Merging theoretical and practical learning through the 6th edition of the UrbanFarm student challenge

Since 2019, the University of Bologna and the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences have proposed an innovative learning experience with the UrbanFarm Student Challenge. UrbanFarm2024, the sixth installment, combines competition with project-based learning to propel students beyond the conventional classroom environment. The challenge focused on promoting multidisciplinary and international cooperation between students belonging to the University of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum in Italy (UNIBO) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU Alnarp). By utilizing project-based learning in a competitive setting, the students were focused on collaborating with one another to create the best proposal to tackle a practical problem. This edition’s task was to design an urban agriculture system for the Trelleborg prison facility in Skåne County, Sweden. The system had to integrate innovative food technologies and uphold the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic). The student groups had the freedom to design their proposal with a focus on improving the inmates’ and staff’s mental health, personal well-being, and providing areas for meaningful leisure time for the inmates. The evaluation of the challenge was conducted by experts and UA practitioners from Italy and Sweden to evaluate the ten presented projects. Finally, this paper will discuss the preparation of UrbanFarm2024, the practical activities that led to the project submissions, and the student sentiment regarding their participation in the challenge to give an overview of the entire experience.