idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Earlier an exotic rarity, now in great demand: Young people first began studying Organic Agriculture at the University of Kassel in 1995. Worldwide, it was the first study course at university level. While the early students and scientists in this field may have been dismissed as exotic figures, agricultural scientists from Kassel today are seen as experts for questions of global development – with worldwide impact.
To get an impression of the international significance of the Kassel University Organic Agriculture programme one only needs to take a look at the city of Witzenhausen. In this small city 35 kilometres east of Kassel, the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences has its headquarters at a satellite site of the University of Kassel. Of the 1000 students in Witzenhausen, one in five comes from abroad; and in the English language master's courses specially orientated to international requirements, more than half of the students are from outside of Germany. International and German students form a community that shapes the cultural life of the small city.
With its exclusive focus on Organic Agricultural Sciences and sustainable production, the faculty in Witzenhausen provides a unique offering worldwide. Researching subjects that range from farmland management to animal breeding to the marketing of agricultural products, the university scientists work in 20 different departments dealing with diverse aspects of sustainable and fair food and energy cycles. New developments that could be placed under the heading "Made in Witzenhausen" range from organic waste bins to toys for fattening pigs to new methods for organic pest control. Moreover, it is thanks to the inquiring minds of Witzenhausen that an old variety of banana could be discovered in Arabia, as one of the departments of the Faculty is devoted to agriculture in the tropics and subtropics. It is in connection with this work that the Faculty also maintains a tropical green house with more than 400 agricultural plant varieties. For research and teaching having to do with farming and livestock breeding in latitudes closer to Germany, the University also runs a 340 hectare organic farming facility at the Hessian Staatsdomäne Frankenhausen not far from Kassel.
For students, practical exercises in the barns or on the fields, in the greenhouse or the laboratory are all part of the programme. With the transition to the bachelor's/master's system, the course offerings have become more diverse and more specialised. In addition to a bachelor's and a master's degree programme in Organic Agriculture, there is also an English language master's degree programme Sustainable International Agriculture (in cooperation with the University of Göttingen) as well as a programme International Food Business and Consumer Studies (in cooperation with Fulda University). This coming autumn, the Faculty will also start with a new English language course of study Sustainable Food Systems in a cooperative undertaking with five other European universities. There is also a dual work-study course in agriculture in which an agricultural apprenticeship and a bachelor's degree are completed combining theory and practice in the field.
Excellent career prospects
The employment opportunities for students following completion of degrees are very good. "The recognition that organic agriculture can be a gain for the environment, for animals and for mankind in general has been gaining ground in more and more places around the world," comments the head of the Faculty Prof. Dr. Peter von Fragstein und Niemsdorff. "With our various courses of study we offer excellent scientific training for anyone who wants to help shape the future development of organic agriculture or who wants to make this field part of their own professional career." Surveys conducted by the University of Kassel have shown that nine of ten degree candidates have found employment one year after completion of their studies. One and a half years after completing the programme, only about three percent of students were without employment (while others were continuing their studies further or going on to obtain doctorate degrees). Approximately one third of the graduates work in agriculture or forestry and about one quarter in the service sector. Many are also making their mark by working in various industry associations (eight percent) or in public administration (six percent) dealing with agricultural policy. Among the graduates, for example, is Peter Röhrig, director of the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (German Federation for the Organic Food Industry).
The establishment of the Organic Agriculture course of study in 1995 came about as part of a line of development that stretches back to the time of the German Empire. In 1898, the German Colonial School was founded in Witzenhausen with the purpose of preparing settlers for farming life in the German colonies. It operated until 1944. In the 1960s, the German federal and state government established an engineering school in Witzenhausen for foreign and domestic agriculture. With the founding of the University of Kassel in 1971, the Witzenhausen entity became part of this new institution. In 1993, the two faculties of Agriculture and International Agricultural Science combined to become today's Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences. In autumn 1995, the Organic Agriculture course of study was introduced, which at that time was a programme leading to the German "Diplom" degree. It was the first course of study of this type at any university worldwide. The establishment of the section of Methods of Alternative Farming in 1981 (today the section of Organic Farming and Cropping) preceded these developments and proved to be an important force in promoting the later developments. Enrolments for the new course of study began in the summer of 1995. "Organic farming had already established itself in everyday practice at that time," remembers Holger Mittelstraß, Coordinator of Studies for the Faculty, "but it occupied a sort of niche position and there was hardly any scientific treatment of the field. The first graduates thus still tended to be viewed as exotic figures. Subsequent developments have shown how forward-looking the decisions at that time were."
Further information for those interested in these degree programmes:
http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb11agrar/studium-allgemein/informationen-fuer-studieni...
Photo (Photo: University of Kassel): http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/presse/anhaenge/2015/Umwelt_201...
Caption: Studying with a cow: A student taking part in practical work in the barn at the teaching and experimental farm in Frankenhausen.
Contact:
Dean of Studies
Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences
University of Kassel
Tel.: +49/ 5542 98 -1211
Email: dekfb11@uni-kassel.de
Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49/ 561 804 -1961
Email: presse@uni-kassel.de
http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/internationales/english-version/university/about-us...
Studies with a cow: A student taking part in practical work in the barn at the teaching and experime ...
Quelle: Photo: Uni Kassel.
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Studies with a cow: A student taking part in practical work in the barn at the teaching and experime ...
Quelle: Photo: Uni Kassel.
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