From organic farmer to small school principal: studies to boost the rural world
Among the master's and postgraduate programs offered for the next academic year, several focus on training professionals for specific activities in rural areas. There are also programs for university students to do internships in companies in small towns.
Rural schools are different from those found in urban settings. They are public schools located in very small towns and have few students. So few that, often, they don't separate the children by grade: even if they are of different ages, they study together. In Catalonia, there are around sixty rural schools—most of them in the Girona region and Central Catalonia—and nearly one hundred rural school zones, institutions made up of rural schools from nearby areas that are considered a single center. Working in them is a different experience.
"There are few initial training programs that address this topic in a theoretical and practical way, and even fewer competitive research programs that allow for knowledge building," acknowledge the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV). Both institutions promote the Master's Degree in Education in Rural Territories, one of the few that trains professionals with a knowledge of rural education and helps dignify life in these contexts.
Little by little, training programs specifically focused on generating talent for rural areas are taking root in the master's and postgraduate programs offered by Catalan universities. This is the case in this regard, but also in the Master's in Agroecology and Organic Agriculture, offered by the UB. "The program was a world pioneer in teaching this subject," explain the university's representatives. Pre-registration is now open for the next academic year. "Technicians who train in organic agriculture have good job prospects: it is one of the few agricultural sectors experiencing constant growth and development," they point out.
In addition to this offering of master's degrees for the rural world, there are other options, such as the Master's in Natural Heritage: Valorization and Management from the University of Girona; the Master's in Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Management from the Autonomous University of Barcelona; and the Master's in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of the Natural Environment from the UB.
Programs and aid
In addition to these master's degrees for working in rural areas, Catalan institutions and universities have implemented mechanisms in recent academic years to bring students closer to these less populated areas. One of the most transversal projects is the Odiseo Practicum. These grants aim to encourage young university students to undertake paid internships in companies located in rural municipalities, in order to promote business competitiveness, as well as the return and establishment of these young people in rural areas. They are promoted by the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion and the Catalan Youth Agency, the General Directorate of Universities of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, and AGAUR, the Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants, and the 12 universities of the Catalan university system.
On the other hand, universities themselves have also launched initiatives to promote it. One of the universities that has dedicated the most effort has been the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). This past academic year, it launched 200 scholarships for people living in rural areas with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. "Online universities are essential for building more capable, entrepreneurial, cohesive, and cooperative rural communities," recalls Àngels Fitó, rector of the UOC.
Nearly 17% of the university's students live in rural areas, according to the university. It also organizes the UOC Rural Awards to recognize the best undergraduate and master's degree final projects that highlight the rural world. Finally, it offers UOC Rural Digital, a program offering eight free courses aimed at people living in towns with up to 5,000 inhabitants who want to improve their use of digital technologies to make the most of them safely.
At the Spanish level, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge promotes the Rural Campus Program, to which universities such as the UAB are affiliated. It allows students to undertake internships in municipalities in rural areas experiencing depopulation problems in any autonomous community. Internships last a minimum of two months and a maximum of three, between July and September.