In a context of transition to sustainable production and consumption patterns, Senegal has chosen the path of agroecology through the "Green Emerging Senegal Plan" and the support to the "Dynamics for an Agro-Ecological Transition in Senegal (DyTAES)". Universities and higher education institutions still need to adapt their teaching to these new challenges and to the emerging demands of socio-economic actors (companies, professional organizations, NGOs) in the agricultural sector. The PETTAL project follows a partnership initiated since 2014 between USSEIN and the Agro Institute. It is the result of a process of co-construction and gradual maturation that mobilized the consortium partners (USSEIN, Institut Agro, AgroSup Dijon, Polytech Montpellier, Agreenium, CIRAD, IRD) but also associated partners in Senegal (socio-economic actors, ISRA, ITA, ENSA Thiès, ESP-UCAD) and in France (UNESCO Chair Alimentations du Monde, DigitAg Convergence Institute, IFRIA). The project consortium has been set up with a view to complementing skills and providing a sufficiently large pool of experts to treat all the issues addressed. At the heart of the project is the strengthening of the LMD training offer around the theme of "Agroecology and sustainable food". In this respect, five existing professionalizing bachelor's degrees at the USSEIN, related to the theme, will be supported to strengthen their professionalization, develop entrepreneurship among students, support and monitor the professional integration of graduates. The development of work-study program in L3 will be tested. An integrative and interdisciplinary master's degree in "Agroecology and sustainable food" will be created jointly, with an approach focused on skills and taking into account the expectations of professional sectors. Double degrees will be set up between this master's degree and the Master 3A of the Agro Institute. The project also plans to create new doctoral programs in conjunction with the universities of Thiès and Dakar. Co-supervision and CIFRE-type theses will be financed and will strengthen the link with research and professional partners. A "University-Territories-Companies" system closely associating the socio-economic actors of the territories will be set up to consolidate their involvement in the teaching and to develop short training courses leading to qualifications. It will contribute to increasing the attractiveness of agricultural professions. This system will also help students to develop their professional projects and, if necessary, create businesses through a network of incubators that will be developed to complement similar existing systems. Finally, it will ensure the follow-up of alumni by contributing to the strengthening of the link with the companies they have created. The development of pedagogical initiatives and digital tools within the USSEIN will allow the functions of a digital campus to evolve in order to better collaborate with the various target audiences and better disseminate the university's productions. In terms of gender equality and social equity, the project relies on the involvement of the University authorities and on student initiatives. It proposes targeted actions for young women and vulnerable people to improve their retention in training and facilitate their professional integration. It aims to achieve parity in the number of students in training. The results of the project will be capitalized and disseminated at the national and sub-regional levels. The management methods are based on a quality approach and are part of a shared governance and in full transparency with all partners associated with the project.

With a burgeoning population across Africa, characterized by a significant youth demographic, the challenge of youth unemployment persists, exacerbated by limited opportunities in the formal sector. The informal economy absorbs the majority of new entrants, offering precarious and low-quality jobs. In response, the STREAMING project aims to develop strategies for fair, healthy, and environmentally sustainable food systems across the continent. By fostering connections between basic research and practical implementation, STREAMING seeks to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among various target groups, including women, researchers, students, and farmers. Through networking platforms, innovation hubs, startup scouting, and training programs, the project aims to bridge academia-industry gaps and promote the adoption of sustainable practices and technologies in African food trade systems. Additionally, with a focus on policy analysis and recommendation, STREAMING aims to inform trade policies in Africa and Europe, with an emphasis on removing non-tariff barriers to trade and enhancing resilience against external challenges such as climate change. By integrating stakeholder perspectives, empirical research, and innovative solutions, STREAMING strives to contribute to the establishment of fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly food systems continent-wide.

"The Project ""Skilling VET ecosystem: enhance enabled environments for private and public VET key actors"" aims to foster the transition of VET to emerging local labour market and to boost employability of vulnerable youth and women as a key to prevent illegal migration in Ghana and SenegalThe target countries are Ghana and Senegal. The 2 Countries have VET and employment as a priority in their development agendas and, in the recent years, have identified the shared development of employability oriented integrated services, led by empowered VET clusters of key actors in strategic green sectors (organic agriculture, solar energy) as keys to boost sustainable processes of local development, and, finally, as a core pillar to prevent and tackle irregular migration. Our consortium is made up by an already rooted European & African partnership of VET Providers (in Europe LUOVI, CNOS-FAP, in Ghana & Senegal DBYN, ADAFO and Db Tech Africa), NGOs (in Europe VIS and MUNDUS), University, research and business development Centres (in Ghana & Senegal the University of Kaolack, BRC) which have already set up VET platforms and are already working in the two Countries to co-design comprehensive schemes of capacity development and capacity building.The project will move from effective proved methods, practices and pilots, South-South and triangular cooperation schemes, key VET areas (WBL, school to work transition, job service offices, greening TVET paths, business-TVET clusters, Quality VET service) in order to reach the following objectives: Increase employability supporting a stronger alignment of VET to emerging local labour market opportunities;Increase the technical, managerial capacity and pedagogical skills of VET providers especially in the fields of management, quality assurance, innovation and inclusion;Improve the level of competences, skills and employability potential of VET learners by developing new and innovative VET programmes and integrated services."

Boosting Agricultural Studies in Sub-Sahara AfricaAccording to numerous authors, agriculture and farming are a major source of livelihood in the countries of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), contributing between 15 % and 40 % of the gross domestic product, providing livelihood for over 70% of SSA population through family farming and employing at least 34% of the active workforce with its potential heavily underexploited. One of the reasons are poor connections between tertiary education as the knowledge base and immediate agricultural producers (farms). Furthermore, according to various authors, gender is an important factor in understanding every aspect of agricultural and rural development in SSA. Women are essential to agricultural production but they lack adequate access to land and inputs, they tend to be excluded from decision-making and have less chances of accessing tertiary education, along with so many poverty-stricken individuals coming from remote areas.BASIS addresses the aforementioned issues by introducing interventions in higher education curricula towards a more field-based and competence-oriented knowledge and skills highly valued at the labour market. This will establish lasting and systemic exchange between the tertiary education and smallholder farmers in SSA. Likewise, BASIS introduces mechanisms and measures to increase access to tertiary education for women and poverty-stricken individuals from remote areas, and provide them with more equitable chances of employment and growth. Project outcomes will create opportunities for further innovation and modernization of higher education and agricultural production in SSA, equipping higher education institutions, their staff and students with different social and economic background, as well as smallholders in remote rural areas with essential mechanisms for sustainable advancement and growth.