MUA301 Urban Agriculture – Strategy and Action Plans – Transdisciplinary Collaboration Groups

This advanced course will provide students with insight and understanding of how we can use the national strategies for urban agriculture and circular economy, which was launched in spring 2021, to help municipalities, counties and private companies to create their own strategy - and action plans. The students will build on insights and "tools" from MUA300, ie. what role urban agriculture can play in relation to sustainable urban development in the broadest sense - both socially, environmentally and economically. In this context, urban agriculture encompasses everything from professional and industrial growing, to neighborhood gardens for growing in balcony boxes and mini greenhouses on the windowsill. The course is case-based and current issues will change from year to year.

The course is based on work in interdisciplinary groups. The groups will collaborate with "clients" outside the university and thereby establish and develop transdisciplinary groups. These groups will jointly define, concretize and solve specific tasks/projects within urban agriculture.

Course content will comprise of three integrated processes: project within urban agriculture, group processes/cooperation, through further development of the "toolbox" . The project work will include the preparation of strategy plans for urban agriculture in their organization/municipality/county respectively. Process work/collaboration will include reflection and learning, related to team work and what kind of prerequisites and challenges that might be associated with this. Use/further development of the «toolbox» will include introduction to several «tools», that may be relevant in relation to different types of cases. It will also be relevant to look at adaptation and further development of various "tools".

KNOWLEDGE:

• The student will have in-depth knowledge of the national strategies for urban agriculture and circular economy prepared/developed by the government and launched in spring 2021
• The student can account for competence in basic group theory, and prerequisites for good collaboration across subjects, and with external "clients" when making strategy and action plans
• The student will be aware of how their own and others' behavioral pattern affect interaction
• The student has acquired concepts from other disciplines than their own and from strategic planning work

SKILLS

• The student can use their field of study, and interact and communicate with professionals in other disciplines/fields and use their expressions in a correct way
• The student can reflect on their collaboration, and analyze how the group communicates, plans, decides, solves tasks, handles disagreements and relates to academic, social and personal challenges
• The student is able to set common goals to find the best solution for specific problems/assignments
• The student can use suitable tools to solve the tasks
• The student can present sketches for strategy and action plans along the way and discuss with the "client"

GENERAL COMPETENCE

• The student can cooperate with other disciplines than their own fields of study
• The student will have become aware of what their own competence may bring to an interdisciplinary group, and in collaboration with external "clients"
• The student can interact in interdisciplinary groups to make strategic plans
• The student can use project management tools and lead projects
• The student can make oral and written presentations of the assignments
• The student can give constructive feedback to the individual team members, to the team as a whole, and reflect on constructive feedback from the group