Context/background of the projectNon communicable diseases (NCDs) take 38 million people’s lives each year worldwide, in Europe NCDs are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) have recognized the importance of nutrition in prevention and treatment of NCDs. Dietitians play an important role in the prevention of NCDs and in patient care of several diseases. For every 1 Euro spent on dietary counselling of patients suffering from obesity or obesity-related diseases, society receives a net of 14 to 63 Euro in return. Health professionals need to be trained to use new technologies as well as to provide innovative means of health care aimed at improving patient care. To improve the quality and relevance of dietetic Bachelor programs in Europe, the Strategic Partnership IMPECD (Improvement of Education and Competences in Dietetics) has been formed in 2015. Dietetics is a relatively young discipline at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Europe and differences in curriculum and thus education still exist. Thus implementation of international research projects, comparability of project results, agreement of the most efficient therapies and cross border mobility for professionals is difficult. Moreover, there is a substantial need for innovative learning materials. Different learning materials for the training of the various Dietetic Care Processes (DCP) are available, but unfortunately none use an innovative learning approach or are free for use. ObjectivesThrough an innovative Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), based on a unified framework DCP, students are trained for dietetic practice based on clinical case studies as well as they train transversal skills like clinical reasoning, problem solving, collaborative and interdisciplinary working. The project will be a role model for Europe and other HEIs will be encouraged to implement the unified framework DCP and the MOOC. IMPECD addresses also the Education and Training 2020 strategy of the EU.Number and profile of participating organisationsThis Strategic Partnership is composed of following five European institutions of higher education (HEI): •Artesis Plantijn University College, Antwerp (Belgium)•Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen (The Netherlands)•University of Applied Sciences, Fulda (Germany)•University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg (Germany) •University of Applied Sciences, St. Pölten (Austria)Important stakeholders like the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) and the National Associations of Dietitians in Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands support the project as experts in the Sustainability and Impact Board (SIB).Description of undertaken main activitiesThe project IMPECD aimed at the IMProvement of Education and Competences in Dietetics by following activities:•creation of a unified framework DCP •production of a MOOC, free for use •creation of nine instead of five complex clinical cases that students are solving in the MOOC by following the DCP (after positive approved amendmentin 2017)•implementation of two Intensive Study Programmes (ISP) to test the MOOC and evaluate the materials•development of a syllabus and implementation guidelines to strengthen the sustained implementation at the partner HEIs and to disseminate the results Results and impact attainedAll activities mentioned in the project application were reached. Based on in-depth analysis a unified framework DCP was created and evaluated by teachers and students as a basis for the development of in total nine clinical cases instead of five. A guideline for developing clinical cases was produced, and the MOOC was embedded in the IMPECD-platform (www.impecd.eu). Furthermore, pedagogical training materials were developed to present the clinical cases in the MOOC. A syllabus was compiled as a guideline to implement the MOOC within the curriculum of other European HEIs. To disseminate the results as a role model for Europe, three implementation guidelines were published as a discussion basis for the stakeholders in form of international journal articles. In total 40 national and international dissemination activities were conducted. These results supported the development of a European unified framework DCP and the discussions about the implementation of a standardized language in the field of dietetics. If relevant, longer-term benefits.•improved quality and relevance of dietetic higher education in Europe•improved key competences including English language, international collaboration, digital competences, knowledge and understanding of dietetics, dietetic care process as well as professional reasoning, building professional relationships and thereby increasing employability•improved Lifelong Learning as basis of excellent dietetic therapy in Europe, which can lead to cost savings in the health care sector.

Social farming (SF) is a way of inclusion within a green environment. Social farmers are farmers that open their farms for vulnerable people. Depending on the client group (CG) social farms can offer work places where people can find a useful day-activity, work rehabilitation and training or place to be in a pleasant green environment. Therefore “Social Farming is an innovative approach that brings together two concepts: multipurpose farming and social services/health care at local level. It makes a contribution in the ambit of agricultural production to the well-being and the social integration of people with particular needs.” (EESC 2012)The way SF is implemented depends mainly on the CG. For instance, older people with dementia will generally be coming to the farm to have a pleasant day activity and the goals may include an improved sense of well-being and quality of life. Meanwhile young people with behavioral problems are possibly looking for possibilities to learn new skills and for experience of being in a pro-social and nurturing environment. People with mental health difficulties or intellectual disabilities might either look for possibilities of doing a meaningful job or alternative forms of therapy available within the farm environment. A refugee might look for work experience and a paid job that he/she is able to do, even if there is a language barrier.Consequently, best practice in including and supporting people in SF varies strongly depending on the CG. SF also brings together disciplines and professions that normally have little in common: agriculture, horticulture, forestry on one side, social work and pedagogy on the other side. This project considers higher education (HE) as a tool for improving SF and thereby empowering rural areas and including people with special needs all over Europe. While a growing number of the HE Institutions throughout Europe have discovered SF as a concept and a valuable initiative, no teaching material about CG specific knowledge in SF is currently available. This project wants to fill this gap and aims to further develop and deepen HE about SF by focusing on CGs, their needs and the way of knowledge transfer to future social farmers.What are the needs of CGs like the elderly, refugees, youth with special needs, people suffering from addiction and other mental health issues, offenders or a person with an intellectual disability? How can a farm and farming activities be helpful in meeting various needs? What do farmers, social workers/pedagogues, case managers and other stakeholders need to pay attention to? How can farmers use the farm environment in the optimal way to stimulate the development of CGs?To answer these questions and to implement them into teaching material for HE, is the core mission of this project. To realize this task, interviews with representatives of all CGs will be conducted. From within the countries involved, key services will be asked to contribute with their knowledge and experience, including: services who work with people with intellectual disabilities or with mental health difficulties; youth services; associations of senior citizens or services working with older people; other relevant social service providers; and experienced social farmers. In addition to this, members of the consortium will undertake participatory observation at social farms. Therefore, the development of teaching material will be based on practical experience from working on the farm together with the farmer and people with special needs.The teaching material will give an overview on the most important CGs in SF and describe how SF can support each group in a more nuanced and targeted way than has been available heretofore. Methods of social work and social pedagogy will be further developed to methods usable in farming. Vice versa farming activities will be transferred to client appropriate activities. In addition, this project wants to go one step further by “translating” this academic material into a simpler handbook and online tool for farmers who would like to make their farm a place of inclusion or for social workers who are looking for ways of using farming as a tool of social work or pedagogy. These materials will not use academic language, but will instead use everyday language and provide short and easy to use guides which can act as an ongoing and accessible resource for practitioners - farmers and social workers. A mixed partnership is the recipe for connecting higher education with consultation of practitioners. In this project, HE institutions (coming either from the field of agriculture or social work) and SF associations (that take a stand for SF as well as the demands of farmers and people with special needs) have teamed up:Thüringer Ökoherz e.V., coordinator (DE) University of Applied Science Neubrandenburg (DE)University of South Bohemia (CZ)Jabok Academy (CZ)Social Farming Ireland (IE)Dutch Federation of Care Farmers (NL)

Not applicable.