Are you keen to contribute to sustainable and future proof agriculture? And are you interested in how smart technology can be implemented in agricultural settings? Then this minor is for you. High Tech Agrosystems: a minor for a better tomorrow!

About the programme:

The agricultural sector has radically changed over the years. Advanced machinery, expanded scale and higher productivity of equipment have made cultivation more efficient. Yields have increased in various sectors, from dairy farms to greenhouses. Smart technologies like robotics, vision techniques and machine learning help us to further increase yields and improve efficiency.

The agricultural sector is focusing on more than yield and efficiency alone. Sustainability is becoming ever more important. A healthy soil, for example, is the foundation for ecological stability and, therefore, sustainable crop production. Improved knowledge of animal behaviour and health status can improve their wellbeing. Sustainable innovations can also benefit nature’s biodiversity, which is under high pressure from intensive agriculture and climate change. Artificial intelligence and smart technologies can help us tackle challenges likes these and offer many opportunities to make the world a healthier and more sustainable place.

In this minor we will link both fields of expertise. We will collaborate on real-life challenges in the agricultural and environmental sector to increase sustainability, aided by technology.

You will collaborate with students and lecturers from two universities: HAS green academy & Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Students of both universities will learn from each other’s expertise, learn together and develop their professionalism with up-to-date knowledge, expertise and skills in line with current technological developments in the agricultural and environmental sector.

Students, lecturers and partners from the agricultural and technological sector will actively contribute to real-life innovations in a multidisciplinary group project. Practice-based applied research is combined with literature study, stakeholder conversations and application of techniques in developing prototypes. Every student will also work on individual research to deepen their knowledge on a topic of their choice. This individual research is based on the student’s intended future job or education, and focuses on content (biology and technology applied in the agricultural or environmental sector), skills and attitude. To support their individual research performance, the student will be coached by lecturers (HAS & Fontys) and meet professionals from the sector during guest lectures and excursions. The student can proactively ask for guidance from the broad expert panel of HAS and Fontys Universities of Applied Sciences and the partners from the sector, to arrive at a theoretical profound answer to their research question.  

So, are you curious about how we can

use vocalization technology in measuring animal welfare?

use virtual plant modelling for harvesting in green houses?

use drones in damage estimation of wild animals in arable farming?

use vision technique to optimize training sessions in horses?

use deep learning in recognizing nutrient deficiency in crops?

and many other questions?

Then High Tech Agrosystems is the minor for you!

• The student knows the agricultural sector from a biological and technological point of view;

• The student knows how to measure certain parameters in plants and/or animals and how to regulate the environment in order to influence the growth process and/or behaviour;

• The student has made the link between in-depth theoretical technical knowledge and the agri-food practice and is able to advise clients on the use and application of techniques in the agri-food sector based on experiments, research and prototypes.

60 credits in the first academic year, 40 credits in the second academic year

There is no obligation to purchase additional literature within the Minor Program. Open access sources may be shared by the team of lecturers.

The minor implies a full time study program with a duration of 20 weeks (30 ECTS), which can be done in the second semester at HAS green academy and Fontys University of Applied Sciences, both located in Venlo, the Netherlands. Contact educational activities are organised at the universities two days a week. A combination of live meetings at the universities and online meetings is common. All students are expected to join in these activities. For the remaining three days a week, students independently work on the group project or their individual research.

Students cooperate as a group in a project concerning a real-life challenge. This project results in a plan of action and report which are summatively validated. Furthermore, the results of the individual research into a topic of students' individual choosing are validated with a portfolio and an oral assessment. During the entire minor, the professional attitude is validated as well.

The minor is related to Fontys-Minor 'A-systems; High Tech Agricultural Solutions'. Collaboration with HAS green academy will only take place in the second semester.