The first Metropolitan Agriculture Open Online course is officially complete! Thank you for your participation in the course.

We are hoping to offer monthly webinars relating to Metropolitan Agriculture starting in June of 2012. To receive notifications on upcoming webinars and courses please enter your contact information in the following form: MetroAg Contact Form.

Following you will find two great resources for Metropolitan Agriculture:

• Introducing the MetroAg Innoversity
• The Concept of Metropolitan Agriculture

We hope to see you online at a future online webinar or course!

In the last presentation for this course we will sum up the contents of the first five weeks. We will spend some time on sustainable development as a driving force for innovations. Next, the action perspectives for MetroAg innovation will be illustrated. And finally we will present the six guises of the innovative entrepreneur that will be needed to realize these perspectives. We will also reserve time to reflect on your postings on the Forum and answer any remaining questions you might have. You can e-mail those questions beforehand to heyboerg@msu.edu or put them in the chat box during the webinar.

Following are some important items regarding Week Six:

1. Visit the week Six assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Monday, April 16 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 5 pm Central European).
2. If you would like to view the video clip for the presentation ahead of time, go to the following link: Where Good Ideas Come From.
3. E-mail any questions that you have regarding the course to heyboerg@msu.edu or put them in the chat box during the webinar on Monday.
4. You can submit your project through the Innovation Project Form to receive feedback on your project.

The MetroAg course team would like to give you an opportunity to showcase the project that you have been working on throughout the last five weeks.  Submissions will be reviewed by the instructors of the course and projects with merit will be featured on the Innoversity web site: http://metroaginnoversity.org/.

For more information visit the MetroAg Innovation Project page.

Welcome to Week 5!

This week will focus on how the value creation strategies, that you learned about in weeks one through four, can be developed and implemented. The webcast will explore case studies of projects done through the TransForum program. The results of the projects lead to new operating principles for creating and implementing your own project.

Visit the week five assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Tuesday, April 10 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 5 pm Central European). There are no video clips in the presentation for this week.

Following is a link to the recording and video clips from the week four webcast:

• Webcast Recording: Sustainable Intensification
• Webcast Video: Chipotle – Back to the Start
• Webcast Video: TransForum – Agroparks
• Webcast Video: Greenport Shanghai

Welcome to Week 4!

Visit the week four assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Monday, April 2 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 5 pm Central European). If you would like to view the video clips for the presentation ahead of time they are listed below:

• Webcast Video: Chipotle – Back to the Start
• Webcast Video: TransForum – Agroparks
• Webcast Video: Greenport Shanghai

This week we will focus on the ‘sustainable intensification’ strategy. Is it possible to combine more intensive production with sustainability? This strategy focuses on spatial clustering, chain integration and the possibilities of using rest and by products and feeding them back into system and thereby closing loops. The webcast for this week will describe this model, as well as give specific case studies as examples.

Schedule Change for Week 5: The week 5 webcast is being rescheduled from Monday, April 9 to Tuesday, April 10, 2012. It will be held at the usual time (11 a.m. Eastern US and 5 p.m. Central European).

Welcome to Week Three!

Visit the week three assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Monday, March 26 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 4 pm Central European). If you would like to view the video clips for the presentation ahead of time they are listed below:

• Webcast Video: The Sustainable Food Chain
• Webcast Video: Laying Hen Husbandry

Last week we explored the development of new metropolitan markets. This week, we will focus on the concept of opening existing markets based on cooperation of existing partnerships. The webcast presentation will not only introduce detailed examples of this model, but will also introduce the concept of transforming metropolitan values into assets.

We are already beginning the half-way point of the course. There have been great discussions so far – keep up the good work!

Following is a link to the recording and video clips from the week two webcast:

• Recording: Sustainable Diversification
• Video Clip #1: Green Care Amsterdam (TransForum)
• Video Clip #2: A Valuable Landscape (TransForum)

You may access the recording at anytime and can continue the discussions through the discussion forum in the course site. This is a great start to week two!

Welcome to Week Two!

Visit the week two assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Monday, March 19 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 4 pm Central European). All of the details for the course can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Week two of this course explores the development of new metropolitan markets for agricultural products and services. The webcast speaker will give examples for developing new markets by connecting social, ecological and economic aspects of agricultural activities. You will be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the New Market strategy in the discussion forum.

We are off to a great start!

Following is a link to the recording of the week one webcast: The Challenge. You may access this recording at anytime and can continue the discussions through the discussion forum in the course site. The course is off to a great start!

Welcome to the first week of the MetroAg Open Online course!

The course officially begins on Monday, March 12. Visit the weekly session assignments page to view the details for the week, including instructions for attending the live webcast (Monday, March 12 at 11 am Eastern (US) and 4 pm Central European), a link to the discussion forum and a list of resources. You will also find a suggested reading from the online textbook. All of the details for the course can be found in the Course Syllabus.

This week you will be asked to choose a project in your area of expertise or interest to use as a model for applying the concepts you will learn throughout the next six weeks. Participants will post information on their project to a discussion forum where you can share ideas and give feedback to others.

Let’s get started!

Welcome to a one-of-a-kind learning experience!

MetroAg is a 6-week open online course – designed so you can participate online as a watcher, a talker, a doer, or all three. MetroAg facilitates the discussion on how we integrate agriculture back into metropolitan areas. The content will build awareness of how agriculture can play a vital role in cities, focusing on areas such as food production, recreation, waste, energy, water management, & health care.

The course begins on March 12. It will follow an open-dialogue approach and consist of a wide variety of content resources, speakers, and activities. The course will offer a weekly webcast by one of the instructors, an interactive forum, videos, web site links, a free e-book, news and academic articles.

You can register for free [registration is now closed], and all content is open and available to everyone. When you register you will be able to download the e-book, complete assignments and get feedback, gain credit and receive certification.

What is Metropolitan Agriculture? Read more here.

Want to view the free online course flyer? View PDF here.