ZuGAbe

ZuGAbe is a bilateral project between Hochschule Geisenheim University (HGU) and the University of Thessaly (UTH) focusing on different aspects of protected cultivation. In particularly, the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition of HGU and the Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment of UTH, establish a teaching and research cooperation dealing with the future and the productivity of protected cultivation. This project is funded from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) from means of the German Federal Foreign Office, started in January 2017 and finishes in December 2019. Project leader is Mr Johannes Max from HGU and responsible for the project at the UTH is Mr Nikolaos Katsoulas. Mrs Evelyn Dimkou from HGU is in charge for the coordination of the program.

The main objective of the ZuGAbe project is an intensive exchange along with a transfer of knowledge between the two universities. Following actions are meant to achieve this goal:

• An exchanging program will give the opportunity to students and scientist from both universities to work on their thesis or other research projects round protected cultivation at the partner university by means of scholarships offered in the frame of the ZuGAbe project. For more information see document “exchange program”.

• Two summer schools, one at the UTH in Volos in 2018 focusing on cover materials for green houses and one at HGU in Geisenheim in 2019 focusing on technics used in both horticulture and viticulture, will enrich the teaching quality of both institutions.

• Researchers and professors will give talks and seminars on different aspects of protected cultivation for students and scientists at the partner university, which will be of benefit for both teaching and research.

• Two scientific workshops, one in 2017 and one in 2019, will deal with different topics in terms of protected cultivation such as the non-invasive detection of plant responses in greenhouses and will enable the intensive exchange between researchers of both institutions. The sustainability and the future perspectives of the cooperation itself will also be a topic during the second workshop of the ZuGAbe project.

• An e-learning concept will support all the actions above: using the e-learning platform of the university of Thessaly (http://eclass.uth.gr/eclass/index.php), a ZuGAbe e-learning portal will be configured in order to provide knowledge and information around the ZuGAbe project to all students and researchers of both universities. Talks and presentations during the workshops, lectures given during the summer schools as well as abstracts and important results deriving from the exchanging program will become available to students and researchers worldwide.

Agenda

2017

January: Begin of the ZuGAbe cooperation

July-December: Exchange program 2017

September: Gest talk at University of Thessaly from Dr. J. Max on “Horticulture in the tropics and subtropics - Greenhouse systems for tropical climates”

November: Gest talk at Geisenheim University from Prof. Dr. N. Katsoulas on “Greenhouse technologies for sustainable vegetable production in the Mediterranean region”

November: Workshop at Geisenheim University on “Non-invasive detection of plant responses in greenhouses”

2018

March-December: Exchange program 2018

September: Summer school at the University of Thessaly on “Cover Materials for Greenhouses”, program and report here

2019

March-December: Exchange program 2019

September: Summer school at Geisenheim University

September: Workshop at Geisenheim University about the sustainability of the ZuGAbe project