Student's Guide
Precision Livestock Farming
Degree class
LM-86
Degree required
Laurea I Livello
Admission
Numero Programmato Locale
Language
ENG
Department
Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni Animali
The programme at a glance
The Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) can be defined as an automated, continuous and real time monitoring of animals, controlling production, reproduction, health and welfare of livestock and their environmental impact. Thus, the educational objectives of the Master Degree in PLF are to obtain high level professional figures engaged in the field of livestock production systems, with engineering and agricultural skills, such as precision agriculture and animal husbandry technologies for the entire production process. The managers in PLF will also have skills on elements of chemical plants and the theory of the development of chemical processes useful to dictate the guidelines to livestock companies for the management and disposal of waste, minimizing the negative impacts of production on the environment and increasing the sustainability of supply chains. Hence, biodiversity and ecosystem services will be protected, in order to create an integration between livestock and environment, in support of territorial productions of excellence. From an engineering point of view, the control of the automation of company information, which derive from robotics and sensor technology applied to animals, will be also considered in order to increase farm efficiency and sustainability. Finally, the process of uncovering trends, patterns and correlations in large amounts of raw data to help make data-informed decisions will be studied through statistical tools, that foresee data organization and analytics.
The Master Degree in PLF is active in the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (https://www.mvpa-unina.org/), pertaining to the school of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (https://www.samv.unina.it/index.php/it/), but it is held in English and in a residential form, at the Regional farm “Improsta” (https://www.craa.it/) Within the farm, a guesthouse and other facilities are present (a herd of 300 buffaloes, a cheese-factory and a surface arable land of 100 ha).
Job opportunities
The Master Degree in Precision Livestock farming allows the registration in the Professional Register of Agronomists and Foresters, upon passing the State exam. The job opportunities for Precision Livestock Farming graduates are different:
- Manager of agrarian and livestock farms of different nature and in those with high technology;
- Technical consulting activities for highly automated plants in livestock and agri-food farms;
- Technical management and / or consultancy for the production and use of food in agro-livestock and animal feed companies;
- Consulting and organization of farm financing plans;
- Manager of feed companies;
- National and regional services for environmental and territorial protection, international (FAO), national and regional environmental agencies;
- Regional, provincial and municipal councilors, mountain communities, etc;
- Public and private research institutions and Universities.
Admission and prerequisites
The admission to the PLF Master Degree is limited to n. 25 (20 Italians + 5 foreigners) students who will be selected with an admission test. If the number of candidates for is greater than the number indicated, only those students who are properly placed in the ranking list can be enrolled. Once the results are known, the students placed in the merit ranking for access to PLF will complete the matriculation procedure, within the terms established by the competition announcement for admission to the first year. The day following the expiry of this term, the availability of seats not covered will be announced. These places will be assigned according to the progressive order of the ranking itself. In case of failure to cover the 5 places reserved for foreign students, the places not covered will be assigned to Italian students.
The announcement of the admission to the Master Degree in PLF will be published on the website www.unina.it and www.mvpa-unina.org
The study plan in detail
The Master Degree in PLF has a common educational path for all students. During the first year, the Disciplines related to the logistic and structural organization of the farm will be studied, through the use of geographic information system (GIS) and Digital mapping techniques for the management and processing of spatial data. The knowledge of robotics and sensors will be fundamental for the implementation of precision techniques. The environmental impact of livestock will be analyzed with a multidisciplinary approach: waste and effluents from farms will be characterized and some treatment methods will be analyzed, to advice the new professional figure on biomass utilization for energy production and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, according to the current legislation. An economic analysis of the farm and the control of production processes is also considered.
During the second year the precision techniques applied to animal science are analyzed: precision management, precision feeding, computerized reproductive management and monitoring of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The second year is completed by two elective Courses (5 CFU/each Course) for a total of 10 ECTS, that will be chosen by the students. The list of the scheduled elective courses is reported on the website of the Course (https://www.mvpa-unina.org/corsi/Livestock/elective_617.xhtml).
Traineeship opportunities
During the educational path of the Master Degree in Precision livestock farming, a mandatory period of Internship (3 ECTS), and Training (9 ECTS) carried out in private companies and/or Universities in agreement with “Federico II” University is scheduled. The internship activities have the purpose of both facilitating professional choices, through a direct knowledge of the job and creating moments of alternation between study and work, in the context of training processes
International exchange programmes - Erasmus programme
The exchange program is coordinated by the ERASMUS + Commission of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (DVMAP). The section dedicated to the Erasmus+ program of the DVMAP website is updated with all the exchanges activated by the teachers and the notices regarding the selections for study and traineeship purposes (https://www.mvpa-unina.org/erasmus/tpastpaerasmus.xhtml).
