Green Care: from academic theory to entrepreneurial practice

Green4C e-learning course, First Edition

Interested in starting your own business in Green Care? The Green4C team, guided by the University of Padua and Elevate Health, designed a high-quality online course in entrepreneurship and innovation for students and professionals in the field of Green Care. The course will run from the 4th of October 2021 until the end of January 2022.

In a world that is increasingly urbanized and threatened by the climate crisis, people are stressed and disconnected from nature. To tackle this Green Care can be implemented, where green spaces are used to actively promote health, prevent disease and increase opportunities for social inclusion.

Who can apply?

The course is designed for students, researchers, and professionals interested in Green Care Initiatives.

Students from the University of Padua, Transylvania University of Brasov and University College Dublin must register through their University. Doing so they will be able to follow the course without any fee and with the recognition of the ECTS credits (the number of credits can change, please check directly with your University).
Students affiliated with other Green4C scientific and business partners (click here to see the Partner list) will have the opportunity to enroll at a reduced rate.
All others will be able to take advantage of the Early Bird Subscription that will allow them to enroll with a 20% discount!

When will the course start?

The e-learning course “Green Care: from academic theory to entrepreneurial practice” will run from the 4th of October 2021 until the end of January 2022 on our Moodle-based Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs).

At the end of the course there will be an exam and participants will receive a certificate of attendance or achivement.

Certificate of attendance: if you read the material, follow webinars and videos, complete the quiz of the course.
Certificate of achievement: if you read the material, follow webinars and videos, complete the quiz of the course and complete 75% of exercises.

Early Bird: € 200 valid only before September 14th.
Full price: € 250 until September 29th

STUDENTS FEE

Students from the three project partner universities: the University of Padua, Transylvania University of Brasov and University College Dublin can follow this course for free. For information please write to info@greenforcare.eu.

Affiliated students from other Green4C university partners. University of British Columbia (Canada) and Wageningen University (The Netherlands) can follow this course for a reduced fee of € 200.

Green4C course offers you the unique experience to get in touch with some of Europe’s leading
experts in forestry, social farming, urban green, entrepreneurship, and with professionals working
in the field every day. The course is held in English, and it includes scientific theory, exercises,
discussion forums, group work, talk with experts and much more. Assignments and activities
designed to stimulate learners with their entrepreneurial initiatives are central in this course.
The lessons are asynchronous and can be followed when you see fit. Some activities, such as
questions and answers with the experts, can be followed synchronously. A weekly commitment of
about 5-10 hours is expected for a totoal of about 150 hours of learning. This is made up by: 48 h of lectures and exercises (individual and in group), 102 h of individual study

The course is divided into the following 8 compulsory e-Modules:

Module 1 – Introduction
Activities: welcome, objectives and learning outcomes, participants self-introduction and learning path, the Green4C project.
Module 2 – Nature-based solutions, health, well-being and social inclusion
Activity 1: nature for health, well-being and social inclusion: Green Care, conversation with expert;
Activity 2: Green spaces for well-being, inspirational video, report your own experience, conclusion and evaluation of the week.
Module 3 – Green Care in action: thematic sectors and different approaches
Activity 1: Forest-based care – definitions and overview of the literature, main characteristics of the Forest-based care initiatives, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video), co-creation of a database of cases;
Activity 2: Social agriculture – definitions, real experiences (video), a conversation with an expert, co-creation of a database of cases;
Activity 3: Urban green care – definitions, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video), co-creation of a database of cases;
Activity 4: Green care tourism – definitions, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video) a database of cases;
Activity 5: conclusion and evaluation of the week.
Module 4 – Actors, partnerships and institutional frameworks
Activity 1: Actors and partnerships in Green Care – theory on actors and partnerships in the sector, a webinar on green prescriptions, nature and mental health, a video on how research can support social enterprises;
Activity 2: Institutional frameworks for initiatives in Green Care, policies for the sector, legal frameworks and bureaucratic issues, thematic forums.
Module 5 – Becoming an entrepreneur in Green Care
Activity 1: Deciphering the markets in Green Care – innovation in Green Care, market outlooks;
Activity 2: Entrepreneurship in Green care – entrepreneurs and type of enterprises, interviews with some entrepreneurs;
Activity 3: Start realising your idea – identify a challenge and your response to it, first step from your idea to a business;
Activity 4: Value Proposition and Business Model Canvases – theory, some good examples, Q&A from entrepreneurs.
Module 6 – Resources and soft skills for entrepreneurs
Activity 1: Tips on marketing, networking, getting help from mentors and advisors, financial planning and sources of financing and fundraising;
Activity 2: Let’s practice with entrepreneurs!
Module 7: Your turn!
Activity 1: Building the Wikipedia page of Green Care;
Activity 2: Developing your own business idea.
Module 8 – Final evaluation
Activity 1: complete and present Learning Journey Canvas and share it with the group;
Activity 2: Wrap up, reflections on the course, evaluation by the tutors, course evaluation by students.

The course is implemented by the University of Padua and Elevate Health in collaboration with all project partners. Therefore, participants will benefit from the knowledge of some of the most prominent professors, researchers and professionals in the field.

Are you curious to know more? Here are some of our key speakers but remember that, during the course, you will meet lots of other experts:

By the end of the course, participants are expected to be able to:

define what nature-based solutions are and explain why they are important for society, the economy and the environment;
define the concept of Green Care and its contribution to people’s health, societal well-being and social inclusion;
designate how and why green spaces can be used for health and well-being;
explain the key characteristics of Green Care initiatives with a focus on four thematic sectors: Forest-based care, Social agriculture, Urban green care, and Green care tourism;
identify the range of Green Care initiatives that are underway in various fields of application and in different countries, in terms of e.g. social functions, locations, target groups, actors and roles, partnerships and business models;
differentiate among different types of innovation and entrepreneurship concepts (technological, institutional, social, sustainability etc.), and appreciate how they can be jointly applied in Green Care initiatives in different contexts and situations;
describe the regulatory, legal and institutional/governance contexts of the different fields of application of Green Care initiatives;
define the structure, function, development, and emerging trends related to the markets for Green Care;
identify solvable problems for business cases, develop entrepreneurial visions to respond to societal needs and draft the business idea/solution;
recognize successful and challenging business development factors in Green Care initiatives;
apply business management tools such as the regular and Social Business Model Canvas’ to Green Care initiatives;
identify sources of financing and understand the benefits of acceleration and incubation for entrepreneurship in Green Care;
acquire basic skills in marketing and communication, such as use of social media and storytelling techniques to be applied to Green Care and related sectors.

The best ideas produced during the e-learning course will be taken into consideration and students will have a preferential channel for the access to the Green4C Business Specialization Course in Italy!

The Business Specialization Course will consist of an intensive programme of training based on presentations, group work, workshops, seminars, field visits. The course will aim to conclude with the production of one major project or business idea in the four Green Care thematic sectors.

It will take place in Padova in Summer 2022. Stay tuned to find out more!

As the number of subscribers is limited, apply now and take part in the first international course that will help your Green Care idea grow!

Applications closed on September 29th, 2021.

APPLY HERE

From Academic Theory to Entrepreneurial Practice

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