Università degli Studi di Napoli "Parthenope"

  1. Teaching
  2. ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
  3. Agrifood innovation and sustainability (I MOD)

Stampa

Agrifood innovation and sustainability (I MOD)

Teaching schedule

Academic year: 
2018/2019
Teaching: 
Agrifood innovation and sustainability
Belonging course: 
Course of Bachelor's Degree Programme on ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
Disciplinary sector: 
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND RURAL APPRAISAL (AGR/01)
Credits: 
6
Year of study: 
3
Teachers: 
Dott. BOCCIA Flavio
Cycle: 
Second semester
Hours of front activity: 
48

Language

Italian

Course description

The course aims to provide students with the package of theoretical knowledge and practical examples necessary to be able to face the study of the problems related to the challenges that await the different actors of the agri-food sector (producers, food industry, bio-industry, distribution, etc.) in relation to the new knowledge to be applied in the field. The student will acquire the knowledge and analytical tools useful for understanding and implementing innovations in the agro-industrial sector, also with a view to corporate strategies in the context of the modern vision of an increasingly global and sustainable competitiveness.

Prerequisites

In order to effectively pursue the educational objectives listed above, it is necessary to have acquired and assimilated the following knowledge: fundamental concepts of microeconomics; fundamental concepts of business economics.

Syllabus

The course is organized in two parts, the first with a more theoretical character and the second with a more concrete and real cut.
The contents of the program related to the first part are inserted in the following section:
• Elements of theory on: peculiarities of the agro-industrial sector; sustainability; technological innovation; food quality and safety; communication and marketing; corporate social responsibility; modern agro-biotechnology; internationalization.
Instead, the contents of the program related to the second part are inserted in the following section:
• Information and communication technology; agricultural biotechnology; bioenergy and its possibilities; food security and traceability systems; new frontiers of innovation; Industry 4.0.

Knowledge and understanding: the student must demonstrate to understand the problems related to the general themes of innovation in the overall economic context of the agri-food sector; it must also show that it knows the main cognitive elements related to the role of sustainability and the economic instruments used to achieve environmental and social standards.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: the student must demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge acquired to the main nodes of the agro-industrial supply chain. To this end, the teacher will illustrate, during lectures to attending students, the relevance and effects of innovations and sustainable development policies, integrating the theoretical and basic modeling analyzes with examples, applications, data and case discussions and real problems concerning the agro-industrial sector; these themes are also illustrated at the reception to non-attending students.
Making judgments: the student must demonstrate the ability to apply and contextualize the knowledge acquired during the course, succeeding in applying, independently, what he has learned at a theoretical level also in real-life contexts and demonstrating, moreover, that he is able to express an informed judgment.
Communication skills: the student must be able to respond clearly, legally and comprehensively to both the written test questions and the oral exam.
Learning skills: the student must demonstrate a correct learning ability and be able to deepen his / her knowledge on relevant bibliographic references relevant to the field under study. Furthermore, it must be able to analyze and evaluate the impacts of technological innovations and sustainability policies on the various reference scenarios of the agro-industry.

Teaching Methods

The course is organized both with a frontal teaching path and with analysis of real and topical case studies selected by the teacher, also through individual or group practices. The course also includes the possibility of using the Moodle e-learning university platform (Forum, Chat, Tasks, Glossaries, Polls, Quizzes, etc.), for further information and / or exercises and additional support for students: so at the same time the possibility for learners to develop the capacity for self-learning through mutual interaction and sharing with the group of students, thus creating a real experiential laboratory. Finally, students are also offered the opportunity to attend seminars of well-known scholars in the business world or institutions hosted in the University.

Textbooks

“ICT e settore agroalimentare: le nuove opportunità per la catena dell’offerta”, Boccia F. & Volpe T. (2010), Atti della VII Conference of the Itais.
“Qualità e sicurezza nei sistemi agroalimentari: Innovazioni tecnologiche ed economiche”, Covino, D. et al. (2008), Italian Journal of Agronomy, N°. 3 (1 Suppl.).
"Internazionalizzazione, multinazionali e settore agroalimentare", Boccia F. (2009), Aracne editrice.
Slides containing in-depth information on the e-learning portal.
Further materials will be proposed by the teacher to deepen the topics covered in the textbook.

Learning assessment

During the course the degree of learning will be evaluated through the development by the students of case studies, also thanks to the use of the University e-learning platform. Furthermore, at the end of the course, the exam consists of a written test: the latter consists of a multiple choice test covering all the main parts of the study program. The questions are twenty in number, with scores ranging from one to three depending on the complexity of the question; the student, for each single question, can choose an answer in a range of five possibilities (no penalties are foreseen). The final result can also lead to the achievement of praise.
If the lecturer deems it appropriate, in order to better evaluate the preparation, an oral interview can also be conducted. The vote assigned to the oral interview is expressed in thirtieth and average with that of the written test (with equal weighting) for the final vote.

More information

To contact the professor.

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