Why follow this course?

Vertical farming is a fast-growing globalized industry with investments in new and existing companies. This course on VF aims to illuminate the trees in the forest of big claims and lofty promises. Take a deep dive into the indoor growing of crops:

• Separate sense from nonsense by analysing sustainability & profitability of vertical farms
• Deduct the role and key principles of plant physiology in vertical farming
• Learn about new opportunities in vertical farming through the latest academic insights
• Collaborate with bright university students while solving specific hurdles and practical challenges VF industry faces
• Infer the relevance and advances of technology in vertical farming

Is this course for you?

Are you a professional grower, tech developer, or breeder associated with the vertical farming industry? Then this mixed classroom course, designed by Wageningen University, is for you. You will collaborate with university students to research the central challenges of vertical farming and gain scientific insights into applied problems. To get the most out of this course, we recommend having experience or study equivalent to a BSc level.

This course deepened my understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the promising field of vertical farming.

Implementing the recommended changes to the lighting in our vertical farm, we were able to increase the yield of our basil with around 40%.

Programme & topics

Our mixed classroom approach promotes the cross-pollination of theory and practice in vertical farming. Professionals receive the latest VF knowledge and contribute relevant input to the specific practical challenges they face. Students will deep dive into problem-based case studies, guided by academic experts, and present their solutions back to professionals.

With a strong focus on the plant physiology aspects, you will:

• Apply concepts from plant physiology, technology, business, and sustainability.
• Become familiar with innovations such as novel substrates, state of the art LED lighting recipes, precision environmental control, and advanced sensing.
• Evaluate vertical farming strategies in terms of sustainability, profitability and product quality.

The 4-weeks programme offers 4 modules. For all professionals the first three weeks are online and week 4 (module 4) is 2 days in-person in Wageningen. The 60 hours of dedicated study time is spread over the total period, with fixed interaction moments each week.*

Professionals follow modules 1, 2 and 3 online, with 6-10 online live sessions each week consisting of lectures, workshops, discussions, and student presentations. On Monday 6, 13 and 20 January from 14-17h and Friday 10, 17 and 24 January from 10-13h (CET) there are mandatory online interaction moments for professionals and students to work together. For other sessions, you can join online or watch the recordings (available directly afterwards). In module 4 a mini-conference for all participants on VF at Wageningen Campus on 30 & 31 January 2025 wraps up the course.

*Alternatively, upon request, you can choose to only view the online content of modules 1-3 without interaction with students or teachers and no access to the mini-conference.

Download the flyer to view an overview of the topics in all 4 modules.

Practical information

Price

€ 1.900 per person* covering tuition, the mini-conference and 1 year
access to the online course content. Travel and accommodation are not
included.

*’View-only’ is € 950 per person with no access to the mini-conference. To register for this option, you need to mention ‘VIEW-ONLY’ in the Remarks field of the registration form.

Participants

Between 100 and 150 participants, with a maximum of 50 professionals.

No maximum for viewers.

Accreditation

Based on your (online) attendance a certificate is issued.

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