Syllabus

1. Definition of Data Science;
2. Fundamentals, solutions and examples of application in the digital transition in food production, management of natural resources and the environment;
3. Overview of Data science topics and algorithms;
4. Data science methodology;
5. Data science methodological phases;
6. Understanding the areas of application, acquisition, preparation and analysis of data, modeling, evaluation, implementation, reporting and feedback;
7. Brief introduction to the data science tools and potential application to each phase of the methodology;
8. Introduction to Big Data Analysis and Cloud Computing;
9. Availability of data resources;
10. Ethics in accessing and using information.

Syllabus

1. Installing and configuring a python interpreter and development environments, with emphasis on collaborative environments;
2. Introduction to python and algorithms. Basics of python programming (variables, operators, conditions, loops, functions, dataTypes, etc);
3. Structuring a program. Library import and code reuse;
4. File handling (read-write), directories and access and handling of large files;
5. Interaction with command line execution arguments;
6. Access and provide a data service (APIs);
7. Structuring of a program for processing in sequence and in parallel and in a grid environment.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to data management and data management systems;
2. Types of databases;
3. Concept of relational databases;
4. SQL language and application for creating and using databases;
5. Main open-source and proprietary database technologies;
6. NoSQL systems and their application;
7. Data quality principles, vocabularies and ontologies;
8. Tools and resources for checking data quality, organization and normalization;
9. Use of global and resolvable unique identifiers, traceability;
10. Agri-environment data resources;
11. Introduction to the concept of large data sets and their specificities in relation to production, storage and analysis.

Syllabus

1. Main tools for data analysis and visualization using Python (Pandas, Plotly, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Bokeh, geoplotlib);
2. Data types and variable identification;
3. Statistical summary;
4. Empirical data distribution;
5. Standardization and data transformation;
6. Reduction of data dimensionality: multivariate ordination methods;
7. Correlation and regression analysis;
8. Design principles applied to information visualization;
9. Uni, bi and multivariate graphical visualization;
10. Advanced representations of information;
11. Representation of spatial data;
12. Creation of interactive visual information panels (dashboards).

Syllabus

1. What is machine learning? First examples;
2. Classification and clustering problems;
3. Extraction of variables and organization of input data;
4. Binary response variable: decision and risk rule;
5. Classifier quality assessment: errors of omission and errors of commission;
6. Categorical answer variable: decision trees;
7. "Ensemble" of classifiers: "random forests";
8. Neural networks;
9. Convolutional networks and deep learning for image problems.

Syllabus

1. Prepare synthetic presentations of data science application cases related to the topic to be developed in the master's dissertation;
2. Present the student's dissertation work in a compact format, supported by advanced data visualization;
3. Develop presentation skills.

Syllabus

Development of a project proposed by partner companies, in the form of hackathon, in teams consisting of the following profiles: i) domain specialist; ii) team coordinator; iii) analyst; iv) programmer; v) reporter/communicator. The curricular unit will have an initial seminar to present the problems proposed by the companies, which will be complemented on the characterization of how the hackathon project works. This seminar will include the following contents:

1. characterization of a hackathon project;
2. roles, characterization and responsibilities of team members;
3. tools for collaborative development of code, documentation and information;
4. definition of objectives and goals in a data science project.

These contents will be complemented with syllabus adjusted to the specific project, either from the data science skills, or from the specific components of the system under analysis.

Syllabus

1. 1) Hypothesis tests for count data, based on Pearson's Chi-squared statistic;
2. Simple Linear Regression (both descriptive and inferential contexts);
3. Multiple Linear Regression (both descriptive and inferential contexts);
4. Analysis of Variance (introductory concepts in experimental design; Anova models for some elementary experimentaldesigns).

Syllabus

Basic concepts and application examples in four main topics:

1. linear programming;
2. network models;
3. integer programming;
4. multi-criteria decision analysis.

Syllabus

1. Spatial data structures.
2. Definition of basic spatial operations.
3. Data integration. Creation of cartographic models.
4. Use of Arc/GIS.
5. Solving modeling problems involving spatial data.
6. Advanced spatial analysis operations.
7. Implementation of geodatabases.
8. Setting Data Integrity Constraints.
9. Spatial analysis in networks.
10. Introduction to the development of automatic procedures for processing spatial data.

Syllabus

Fertilizers, classification, characteristics, criteria for selection and risks associated with their use: “conventional” mineral fertilizers, “special” mineral fertilizers (containing secondary macronutrients and micronutrients, chelated, stabilized, slow release, controlled release, biofertilizer), organic and mineral-organic fertilizers. Mineral amendments. Organic amendments, valorization of organic waste (animal manures, waste from agricultural and food industries, composted MSW and sewage sludge). Fertilization in soil grown crops: recommendations based on soil analysis and plant analysis, base dressing, top dressing, fertigation and foliar fertilization, fertilization plans for selected crops. Fertilizing in soilless culture systems: soilless culture techniques, substrates for soilless culture, water quality, nutrient solutions. Visits to farms.

