The EU Transition Towards Sustainable Food Systems: Legal and Policy Perspectives

About

The Summer School “The EU transition towards sustainable food systems: legal and policy perspectives” will be held from 7 to 11 July 2025 at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy), for a total of 40 hours of training.

The course will provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the EU legal and policy framework for building more equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient agricultural and food systems.

The Summer School is co-organized with the Law Group of Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The entire program and the final assessment will be conducted in English. The sessions are spread over one week, from Monday to Friday, and require participants’ full-time commitment. Classes begin at 9.00 AM and end at 6.30 PM, with 1 hour and a half for lunch.

The course envisages the acknowledgement of 2 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for students who attend at least 80% of classes and pass the final learning test. Acquiring European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is subject to passing the required test and complying with the attendance obligations set out in the program

Course leader

The Summer School is part of a three-year Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence SUSTAIN “EU actions for Sustainable Farming and Food Systems”, EU Erasmus + Programme (Project: 101127247 — SUSTAIN — ERASMUS-JMO-2023-HEI-TCH-RSCH) coordinated by Professor Mariagrazia Alabrese

Target group

The course is intended for students from different academic backgrounds, PhD candidates, young researchers, and professionals working in the agri-food sector and in the fields of law, social sciences, agricultural engineering, economics, and management, as well as officials working in national, international, and European institutions.

The program is designed to account for the participants’ varied backgrounds and to provide them with valuable tools to thoroughly understand the issues arising from the European agri-food legal and policy context

Course aim

The classes will consist of lectures, seminars, discussions, role-playing, and simulation games. Case studies sessions and Q&A sessions will be planned to stimulate the exchanges between trainers and trainees, promoting the creation of a network among all the participants within an interdisciplinary environment.

By the end of the summer school, participants will be able to:

Develop an in-depth understanding of key policies and legislative instruments adopted by the European Union, with particular focus on post-Green Deal strategies and their impact on the agri-food supply chain; and understand the international commitments of the EU in terms of global transition to sustainable food systems.

Acquire expertise in analyzing and managing issues related to food security, environmental sustainability, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, with an emphasis on the integrated approach between law, economics, and the environment.

Develop skills in interpreting and utilizing regulations such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Nature Restoration Law, and the One Health approach to propose innovative solutions to the challenges of agri-food sustainability

Fee info

100 EUR for participants that are enrolled in undergraduate and master’s degree courses at the time of the application and maintain the student status for the entire duration of the summer school; 400 EUR for participants that are enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the time of the application and maintain the Ph.D. candidate status for the entire duration of the summer school; 500 EUR for professionals, academics and other participants