Since the start of the SPARKLE project, a lot has been going on. But what exactly have our Spanish partners been up to? This and other questions have been answered in this year’s dissemination meeting.
On November 20th, the Spanish partners gathered in the Polytechnic University of Madrid for their yearly dissemination symposium. The day was packed with interactive presentations, explanations and open discussions, all regarding the work carried out by the partners thus far. The public was encouraged to participate through small surveys spread out over the day. The first question, asked during the introductory presentation, already provided an interesting result: all respondents agreed that currently the courses in the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees of Agricultural engineering are not sufficiently up to date. Later on, just before presenting the slides on course-timing, the live audience was given the same question as our respondents earlier this year: “What is the best moment to learn about precision agriculture?” Our live result coincided perfectly with the general conclusions of the farmers, researchers, and students throughout the Mediterranean. Finally, our audience found the biggest hurdle currently impeding the application of precision agriculture to be a lack of training and technical skills, which is exactly what the SPARKLE project is all about!
The presentations concluded with an open discussion, in which students and researchers were able to voice their concerns and visions. All in all it can be said that the students, researchers, and professionals present at the symposium provided us with useful feedback and some specific concerns that we will surely take into account for the next steps of the project. We would like to thank all participants and attendants and welcome you all to come back next year.