Syllabus

Irrigation design and irrigation scheduling: aims and contexts (soil, climate). Biophysical background, identification of pre-requisites. Measuring water use and water stress, methods, limitations and contexts of application. Modelling water use. Crop water requirements: nomenclature and models. Reference evapotranspiration, crop coefficients (single and dual), stress coefficients. Deficit irrigation. Water stress indicators and other tools for irrigation scheduling. Water use and irrigation efficiencies. Water productivity. Irrigation methods. Quality parameters. Sprinkler, drip, pivot and surface irrigation. Control and automatisms, pumping systems. Drainage: systems, equipments, measurements necessary for design. Applications and special cases. Project exercise: from climate, crop and soil to the irrigation project (students working in group present all calculations, a descriptive memory and a power point presentation discussed in class.

Syllabus

Characterization and typification of the agro-ecosystem; characterization of the key-enemies of different crops (pests, diseases and weeds), symptoms and damages, life cycles, epidemiology and population dynamics, natural enemies; methods of risk estimation and decision-making tools; strategies and management tactics of protection. I. Protection of vegetables and cereal crops. The following crops are addressed: Protected and open-air vegetable crops (lettuce, cabbages, cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes), and cereals (rice, corn, wheat, barley and oats). II. Protection of erennial woody crops. The following woody crops are addressed: Grapevine, citrus, apple, pear and stone fruits.

Syllabus

Module A – Topics common to several species
- Ecophysiology and regulation of growth, development and production
- Flowering, setting and fruit growth
- Integrated production of fruit trees (watering, fertilization, control of pests, diseases and weeds)
- Nurseries, propagation and rootstocks
- Establishment or renewal of orchards (replanting diseases)
- Bioregulators in fruit growing
- Principles and post-harvest techniques
- Quality and nutritional value of fruits - Biotechnology and improvement in fruit growing


Module B - Soil and climate requirements, conditioning factors productivity, obtaining plants, training systems and post-harvest techniques for the following species:
- Pome fruit (pear and apple tree)
- Prunoide plants (plum, cherry, peach, apricot)
- Citrus fruits, olive trees
- Dried fruits (almond, chestnut, hazel and walnut)
- Small fruits (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries)
- Kiwi, fig tree

Syllabus

Theoretical
1. World wine-growing activity 2. Grapevine ampelography and selection 3. Grapevine ecophysiology 4. Zoning, viticultural regions and vines 5. Vine installation and management systems 6. Soil fertilization and maintenance 7. Vegetation management techniques 8. Yield control and yield/quality ratios 9. Maturation and harvesting 10. Technological particularities of table grape production

Practices
Monitoring and participation in the vineyard's cultural operations: winter pruning, phytosanitary treatments, soil maintenance and green interventions. Evaluation of responses to load left to pruning and phenological records. Analysis of the effect of the training system and the variety on the ecophysiology of the vine, on the vegetative growth, on the fertility and on the potential production.

Syllabus

The Food Engineering Project: Market analysis; Business strategy; Financing. Strategic Coordination in Project Development. Different phases: Preliminary Program and Project Team; Base Program: analysis of the conditionings and territorial framework. Prior Study - technical and economic feasibility. Basic project of Architecture. Licensing. Financial support, tax incentives. Execution project. Final Surveys. Authorization of Labor. Company strategy: Big data, type of products and quantity to produce as a market function; technologies; technological diagrams and mass balances; sizing and selection of equipment. Distribution in space, lay-out sketch. Estimated costs. Case studies - main technological indices and equipment. Practical exercise: Previous study of the Food Industry Facilities Project using the bottom up approach: starting from market share - up to consumer needs (big data)- to reception of raw materials, production flows, digital networks, etc.

