The project addresses the demand of educating doctoral students on high quality and international standards to increase knowledge based solutions for sustainable agriculture and future farming systems – a topic of national, cross-regional and international relevance.Large agricultural areas characterize the landscapes and economies of Russia and Kazakhstan and both countries see the innovative development of this sector as a priority. Compared to this, skilled labour and innovation potential is lacking. As a reaction, a number of initiatives target to build up human resources on all levels (farm workers, specialists, managers) and as well to improve higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the progress in joining and pursuing the Bologna process, brain drain of young talents and deficient and outdated educational offers for PhD studies impede the goals of HEIs to become international competitive. The consortium of 5 EU partners and 4 Russian and 4 Kazakh agricultural universities together with consultative and expert partners from accreditation, research and private business in Russia and Kazakhstan therefore specified the following objectives.(1) to develop and establish four post-graduate modules at 8 HEIs in different regions to qualify doctoral students on inter- and transdisciplinary contents and approaches relevant for agricultural research and innovation;(2) to increase the human capacity, literature base and equipment of partner institutions to provide doctoral education according to international standards and best-practices;(3) to strengthen international and interregional academic exchange and research cooperation among project partners;(4) to establish a network on doctoral research and education in the agricultural field targeted on the exchange of best practices with a wider audience.Overall the institutional capacity increases to tackle education and research demand in the area of sustainable agriculture and future farming systems.

The main output of the project will be two training and innovation centers which will be set up in four universities in Russia and Mongolia, which will provide training services for tanneries, support the design and the implementation of curricula for university studies, and also implement research on the use environmentally friendly technologies for tanning raw materials and recycling of collagen-containing waste. The centers will have the form of innovation hubs which will solve the problems that are acute for the leather industry community of the EU, Russia and Mongolia.The established centers will be equipped with modern analytical and testing equipment, professional literature, magazines, and regulatory documents in force in Russia, Mongolia and the EU. These centers will act also as technology brokers for local leather industry. The partners of the EU, as well as trade unions (the Russian Union of Leatherworkers and Shoemakers and the Mongolian Tanning Association) of the two countries will help in the establishment of the centers and the evaluation of their work. The specific aim of the project is to create the appropriate environment for the establishment of the universities as innovation hubs for Leather industry in Russia and Mongolia. Towards this aim the following activities will be implemented: • 4 training and innovation centers in leather sector (1 in each HEI in region 4 & 6)• online Platform for Transferring Research and Innovation through project based training and also for Supporting the Collaboration between industry and academia• re-engineering model for leather industry management systems for a better adaption to the new era• a bouquet of scouting and brokerage services will be offered along with networking and match-making activities that will directly link needs with the technology and business offering

Most agricultural rural areas in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan are characterized by drastic changes in the agriculture and nutrition sector, due to privatization, modernization and increasing differences between large-scale agro-holdings and small holder farms. The importance of rural development and the need to develop perspectives for agricultural land use is both recognized by politics and education. With regard to this a lack of sustainable development strategies and integrated approaches for the regional or local level exists as well as for up-to-date methods and skilled people to assess and further develop agro-ecosystems services, which are not only agricultural products but also environmental and social services. Professionals need to be educated and trained to adopt theoretical development concepts for specific local conditions, access (international) experiences and apply up-to date methods for the assessment of agro-ecosystems and for natural resource and agriculture land use planning and management.Objective of the proposed project SARUD is therefore (1) to develop a professional master programme on sustainable agriculture and rural development tailored to the demand for professionals of public services, local and regional governments, private service providers and enterprises. Together with partners in local working groups three Russian universities representing different regions and three universities in Northern Kazakhstan develop and implement praxis oriented curricula. (2) Situation analysis and experiences on the local and regional level are enriched and exploited through the build-up of a knowledge platform on sustainable agriculture and integrative rural development by involving national network partners. (3) Through the project activities the training competences for the agricultural sector and further education faculties and their inter-regional network will be strengthened.

The designation of protected areas and of regions of special conservation interest has gained due relevance across the globe, particularly in the past three decades. Territories covered by protected areas are steadily expanding. Within this framework, numerous international strategies define the importance of Capacity Building and Training as the key challenge of the 21st century.The project aims at developing an innovative practice-oriented MSc programme according to Bologna criteria in the field of protected areas management, and at meeting sustainable development and labour market needs through networking activities. ECOSERVE will be a qualitatively new MSc programme implemented in higher education institutions of the Russian Federation and Mongolia, strengthening their educational partnership with non-academic partners in the field of protected areas management and responding to demands for professionals of public services, private service providers and tourism businesses. It will contribute to adapt land management strategies to the actual changing natural drivers, such as climate, in alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).The program knowledge base, materials and courses in Russian, Mongolian and English, will be continuously updated and disseminated through a network of resources centres of protected areas in Partner country HEIs, promoting inter-regional cooperation in environmental protection, nature and biodiversity conservation issues, and management.