachen
Website
Contact Person
Oliver Reisen M.Sc.
Schedulue
Start
03.04.2023
Time
Monday, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Place
Hauptgebäude | Room I
Contents
What would you like to eat tomorrow? A fairly simple question at first, but one that becomes immensely complex as soon as we start to look at the production of our food, i.e. agriculture. The course aims to show the often underestimated relevance of agriculture for society as well as current global problems such as the climate crisis. To this end, current agricultural policy will be examined, both in Germany and in the European Union. In addition, the role of farmers, large institutions such as the NRW Chamber of Agriculture and the influence of lobbying on agricultural policy will be illustrated. An insight into the future of sustainable agriculture can be provided by already applicable concepts such as aquaponics and vertical farming. Much more than that, these new technological concepts can also create opportunities for social change. For this purpose, space use concepts for urban production will be presented that can awaken sustainable action and understanding of consumption, but also generate community.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to…
- … understand the historical role of agriculture and assess its influence on European ecosystems and society.
- … weigh up and reflect on the positions of farmers in the current transformation of agriculture.
- … critically analyse the political and legal framework conditions (e.g. EU Green Deal) for the transformation of agriculture.
- …to evaluate future concepts of food production of tomorrow, purely technologically as well as through social restructuring, and to assess their applicability for different habitats.
Program
03.04.2023
General organisational meeting
17.04.2023
Global pollution by pesticides and further chemicals: impact and consequences
Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andreas Schäffer
Chair of Environmental Biology and Chemodynamics, RWTH Aachen
24.04.2023
Agrarian (R)evolutions: On the history and present of the agricultural question
Dr. Juri Auderset
Lecturer for the History of the 19th and 20th century, University of Bern
08.05.2023
Visions and Implementation Strategies of a Sustainable Transformation?
Dr. Raphaela Kell
Institute of Political Science, RWTH Aachen
22.05.2023
Organizational structure of agricultural administration at federal and state level and current challenges for agriculture
Lara Ergezinger
Head of the departements Aachen, Düren and Euskirchen, North Rhine Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture
05.06.2023
Panel discussion “Is our agriculture fit for grandchildren?”
19.06.2023
Closed, circular agricultural systems of the future
Hon. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Schillberg
Department of Phytopathology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
03.07.2023
Tomorrow’s agriculture – How can we feed everyone?
Valentin Thurn
Freelance journalist
10.07.2023
Obstacles and potentials of urban agriculture in the context of urban production
Kerstin Meyer
Institute for Work and Technology
Procedure/Working method
Depending on the course of studies, module and examination, credit points can be achieved through participation. If you would like to take an exam, please make sure beforehand how you can get credit for it in your degree program. Of course, you can also take exams without receiving curricular credit for them. Visit our FAQs for more information.
In the following you will find all exams offered in this course. If you register the examination in RWTHonline, you will also find the assignment to the designations displayed in RWTHonline here:
Certificate/Examination | RWTHonline |
|---|---|
Certificate of Participation (0 CP, not graded) | - |
Protocol with critical analysis (2 CP, not graded) | Project "Leonardo": Protocol with Analysis |
Term Paper (4 CP) | Project "Leonardo": Study Paper |