Syllabus

1. 1. Marketing Strategy and Orientation
2. 1.1 Introduction to Marketing
3. 1.2 Evolution of Marketing
4. 1.3 Marketing Orientation
5. 1.4 Marketing Process
6. 1.5 Concepts of Management and Strategic Planning
7. 1.6 Marketing Strategy Formulation
8. 2. Consumer Behavior and Market Segmentation
9. 2.1 Determinants of Consumer Behavior
10. 2.2 Purchase Decision Process
11. 2.3 Segmentation Criteria
12. 2.4 Target Market Selection
13. 2.5 Positioning Strategies
14. 3. Introduction to Marketing Research
15. 3.1 Marketing Research Objectives
16. 3.2 Marketing Research Methods
17. 4. Marketing Policies: Marketing-Mix
18. 4.1 Product: concepts, components (brand, packaging), innovation
19. 4.2 Price: concepts, stages and methods
20. 4.3 Distribution: organization and dynamics of distribution, distribution mix
21. 4.4 Communication: objectives, strategy and communication mix.
22. 5. Marketing Plan
23. 5.1 Definition of the Marketing Plan
24. 5.2 Steps of the Planning Process

Syllabus

1. Quality: Concepts and models; Quality and business strategies; Quality management.
2. Portuguese Quality System / European Quality System: Certification and Accreditation
3. Quality Management Systems: ISO 9001
4. Quality Improvement Programs - Total Quality Model E.F.Q.M .; Lean Manufacturing: Principles; DMAIC; Kaisen Methodology.
5. Quality Assessment: Self-evaluation; Quality Costs; Quality Audit.
6. Most relevant references in the area of Food Safety: ISO 22000 - steps of implementation of the benchmark and analysis of the requirements.
7. Food safety references: IFS, BRC, FSSC 22000 - analysis of requirements and standards comparison.
8. Global GAP - importance of certification in the primary sector.
9. Food defense - approach to food defense plans and specific requirements in the frameworks under study.

Syllabus

Emerging processes in food engineering. Non-thermal processes: High hydrostatic pressure, Ultrasound, Mano-thermo-sonication, Ionization, High intensity light pulses, Electric Field Pulses; Alternative thermal processes: radio frequency heating, microwave processing, infrared heating, Ohmic heating, pressure freezing. New food packaging concepts: active and intelligent packaging. Environmental Management Efficient Use of Water in the Food Industry. Water Cycle in Industry. Implementation of a Plan for the Efficient Use of Water. Measures of Efficient Use of Water in Industrial Purposes. The Best Available Technologies (MTDS) for the Treatment and Valorization of Water/Wastewater and Residues in the Food Industry. Key Parameters for Assessing the Efficiency of Water/Wastewater and Waste Treatment Technologies. The Curricular Unit includes the realization of a Project, developed in a group, which is intended to integrate all the knowledge acquired

Syllabus

1. 1. Advanced Concepts of Environmental Sustainability
2. 1.1. Advanced concepts and theories related to the assessment of environmental sustainability.
3. 1.2. Sustainability assessment principles and articulate their practical implications.
4. 2. Environmental Assessment Methodologies in Plans, Projects and Strategies
5. 2.1. Design environmental models for scenario analysis, Evaluation of evidence-based environmental policies. Carry out an integrated environmental assessment, types of indicators; PSR/DPSIR model.
6. 2.2. Environmental Report and execution methodologies. Knowledge of Taxonomy.
7. 2.3. Damage assessment and repair in Environmental Responsibility.
8. 2.4. Material flow analysis: main indicators and methodologies.
9. 2.5. Environmental risk assessment and simulation.
10. 3. Environmental Assessment Methodologies supported by life cycle analysis
11. 3.1. Knowledge of ISO 14040 Life Cycle Analysis series
12. 3.2. Life Cycle Analysis methodology and hybrid assessment structures to evaluate/reformulate products and technologies.
13. 3.3. Design a functional analysis, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation
14. 3.4. Use of databases to analyze data sets for environmental sustainability assessments. Use of SIMAPRO software or other appropriate software.

Syllabus

1. The Project goals and content. General aspects and fundamentals. Legislation on public works - Ordinance No. 701-H/2008 of 29 July.
2. Preparation and design of a technical proposal.
3. Project organization and specifications (written content and drawings). Specifications – general clauses and technical clauses. Technical assistance. Considerations on Tender Programs and Contract Specifications
4. Technical evaluation of projects. Evaluation criteria (technical quality, price, deadline, others)
5. Focal aspects on measurements and budget estimation.
6. Economic and financial study. Cost recovery principle. Application of environmental and economic indicators
7. Ethics and deontology in engineering projects
8. Computer-aided design program. Application in engineering of the Autocad program. Drawing files, extensions, “viewers”, layouts, viewports. Configuration and customization of user interface, command bars, shortcuts, console commands; Organization and referencing of the design; Graphic entities and the management of their properties, blocks, data entry, identifying dimensions, quoting drawings, printing and plotting elements.

