{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T11:27:33Z","timestamp":1772710053249,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,21]],"date-time":"2022-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1642723200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Erasmus+ program of the European Union","award":["1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Agronomy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper set out to explore the precision agriculture (PA)-training needs of students studying in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). SPARKLE is a Knowledge Alliance Project, funded by the European Union (EU), and one of its main goals is to narrow the innovation divide between entrepreneurship and the effective application of sustainable PA. During the project, the research conducted in all countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region revealed differences in the PA-training needs of university students. Additionally, this paper set out to explore the socioeconomic characteristics of students that affect their interest and knowledge towards PA. Finally, this paper aimed to understand the scope, present status and strategies for improving PA training in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The following descriptive statistics and two multivariate analysis techniques were used: Two-Step Cluster Analysis (TSCA) and Categorical Regression (CATREG). Results support the notion that the lack of \u201cPA knowledge\/interest\u201d adds to the technological gap amongst university students, slow adoption of PA and lower levels of overall rural economic development. These findings will be used as the fundamental cognition for the development of a joint action plan and several other national plans in the selected regions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy12020269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,21]],"date-time":"2022-01-21T08:37:18Z","timestamp":1642754238000},"page":"269","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Current Skills of Students and Their Expected Future Training Needs on Precision Agriculture: Evidence from Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education Institutes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9540-7265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Bournaris","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"given":"Manuela","family":"Correia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rural Engineering, University of Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7004-516 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Guadagni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ValueDo srl, Via Filippo Corridoni 91, 50134 Florence, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0804-6463","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeremy","family":"Karouta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Center for Automation and Robotics, Calle Serrano 117, 28006 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3606-4826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anne","family":"Krus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2287-4131","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefania","family":"Lombardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural, Food Production and Forest Management, University of Florence, P.zza S. Marco, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3763-7510","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitra","family":"Lazaridou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9779-0226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Efstratios","family":"Loizou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Regional Development and Cross Border Studies, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Kozani, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0305-8147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Rafael","family":"Marques da Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rural Engineering, University of Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7004-516 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4848-816X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Guanter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u00c1rea de Ingenier\u00eda Agroforestal, Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Aeroespacial y Mec\u00e1nica de Fluidos, Universidad de Sevilla, C. San Fernando, 4, 41004 Sevilla, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7560-4365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anastasios","family":"Michailidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3102-5505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefanos","family":"Nastis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"given":"Aikaterini","family":"Paltaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Partalidou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3681-1572","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel","family":"P\u00e9rez-Ruiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u00c1rea de Ingenier\u00eda Agroforestal, Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Aeroespacial y Mec\u00e1nica de Fluidos, Universidad de Sevilla, C. San Fernando, 4, 41004 Sevilla, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5807-8132","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1ngela","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Center for Automation and Robotics, Calle Serrano 117, 28006 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4473-3209","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Constantino","family":"Valero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6167-5322","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Vieri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural, Food Production and Forest Management, University of Florence, P.zza S. 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