Graduation thesis and final exam
The Master Degree in PLF is achieved after a final test, consisting in the discussion of a paper written by the student under the supervision of a supervisor. The paper must deal with a topic concerning one or more disciplines of the course with the aim of making use of the experience gained during the two years. The final exam will be carried out with the public presentation of the paper in front of a Commission of teachers of the course of study, possibly integrated with representatives of private partners, who will evaluate the commitment, autonomy and innovation of the student in the course of the subject of the dissertation.
Orientation to incoming students
The Department’s Orientation and Tutoring Commission organizes various incoming orientation events aimed at students of the Bachelor’s Degrees who want to know in detail the training offers (subjects, educational organization, professional and employment opportunities) activated at the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions.
The calendar of incoming orientation initiatives is available at the link https://www.mvpa-unina.org/origuente/iningresso.xhtml
Tutoring and counseling
The Department’s Orientation and Tutoring Commission organizes on-going guidance and tutoring initiatives with the aim of providing all the information so that the student is able to consciously organize his or her exam schedule and can choose and build his own curriculum in person.
Furthermore, at the beginning of the second semester of the first year, the Tutoring Commission assigns the tutor teacher to students enrolled in the first year, in order to provide support, reduce dropout rates, prevent dispersion and delay in studies, promote a fruitful and active participation in university life in all its forms.
The calendar of on-going orientation initiatives is available at the link https://www.mvpa-unina.org/orientamento/initinere.xhtml
Career orientation and job placement
The Department’s Orientation and Tutoring Commission organizes outbound orientation and placement initiatives (Career Days) focused on the main job opportunities and on the various post-graduate training opportunities.
The calendar of outgoing orientation initiatives can be consulted at the link https://www.mvpa-unina.org/oritente/including.xhtml
Application timeline
The first and the subsequent enrollments usually take place from 1 September to 31 October of each year, according to a specific Guide to registration and payment of fees published at the URL:
https://www.unina.it/didattica/sportello-studenti/guide-dello-studente
Further deadlines (deadlines for submitting study plans, deadlines for submitting ERASMUS applications, etc.) are indicated on the Degree Program website:
Courses and exams
The first semester courses start in the first week of October and end in December. The extraordinary exam session opens at the end of the courses and closes at the end of February.
The courses of the second semester, on the other hand, start in the first week of March and end in the month of May, while the summer exam session opens at the end of the courses and closes at the end of July.
Finally, the autumn session begins in the first week of September and ends before the start of the courses in the first semester (usually the first days of October).
The calendar of didactic activities and exams can be consulted at an external link:
Timetable
Courses start at 9.00 at the Regional experimental agricultural farm “Improsta” SS 18 – Tirrenia Inferiore – Km 79+800 84025 EBOLI (SA)
The detailed and dynamically updated timetable can be consulted at an external link:
Graduation dates
The final exam sessions are divided into Summer Session, Autumn Session and Extraordinary Session.
The detailed and dynamically updated timetable can be consulted at an external link:
Contact persons
Gianluca
Neglia
Degree Programme Director0812536063
neglia@unina.it
Rossella
di Palo
Contact person for training activities0812536063
dipalo@unina.it
Manuela
Martano
Contact person for student orientationOther persons
Contact person for International Students: Prof. Laura Rinaldi – Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production – phone 081/2536063 – e-mail: lrinaldi@unina.it
Representative of the student body:
Dr. Ludovica Liguori
Dr Federico Iannuzzi
Student Administration Offices: Segreteria Studenti Area Didattica di Medicina Veterinaria – Dr. Luisa Triunfo – email: triunfo@unina.it.
Didactic Office: Ufficio per la didattica, dottorato, corsi di perfezionamento e master – Dr. Maria Teresa Cagiano – email: mcagiano@unina.it.
Services for students with special needs and with specific learning disabilities – Prof. Manuela Martano – Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production – phone 081/2536063 – e-mail: manuela.martano@unina.it
Directions
Department: Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production
Sito web del Corso di Studio: https://www.mvpa-unina.org/corsi/Livestock.xhtml
Sito web del Dipartimento: https://www.mvpa-unina.org/
Sito web della Scuola: https://www.samv.unina.it/index.php/it/
Sito web di Ateneo: http://www.unina.it/home
Portale Orientamento: https://www.mvpa-unina.org/orientamento/iningresso.xhtml
Social Networks: https://www.instagram.com/precision_livestock_farming/
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