The University of Cumbria will offer part-time short courses for farmers, land managers and advisors from this September.
The six accredited modules will be running from this academic year and aim to help farmers and others in agriculture to respond to changes in upland farming and environmental land management.
Each module is accredited at Level 4, which is the equivalent to the first year of a degree course, and learners that complete all six modules will gain a university certificate.
The six modules on offer are:
- Mapping Environmental Assets;
- Farm Business Opportunities;
- Upland Farming for Net Zero;
- Collaborative Practice in the Uplands;
- Trees on Farms and Fells;
- Improving Efficiency and Productivity.
Professor in practice at the University of Cumbria’s Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas (CNPPA), Julia Aglionby, said: “We’ve developed the modules, in conjunction with the farming and conservation sectors, at a critical time for upland land managers and farmers.
“It’s about skilling up to best respond to rapid changes in farming policy, funding and upland environmental land management and comes when food and energy security, and climate change, are in clear focus for society and communities around the world.”
Aglionby added that the modules cover a breadth of key topics and will be delivered by the university’s Institute of Science and Environment.
Modules
The modules can be studied individually, or as a set, and are aimed at people working in, or seeking to work in, upland farming, land management or advisory services.
Different to a standard university course, each module involves 24 hours of tuition across eight weeks, using a combination of workshops, online evening lectures and farm visits.
There is additional independent study, to help learners to put their learning into practice, leading to accreditation.
The module development has been supported by:
- The Ernest Cook Trust;
- The Farmer Network;
- The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB),
- The National Trust;
- Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership;
- Food, Farming and Countryside Commission;
- Skills Hub Cumbria;
- and the Department for Education’s Strategic Development Fund.
The development fund means courses are offered at a reduced cost of £500, with some free or sponsored places available too.
