We are delighted that our innovative project supporting the growth and sustainability of female food entrepreneurs in the European Union has been shortlisted in the Green Gown Awards 2020 (UK and Ireland).
The Green Gown Awards, in association with UK Research and Innovation, are prestigious awards recognising the commitment that colleges and universities have to the global sustainability agenda. This year’s finalists represent over 850,000 students and 130,000 staff.
The Winners of the UK and Ireland Green Gown Awards will be announced on Wednesday 24th March, in a Virtual Ceremony, held in association with UKRI, at 4pm via this Green Gowns link
Managed by Dr Lisa Ryan and Maria McDonagh, GMIT Department of Natural Sciences, “Educate to Innovate: Developing and Sustaining Female Food Entrepreneurs” is the only Irish third-level project to be selected for the finals.
Dr Orla Flynn, President of GMIT, says: “The stellar efforts of GMIT staff and their partners behind ‘Educate to Innovate’ are truly worth celebrating. The project exemplifies the successful integration of so much of what GMIT strives for: Inclusivity; Sustainability; Entrepreneurialism; Regional Development; and Internationalisation.”
Commenting on the success of their project, Dr Ryan and Ms McDonagh say: “To be recognised as a finalist in the Green Gown Awards UK/Ireland is a phenomenal achievement for the team and our European Partners.”
“We are proud of the impact the project has had already in sustaining and supporting females in the agri-food sector and look forward to its continuous success. GMIT is the only college in the Republic of Ireland to be shortlisted as a finalist in the 2020 Green Gown Awards, UK/Ireland which is a huge honour for the team and the Institute as a whole”, says Dr Ryan, Head of Dept.
The Educate to Innovate project is led by the GMIT research team in partnership with the Baltic Education Technology Institute (BETI) Lithuania, Confederazione Italiana Agricol (CIA) in Tuscany Italy, Comunitatea Pentru Invatarea Permanenta (CPIP) Romania and The Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre, in Poland.
The project equips Vocational Education and Training (VET) educators with an innovative pedagogy guide and a resource platform influenced by food entrepreneurs, in summary, entrepreneurs helping to develop entrepreneurs. The European Commission has identified that ‘when establishing and running a business, women face more difficulties than men mainly in access to finance, training, networking and in reconciling family commitments’;: the project outputs will aid VET providers in developing a training course and resources that will equip females in the agri-food sector to overcome those difficulties.
Maria McDonagh says “Supporting the growth and sustainability of female food entrepreneurs in this male- dominated sector is the main objective of this project which will, in turn, contribute to achieving social inclusion for this group and closing the gender gap in agri-food entrepreneurship. We anticipate that the project and its outputs will contribute to creating innovative agricultural and food activities, boosting rural enterprise across Europe.”
“This project has enabled us to establish relationships with female food entrepreneurs, academia, and stakeholders across the continent and gain extensive knowledge and skills from a European perspective. It is a privilege for Ireland and in particular, GMIT, to have the opportunity to actively contribute to the development of Europe’s rural economies and to the Europe2020 growth strategy.”
The project and its outputs have gained significant support from stakeholders across Europe. To this end, GMIT was awarded a further grant from Erasmus+ KA2 for a follow-on project ‘AWARE – Advancing Women in Agri-Food Rural Environments’. In addition to this, GMIT has also engaged with the University of Nom Lang in Vietnam via an Irish Aid-funded project and delivered the Educate to Innovate Peer Led training to over 90 Vietnamese female Food Science students. The GMIT project team has also secured further funding nationally through the Springboard initiative to offer the Certificate in Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship, commencing in February 2021.
For further information about the Educate to Innovate project in GMIT, please contact Maria McDonagh, email: maria.mcdonagh@gmit.ie or visit www.nurtureher.eu
Issued by Regina Daly, GMIT Communications & Press Officer, GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway.
0879618355 (m) regina.daly@gmit.ie www.gmit.ie/news
Galway-Mayo IT, IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT working together to become a TU for the West and North-West of Ireland www.cualliance.ie