GCHERA Action Plan 2016 – 20

The GCHERA Action Plan sets out the way forward for GCHERA in terms of 8 outcomes which focus on supporting Life Science and Agricultural Universities develop graduates as the leaders to address the challenges of the 21st C.

The GCHERA Action Plan was developed from the outcomes of the GCHERA supported conferences in 2015 (8th GCHERA Global Conference & Agricultural Higher Education in 21st C) and the discussion at the GCHERA Annual General meeting held in September 2015 in Nanjing.

The GCHERA Action Plan 2016 -20 primarily focuses on the education remit of agricultural and life science universities in delivering leaders to address the global challenges adopted as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ratified in September 2015, and identified in the COP21 Paris Agreement, November 2015.  This focus in no way negates the importance of the remit of agricultural and life science universities and faculties for research and innovation in addressing these global challenges.  Our universities have the responsibility to conduct science driven research and to be innovative in applying the outcomes of that research – through effective knowledge transfer and capacity building.

The GCHERA Action Plan 2016 -20 represents GCHERA’s value proposition.  It focuses on the need for our members’ universities to provide graduates with the knowledge, skills, ethical foundation, and creativity to be successful leaders in industry, government, NGOs and civil society.  Industry, government, NGOs and civil society require staff who not only have the knowledge, skills and competencies to act in specialist fields, but who are also leaders in their field.

The GCHERA Action Plan 2016 – 20 focuses on GCHERA and its Higher Education Association members achieving the following outcomes:

Outcome 1 Contributing to global fora representing the higher education sector
Outcome 2 Engaging in professional development and networking
Outcome 3 Reforming curricula and pedagogies
Outcome 4 Managing change in university and faculty administrations
Outcome 5 Regulating and promoting international exchanges
Outcome 6 Providing international accreditation for degree programmes
Outcome 7 Awarding the annual GCHERA World Agriculture Prize
Outcome 8 Creating the GCHERA World Agriculture University Innovation Prize.

Download the GCHERA Action Plan 2016-20

Acknowledgement

The GCHERA Action Plan was developed with the financial support from GFAR (the Global Forum on Agricultural Research) and contributes to the implementation of the GFAR Mid Term Plan 2013-16 Outcome 4 – Collective initiatives fostered to improve capacities in agricultural research for development. The GFAR funding is gained from the European Commission.  In particular Outcome 4.2 Transformative changes facilitated in function, relevance and curricular quality of formal agricultural education and informal learning.