Abstract:

The "Expert course in essential oils and entrepreneurship" is issued within the framework of ERASMUS+ project EOHUB (European Hub on New Challenges in the Field of Essential Oils) which is focused on the dissemination and the promotion of entrepreneurship in essential oils (EO). The aim of EOHUB is to increase the capacity of higher education institutions (HEI) and business to integrate research results and innovative practice into the educational offer, and to exploit the potential for marketable process, methods, and services in the field of EOs. This activity will focus on breaking down the learning pillars into smaller and more manageable training modules and units. Each partner will participate in this definition according to their expertise and best practice training (face to face, on-line, slides, video, etc.). The training modules have been organized according to analysis of priority order and local requirements.

The expert and continuous training courses facilitate students, both their success in the labor market, as well as the advancement or reorientation of their professional careers. They are distinguished by a clear professional orientation, and they could be an interesting proposal for the problem of EOs in the European market, where is necessary a knowledge, due to EOs are mainly produced in Southern countries, but in large amounts are used in Northern countries, where there is a real lack of knowledge by potential end-users in many sectors concerned (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and beverages, phytopharmacy, etc.). This course has been designed in response to the professional sector too. There is a market niche to share the promotion of EO in different sectors as an opportunity of entrepreneurship.

The e-learning course has been designed for a 3-months period, and the structure includes E-learning/interactive modules: introductive modules on a wide range of topics on EOs (introduction to EOs-basic terms, Active principles, Applications EOs-New Challenges, Cosmetic industry, Agri/Food industry, and Medicinal uses), Entrepreneurship, and final work (15 ECTS, 450 hours). As a second stage, the practical training will run on the following specializing topic: new challenges and applications in EOs Market – Entrepreneurship, finalizing with a Business Plan Proposal – Research work. It is available through the MOODLE e-learning platform uploaded in the EO-HUB alliance platform. The e-learning training courses will include organization of presentations, work groups and webinars. Training will be delivered by partner HEIs with the assistance of business partners. The course is organized by the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and the University of Liège (ULiege), with the collaboration and the support of MATE University (HU), BUCKS University (UK), CSIC (ES), KIMITEC Gp (ES), ARMOSA (BE), AKOS M. (HU) and EYEBB (UK). The partnership will receive feedback about the necessities from the industry by surveys in UK, Spain, Hungary, and Belgium. The information collected will be used to design the structure of the training program, training paths and training modules and units in the following’s editions.

21 students from 9 different countries have attended to the first edition, which was carried out from October 2021 to January 2022, and they have received an International Diploma Expert from the Technical University of Madrid and the University of Liège. The second edition will start in September 2022.

Keywords:

Essential oils, education, HEI, training, entrepreneurship, e-learning, stakeholders, EU 2020, expert course, medicinal plants, aromatic plants.