MSc Digital Technology for Sustainable Agriculture

The Digital Technology for Sustainable Agriculture programme from University College Dublin is delivered by a highly research-intensive and multi-disciplinary school – Ireland’s premier agri-food related research entity with excellent networks into the agri-food industry and with a particular focus on working with industry to provide sustainable technical solutions.

Quick Facts

Duration 1 year full-time
Start Date September
Tuition Fee €27,720 per year
Location Dublin, Ireland/Blended

The world’s population is expected to grow to approx. 10 billion by 2050. This growth will result in increased demand for resources, raw materials and food. Furthermore, the world faces intersecting challenges like climate change, exploitation of natural capital and an aging and declining rural population.

To produce a “sustainable food future,” the world must increase food production while cutting GHG emissions and maintaining (or reducing) the land used in agriculture.

Digital agriculture could address these challenges by making the agri-food value chain more efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable – before, during, and after on-farm production.

The Digital Technology for Sustainable Agriculture programme from University College Dublin is aimed at students who wish to build their knowledge and skills-base to address the complexities of developing, deploying and managing digital technology in the agriculture sector. With a focus on design, numeracy, and hardware software technology, our students will be deeply engaged agricultural with production, and specifically technology to enhance efficiency, sustainability, resilience and reliability.

Modules include:

  • Data Programming with Python
  • Crop technology and Mechanisation
  • Soil Technology
  • Hyperspectral Imaging
  • Remote Sensing and GIS for Decision Making
  • Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
  • Numerical Methods for Agriculture
  • Sensors and Sensing Systems
  • Optical Sensing Technology
  • Precision Agriculture
  • Precision Livestock Management
  • IoT enabled Agrifood Production

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Testimonial

 

“Rapid advances in computing technologies are leading to radical transformations across a multitude of industry sectors. Data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence offer new solutions to challenges in sectors including agriculture. Although this degree is new within UCD, Digital Agriculture is recognised as one of the most critically important technical disciplines supporting the use of new and advanced technologies integrated into one system. The MSc programme provides students with an understanding of the tools that digitise data capture relating to the environment and activity (sensor technologies and systems), move the data (accumulation networks), store the data (databases), analyse data to gain insights (models and AI), share the resulting information along the agricultural value chain (distribution networks) and provide actors and stakeholders access to the digital chain (interfaces). The mix of full-time and part-time students sharing modules opens a promising dynamic in which learners can complement and help one another in the broader context. The modules will employ technology-enabled flexible teaching approaches suitable for both full-time students and upskilling professional learners.“

Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos, Programme Director

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the MSc Digital Agriculture may find employment opportunities in the following areas:

  • Agricultural machinery (e.g. Agco, CNH Industrial, Claas, John Deere)
  • Precision farming (e.g. Amazone, Lemken, Rauch, Dairymaster)
  • Decision support in agriculture (e.g. Corteva Digital Ag, Syngenta Global)
  • IoT, data and predictive analytics (e.g. BASF, Bosch, IBM, Microsoft)

Why study with us?

UCD is consistently ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide. In the 2022 QS World University Rankings, UCD was again named as one of the best universities globally, and was placed 173rd in the world.

UCD is the most international and diverse university in Ireland with 8,500 international students from 130 different countries. Our network of 288,000 successful and influential alumni can be found in 169 different countries around the world.

The UCD campus is one of the largest urban campuses in Europe and is situated just 5 kilometres from Ireland’s capital city of Dublin. Our students enjoy world-class teaching and learning facilities, modern and comfortable student accommodation, state-of-the art sports and fitness amenities, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a cinema, cafes and student centre all on our beautiful, nature-filled campus. 

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