The degree Course provides graduates of the class of degree courses L25 a deepening of professional training in the agricultural sector. The course is aimed at improving the technical and scientific expertise for the design, management and control of productive agricultural systems, with traits of sustainability and multi-functionality; the consolidation of the professional and scientific skills in the field of entrepreneurship and agricultural management and development of quality products and processes; the expansion of the expertise in the design and management of parks and gardens and technical, sports and recreation green in urban and suburban environments.
Graduates of this Course acquire specific professional training in the following areas:
- Propagation, production and protection of plants, shrubs, herbaceous trees, vegetables and flowers, design, management and development of production systems of tree fruit crops, herbaceous crops and vegetables and flowers;
- Landscape analysis, design, implementation and management of parks, gardens and public and private green at large, in urban and suburban environments;
- Activation of business and supply chain initiatives related to the upgrading of products with specific quality characters, (typical, biological, historical, etc.) and to food security as well as the ability to relate with the socio-economic system through forms of integration and coordination of the productive and organizational activities.
The educational programme enable graduates to:
- Acquire an adequate cultural background to carry out basic and applied research and experimentation, and to develop and promote scientific and technological innovations;
- Acquire skills to plan, design, maintain and enhance agricultural production systems and environmental and natural resources also for recreational and sports purposes;
- Acquire command of the scientific methods of investigation in crop production, enabling them to intervene in problem solving on specific systems and processes, through direct field surveys, laboratory determinations, processing and interpretation of data;
- Have in-depth expertise to design, build and operate parks, gardens, sports and recreation areas, in relation to technical means, machinery and mechanical equipment;
- Pursue the qualitative and quantitative improvement of plant and animal production through the genetic selection, nursery management, design of cropping systems, the defense against biotic and abiotic agents, the adoption of rational and innovative techniques and technologies;
- Possess the dialectical skills to argue the technical and scientific aspects in inter-professional relations with specialists of the same or other sectors, and in disseminating to non-specialists farmers their technical convictions;
- Acquire skills in the field of international agricultural policy, market and marketing, as well as of the technical and economic aspects of the development of products through the adoption of quality and safety systems, in relation also to the sociological roots of production and consumption behaviors.
The educational activities consist of lectures, laboratory and field exercises and mid-term tests.
The expected time for obtaining the Degree is two academic years. To achieve the Degree, students must have obtained 120 university credits (CFU). The Degree Course program consists of 11 required courses and one elective course, plus the practical application internship at accredited facilities and the final examination with the preparation and discussion of a thesis on Course-specific issues.
The eight elective cretits may be acquired, in accordance with article 10, paragraph 5, letter a) of the Ministerial Decree 270/04, by choosing freely between the disciplines activated by other Degree Courses of the Polytechnic School, or of other schools of the University of Palermo or other Italian and foreign universities.
At the end of the course students will be awarded the title of “Dottore Magistrale in Scienze della produzione e delle tecnologie agrarie" and, after passing the national professional qualification exam, they may register in Section A (Senior Agronomist) of the “Albo professionale dell'Ordine dei Dottori Agronomi e Forestali”.
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Making judgments:
Graduates of this course possess independent judgment ability with respect to:
- the design and management in the agricultural sector at higher levels of complexity, and to the critical evaluation of the social and environmental implications and the technical and economic results of the actions undertaken, proposed and implemented.
- The efficiency and effectiveness of the technical choices and the effects of the same in terms of quality and safety of processes and products while respecting the environment;
- the opportunity to establish relations between operators in the agri-food system and the adherence to forms of co-ordination between activities at different levels of the food system (assessing agreements for the production, supply and disciplinary certification, etc.);
- the social and cultural determinants characterizing the agri-food production and consumption systems as well as the social implications of the interventions related to market issues;
- the ethical implications of the choices related to the correct communication, quality and wholesomeness of the processes and of agricultural and agro-industrial products.
The expected learning outcomes are achieved by developing the student's ability to compare different solutions of the problem being treated, also through the drafting of specific papers.
The assessment of the learning outcomes is carried out ascertaining by exams, in-course tests or the final examination, the critical skills of students and their ability to predict the effects of the choices.
Communication skills:
Graduates of this course, having acquired critical thinking skills, also develop the ability to direct and coordinate the functions of individual workers in the workplace and in particular in the context of multidisciplinary teams, to transfer and disseminate, in written and oral form, with technical-scientific language clear and understandable at all levels of the industry, their analyzes, theses, professional solutions and proposals, as well as the repercussions on the various environmental components including the human communities living, using or owning the territory.
The expected learning outcomes are achieved through the student's ability to present, in oral or written form, the acquired knowledge during the examination.
The assessment of the learning outcomes is carried out evaluating the ability of presenting the issues using the specific language of the themes of the course, and making it understandable even to a non-competent public.
Learning skills:
Graduate acquire competences enabling them to continue their studies, deepening and updating their knowledge of technical and scientific issues.
The skills acquired enable them to attend seminars and technical and scientific conferences, to tap into the industry specific advanced texts and to dialogue with scientific societies, academies and research institutes in the sector, as well as to access to advanced courses and 2nd level University Master Courses.
The expected learning outcomes are achieved by maintaining the logic succession or any prerequisites, provided by the course regulations of the course of study, of the subjects in the course syllabus, with the aim of developing the ability to understand the application and the utilization of research results.
The assessment, carried out in the course of examinations, aims at testing students’ ability to use the acquired knowledge to solve new problems, to recognize the need for further information, to use the results of specific research.