Contents of the action

TRIGGER is designed as a set of curriculum development, teaching & learning, research and dissemination activities, which are complementary and mutually supporting each other in order to deliver the project objectives.

Сurriculum development, teaching and learning is the core project activity, with research and dissemination activities designed primarily to support it.

TRIGGER brings forward 2 disciplines for MSc students cumulatively worth 92 in-class hours and 8 ECTS. Each discipline will be accompanied by a full suite of e-learning materials available through the EMU e-learning systems (moodle-based). All the disciplines will be taught in English. The faculty will represent a mix of academics with outstanding research and teaching track-record in course topics, and representative of the praxis, e.g. business, consulting or policy work. While each of the disciplines will primarily target student in one MSc program, they also will be available for other EMU and University of Tartu students to enroll. The following disciplines will developed:

1. The EU Green Deal: (60 hours / 5 ECTS, 21 students annually; MSc Program Environmental Governance and Adaptation to Climate Change (international)); the course is designed to explain intertaional students the EU policy framework, the role and position of the EGD in it, the purpose, ambition and objectives of the EGD, and the key policies developed or evolving under the EGD (including the discussions on their implementation and transferability outside the EU, and on the external dimension of the EGD). The following EGD actions will be discussed in particular - Climate; Environment and oceans; Energy; Transport; Industry; Agriculture; Finance and regional development; Research and innovation; the EU's biodiversity strategy for 2030 will be discussed in relation to the EGD as well. This discipline will include individual assignments based on Estonian data and comparative cases from relevant contexts of students’ home countries;
    
2. EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy (32 hours / 3 ECTS, 33 students, MSc program in Environmental Management and Policy) will explore the options and design for/of sustainable and climate neutral food systems under the EGD. The discipline will provide institutional context for this policy and discuss all of its components – sustainable food production, processing and distribution, consumption as well as food loss and waste prevention. The discipline will include a group assignment based on the Estonian context and calling to design a specific solutions aimed to mitigate climate change, reverse biodiversity loss or reduce other environmental impacts, based on the knowledge of applicable EU and national instruments or for the transfer of best practices to a foreign context. To highlight and promote the TRIGGER educational offer, and to disseminate knowledge on the EGD implementation, the project team will produce (by month 25) 6 online open-access modules (videolectures, self-control questions, literature suggestions and www links) covering the EGD in general, specific options for climate-neutral sectors, and the EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy. The specific scope and titles of the modules will be decided on by the end of the project year 1, based on the curriculum development and teaching experience.
   The research program will collect data about and critically reflect upon EGD policy instruments in Estonian context, and their transferability in non-EU contexts. It will start with field research (interviews, assessment of ecosystem quality) within the year 1 then complemented with desk research. The second round of field work will be run on the Year 2 in order to fill the gaps in evidence identified during desk studies, and also to enhance case studies on application of EU policies or innovation and to collect visuals for the TRIGGER’s curriculum. The first outcomes of the TRIGGER’s research will be discussed with stakeholder and academic communities at the academia-praxis workshop and roundtable (in Estonia or, hopefully in a selected foreign context) early during the Year 3. Based on discussion outcomes, final versions of manuscripts reflecting on the EGD will be submitted to a highly ranking international peer-review journal. Upon acceptance the papers will be further disseminated through dedicated events (expected after the end of the project).
    
3. Project dissemination is embedded in deliverables of blocks (1) and (2) that are dissemination media on its own, such as e-learning materials, open access online modules or an academic paper; the research activities planned in TRIGGER are based on iterative stakeholder consultations and interviews and are also expected to have significant dissemination effect.
   A dedicated event to be organised is an science-policy workshop (early in the Year 3, at least 25 participants) whereby we disseminate the outcomes of our research and present our educational offer; in addition to dissemination objectives, the event will also serve QA purposes, with- a feedback from participants being used for enhancing the outputs. Dedicated dissemination activities further will include setting up a project website containing info on all the project activities, events, plans and deliverables (including the links to e-learning), and a dedicated FB group aiming at networking within the broader project groups, and also at reaching audiences outside academic and professional communities. The project will maintain presence at EMU’s corporate as well as regional circulation media reporting through them on outputs and announcing events. Partner networks (in particular agricultural business ones hosted or led by EMU) will be involved for circulation of project updates. TRIGGER’s visual identity will be promoted through a logo, banner and branded templates for slides.