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This programme is taught in the UOC’s Virtual Campus by an international team of experts with extensive field experience. The food security e-learning courses were developed by the FAO Food Security Information for Action programme which is funded by the European Union. The programme, which starts on 17 March and ends on 16 July, effectively combines FAO’s experience and knowledge with the UOC’s academic rigour and technological capacity. With this training, students will be better prepared to undertake and support food security work in their community.

This is one of the most diverse courses at the UOC, with students enrolled in the programme from all over the world. This diversity highlights the potential of the UOC’s Global Campus insofar as it can bring students from so many countries together to learn about, discuss and problem solve around an issue as pressing as food security.
This certificate will provide students of all backgrounds with a holistic understanding of food security, the skills to assess and analyse food security projects, and the tools to put those skills into action. As a starting point, the concepts and tools used in food security analysis are reviewed. Subsequently, food security and its relationship to vulnerability, hunger, malnutrition and poverty are considered. Guidelines on how to interpret and use conceptual frameworks for analysing food security are also examined. Other topics include tools for assessing information systems related to food security analysis; designing, writing and increasing the impact of food security reports in different contexts, and commonly used methods for assessing food availability.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive an FAO-UOC Joint Certificate in Food Security: Assessment and Action, along with 15 credits (European Credit Transfer System). This certificate is fully transferable to the UOC’s master’s degree in Food, Society and International Food Governance.


About the programme

The Food Security Information for Decision Making Programme aims to enhance national capacity to generate, manage, and use food security information from different sectors for more effective policies and programmes. It is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

About FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. FAO helps developing countries and countries in transition modernise and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since FAO was founded in 1945, the organisation has focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world’s poor and hungry people.