📋 Tender Overview
Sao Tome and Principe (STP) have economic, educational and Public Health weaknesses. However, STP has a high fruits and vegetables biodiversity, underexplored in terms of Food Technology, as well as their potential nutritional value, which is our great inspiration to go forward with the TecBioFood proposal. The major goal is to improve competences at higher and technical education in Food Science and Technology through its bioresources, with the purpose to enhance STP sustainable development. For that, European Universities (Porto/Vigo) will transfer knowledge/competences to University of STP (USTP) + Institute of Accounting, Administration, and Informatics (IUCAI) by a joint proposal for 1st/2nd cycle courses curricula improvement and by a comprehensive formation plan, using innovative online and face-to-face pedagogical methods, and involving theoretical, technical, and hands-on approaches. It will implement a Food Technology Laboratory at USTP, for the practical classes of the transformation of raw food. The best processing methods will be tested by the USTP trained teachers/students to the selected native fruits/vegetables. Sustainable energy sources and reusable packaging will be privileged and physical-chemical, microbiological, shelf-life and sensory evaluations will be carried out locally and in Portugal/Spain to validate the final products. Capacity building of IUCAI partner will be on Marketing and digital management throughout the production process. To strengthen the links between bioresources and biodiversity protection and local communities, the food products developed at USTP will be integrated in the food support activities of HELPO to vulnerable targets. The inclusion of the food products in school and hospital menus, adding nutritional value, together with community training, will leave the seed for new economic opportunities for the evolution of STP agri-food sector, aligned with the Green Deal and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
