Through INOVIA’s project, the mains actors of the higher and vocational education system in Brazil, Costa Rica and Bolivia, will develop adaptative capacities in the field of agrofood processing, in a context of technological, economic and social changes of the sector. The aim will consist with professionalizing the training system and promoting its integration in the productive sector, to enhance employability and integration of graduates and actively participate to the local economic development, in a shared knowledge and innovation approach among stakeholders.INOVIA aims to establish:-The Capacity of higher education institutions to operationally implement new innovative training programs with a skills oriented approach, with the cration of three modules, with one in e-learning- The foundation for the development of an appropriate and contextualized professionalization system, facilitating the introduction of experience, practice field and promoting interaction with the professionals.- Strengthening of exchange gateways and cooperation with the professional sector, through the establishment of an appropriate and scalable service offering (expertise, development, technology transfer, lifelong training) and the development of collaborative projects in a logic of public / private partnerships.- Strengthening of cooperation between partners at regional and international level.The consortium gathers major players in the partner countries and relevant international institutions in agricultural and food sectors, with a common objective to contribute to the sustainable development of products from the agricultural and food sectors in Latin America.

The OVERALL AIM of the INNOVA project is to improve the research management of Higher Education Institutions in Bolivia and Paraguay, with a specific focus on Climate Change.This goal will be achieved by implementing the following SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:- Firstly, development and consolidation of Research & Innovation policies in Bolivia and Paraguay, with a specific focus in Climate Change, in order to meet international standards. - Secondly, setting-up of an innovative Forward-Looking Platform to orientate coordinated and sustainable policymaking in the field of research management in Bolivia and Paraguay, drawing upon foresight methods.INNOVA will contribute to tackle the manifest HEIs underperformance on Research and Innovation in Bolivia and Paraguay. The current situation calls urgently for effective formulation of legal and policy frameworks to articulate R&D actions at HE systemic level, which INNOVA will foster through fruitful interplay between HEIs, private sector and policymakers to move forward on S,T&I. In order to generate systematic impact, INNOVA will leverage the involvement in the Consortium of the Ministries responsible for HE from both countries together with a balances combination of public and private HEIs in the region, accompanied by two experienced EU partners.

Latin American countries face the challenge of transforming into knowledge-based societies. Adaptation to these challenges has prompted universities to revise their traditional functions and assume a proactive role in contributing to economic and social development of the society. TETRIS general objective is to enhance to building trust in academic research and in university-industry collaboration by improving the effectiveness of Technology Transfer activities at the Partner Country HEIs. The project aims to improve the level of institutionalization of the ‘third mission’ of the partner universities from Latin America. The development of innovation schemes at institutional level will facilitate and encourage university-industry partnerships. More systematic efforts are required to unlock the potential of research and innovation results. The project will address the regional priority by a carefully designed set of capacity building actions targeting two intervention areas: i) institutional policies on IP and technology transfer and ii) institutional set-up and mechanisms for technology transfer and innovation. The project has three phases: the initial phase is about detailed assessment of Technology Transfer performance and will result in individual development needs. The next phase is the design and development of organisational, operational models and technology transfer mechanisms. The last phase is dedicated to the implementation: universities will adopt and implement elements of the previously developed models that suits best the institutional strategy and capability. Upskilling professionals and improving the knowledge transfer function together will allow them to actively engage with the innovation ecosystem and will have a multiplier effect on research and education. The project will contribute to increase openness and transparency by developing a technology transfer innovation scheme.