Co-Creation
of a new study program!
Together with potential students and employers we want to shape a more sustainable, regenerative Agro Food Business. To achieve this, we want to create two new study programs with the focus on sustainability, innovation and regeneration. These programs aim at providing you, as future intra- or entrpreneur with the necessary competences and perspectives.
*Intrapreneurs act entrepreneurial but within an existing private company or public organisation.
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INFO: Currently we are working on new ideas for more co-creating for futher development of the study programs.
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Together we create new
study programs
study programs
Master (MSc) in
Preneurship for Regenerative Agro Food Systems
Planed Start: Spring Semester 2022
Current Status: rough concept accepted, detailled concept in progress (Co-Creating)
In this study program, you as a student can expand and complement your existing skills and knowledge by individually combining the future-oriented, inter-connected study modules and modern ways to learn.
As intra-, entre- or commonpreneur, you will learn to take on responsibility for a regenerative Agro Food sector and you are able to spark and implement necessary system changes.
During your studies, you and your fellow students will work as a team on your own Agro Food project. Depending on the project, your skills and prior experiences you can choose suitable modules in „Agro Food Technology & Systems“, „Regenerative Preneurship“ and Individual Skills in an open-curriculum format.
As graduate of the Master of Science, you:
– are a specialist for systemic change processes in the agro food network.– can develop and implement interdisciplinary solutions for more resilience and regenerative power within Agro Food systems. – take on responsibility and spark system changes in an established company, in your own start-up or in the context of an NGO or NPO.

Bachelor (BSc) in
Agro Food Business
Planed Start: to be defined
Current Status: rough concept in process (Co-Creating)
After gaining your Bachelor’s degree in Agro Food Business, you can apply network thinking and act business-oriented. You understand correlations in market economy and business administration, you know about food production technologies, and you know the requirements for food safety and quality.
From the very beginning you work project-oriented and you develop your skills in multidisciplinary teams. In this way, you learn how to create and innovate in the context of sustainability for the Agro Food sector.
Prerequisite for this degree are a baccalaureate (federal vocational, high school or specialized) as well as a passion for food related topics and sustainability.
As graduate of this bachelor’s program, you work as intrapreneur in a company in the Agro Food sector. There, you contribute to the essential new and further development of sustainable innovations.

The Basis for a regenerative Agro Food sector– a new understanding

The Problem:
Agro Food Value Chain
Agro Food Value Chain
The interrelations between the individual elements of the agro food sector are complex, interconnected and often times inseparable.
Depicting value creation as a linear chain does not suffice to identify the ecological, social and economical challenges of this sector, nor does it facilitate finding solutions for a future-oriented Agro Food sector.
Depicting value creation as a linear chain does not suffice to identify the ecological, social and economical challenges of this sector, nor does it facilitate finding solutions for a future-oriented Agro Food sector.
The Solution:
Agro Food Value Netzwork
Agro Food Value Netzwork
A new understanding of value creation through networks is needed. By acknowledging the Agro Food sector as a network, we want to promote interlinking. We want to empower our students to realize innovation, despite the high complexity of the network, to create a resilient Agro Food sector.


How do we achieve that?
Preneurship for Regenerative Agro Food Systems
Preneurship for Regenerative Agro Food Systems
During our study programms, our students are enabled to realize innovations for regenerative Agro Food systmes, despite the high complexity of the sector. They can individually choose their study path, learn from their fellow students and from industry experts, and work on their own innovative Agro Food projects as entre-, intra- oder commonpreneur.
We develop and curate learning journeys while orienting ourselves on a circular approach.
In this collaborative era, learning is a crowdsourcing process. Knowledge is available to all as open source, publicly shared common property. It comes in an interactive and socially developed format.
This circular learning journey is divided into six parts. Each part allows you to obtain the necessary skills, methods and tools to advance innovation and progress for the Agro Food Sector in a sustainable way.
What for?
To support a rapid change in process patterns and to revert to sustainable and regenerative cycles in the Agro Food System.

Deming Wheel: „Shewhart Cycle“ altered W. E. Deming; Out of the Crisis; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 1982, ISBN 0-911379-01-0, S. 88.

PLAN
Recognize your skills and discover your sustainable development perspectives in a dialog with other students and your personal mentor.
Identify a problem and start a project that matches with your personal goals and has a positive impact on the environment and society.
Find partners in agriculture, food production, gastronomy, commerce or the field of infrastructure.
Work in a team and contribute with your competences, generating additional value to solve complex challenges.

DO
Develop a prototype and internalize the process of «Lean-Start-Up-Culture» with the cycle of «build-measure-learn». «Listen to what the consumer wants, do your best to realize it and do the absolute necessary for this, not more. (Ries, 2011)
This leads to a minimalistic version of a minimal viable product. A product or service needs to be developed, tested and adapted until it reaches approx. 80% of the expected use.

CHECK
Check possibilities for the integration of your concept in a business model** ready for feedback. Such a business model can be upscaled rapidly to start working in a sustainable and regenerative way.
Find ways to carry out your project with institutional partners in existing companies or investors, supporting and accompanying you as founder.
** a business model or system ready for feedback (after N. Luhmann) can selectively react to occurrences in its environment. Feedback is essential in a dynamic environment.

ACT
Implement the developed solution as an Intrapreneur in a business or found a start-up with your team. Reach your goals while achieving sustainable and regenerative impact..

REFLECT
Reflect your actions, the roles in which you act, what supports or impedes you with the goal to develop your personality and find an occupation that fulfills you.
Give and receive feedback in order to strengthen the Agro Food Network for system change. In this way you’ll not only reach your study goals and receive a diploma, you’ll actually set change in motion.

SHARE
Share your experiences with people in your network so that perspectives for the necessary change can grow. Through these interactions with other people you will constantly evolve.
Core Team

Maya Wiestner
Facilitator
« The question is not if but how we will create a more sustainable Agro Food Sector. I can imagine barely anything more meaningful than being part of this creation process. Additionally addressing major future topics and new educational concepts makes this project even more relevant and interesting. »

Sandra Burri
Education Expert
« I am fascinated by the possibility of co-creating new education formats in an interdisciplinary team with future students and potential employers – additionally developing flexible and personalized study programs that encourage competences and skills to sustainably advance innovation and progress in the Agro Food Sector. »

Tanja Hänsli
Business Expert
« Sustainability in the Agro Food Sector has been my main focus for several years already. To enable a sustainable development in this sector I believe a big range of skills are necessary. That’s why I love to be part of co-creating new educational programms, where people can develop the skills they need for a sustainable food future. »

Patrick Lütolf
Business Expert
« The current economic systems are based mainly on profit and maximizing revenue. Unlimited growth on a limited planet will not work in the long run and leads to imbalances. It is important to me to think up innovative and new systems with others, prioritizing humans and public welfare. »
CONTACT: agrofoodbusiness@zhaw.ch
A PROJECT OF ZHAW