Syllabus

1. 1. Origin, characteristics and properties of solid waste
2. 1.1 Classification according the origin
3. 1.2 Classification according the characteristics
4. 1.3 Physical, chemical and biochemical properties
5. 1.4 Quantification and physical characterization
6. 2. Physical, physic-chemical and chemical processes for solid waste treatment
7. 2.1 Manual and mechanical separation
8. 2.2 Drying and densification
9. 2.3 Incineration e co-incineration
10. 2.4 Pyrolysis and plasma technology
11. 3. Advanced biological processes for solid waste treatment
12. 3.1 Aerobic
13. 3.2 Anaerobic
14. 3.3 Combined aerobic/anaerobic
15. 4. Other processes for solid wastes treatment and valorization
16. 4.1 Acid, alkaline and enzymatic hydrolysis
17. 4.2. Production of glucose, ethanol, methanol and single cell protein
18. 5 – Key parameters for the assessment of efficiency and selection of waste treatment technologies
19. Case Study: Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) in a Municipal Solid Waste System
20. Practical classes (laboratorial classes and study visits)

Syllabus

1. 1. An introduction to environmental and natural resource economics
2. Economy and the environment. Economic functions of the environment. Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost. Pareto optimum and compensation tests. Externalities, public goods and market failure.
3. 2. Environmental and natural resource use problems as economic problems
4. Pollution and pollution control. Economic efficiency, cost-effectiveness, technological innovation and other assessment criteria. Compared analysis of different pollution control tools. Biodiversity, ecosystem services and their economic value. Renewable natural resources: optimal use and common pool resources. Optimal forest management. Time, dynamic efficiency and sustainability.
5. 3. Analytical tools and environmental policy decision-making
6. Cost-benefit analysis and the economic valuation of the environment as decision-support tools in environmental and natural resource management and policy. Role and the limits of economic analysis.

Syllabus

Introduction to the raster structure of multispectral data. Spatial, radiometric, spectral and temporal resolution. Color compositing and image visualization. Contrast enhancement and filtering. Pre-processing: radiometric correction and DN-to-reflectance conversion. Geometrical correction. The atmospheric effect and its correction in images. Spectral signatures: vegetation, soil, and water. Main algorithms for supervised and unsupervised classification: ISODATA, k-means, maximum likelihood, classification trees. Accuracy assessment statistics. Change detection and analysis of image time series. Vegetation indices: generic concept and specialized indices; minimization of disturbances induced by the atmosphere and soil background.

Syllabus

1. 1. Overview of forest models and simulators as a support to sustainable forest management
2. 2. Data for the development and validation of forest models: permanent, interval plots and temporary plots; continuous forest inventory; total and partial stem analysis
3. 3. Forest productivity evaluation: factors influencing forest productivity and productivity management; evaluation of forest productivity
4. 4. Introduction to R and RStudio
5. 5. Allometric relationships and growth functions: theoretical growth functions; simultaneous modelling of several individuals: formulating growth functions without age explicit
6. 6. The FCTOOLS website, the sIMfLOR platform and the standsSIM-md simulator
7. 7. Growth and yield models
8. - Stand models: GLOBULUS
9. - Stand models with simulation of diameter distribution: PBRAVO
10. - Individual tree models: PINASTER, PINEA, CASTANEA, SUBER
11. 8. Management oriented process based models: 3PG model
12. 9. Regional and large scale simulators
13. 10. Evaluation/validation of models

Syllabus

Introduction to the rural fire problem in Portugal: statistics on number of fires, area burned and causes of ignition. Geographical distribution. Plants as fuels: main types of forest fuels. Structural and thermodynamical parameters of plant fuels – fuel modelling; Climate, meteorology, and fire. Main synoptical conditions associated with large fires. Fire danger indexing: the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI). Wildfire behavior: ignition, steady-state fire behavior, and extreme fire behavior. Crown fires. Wind-dominated vs plume-dominated fires. Fire behavior modeling: the Rothermel model and simulation with BEHAVE. Fire ecology and effects. Fire as an ecosystem disturbance. Fire effects on flora, fauna, soils and water. Fire prevention silviculture. Stand and landscape-level fuels and forest management.

Syllabus

1. I. Water. Effects of vegetation on the water balance.
2. II. Carbono e Solo. Vegetação e sequestro de carbono. Disponibilidade de nutrientes e crescimento das plantas. Interações solo-raízes.
3. III. Biodiversity and species interaction.

Syllabus

1. I- Hydro-geomorphic and hydraulic scenario. Mineralization and major components. Thermal and chemical stratifications in aquatic environment. Majority and minority components, gases. Mineralization and organic matter. Organic matter. Elements of variable proportionality and microcomponents. Portuguese fish fauna. Species and guilds. Biological communities, typology and functioning of river ecosystems. Spatial, temporal and trophic gradients.
2. II- Qualidade da água. Formas de poluição. Restauro de albufeiras e oligotrofização. Regularização, alterações do regime de caudais e extracção de água. Caudais ecológicos. Situação em Portugal e formas de implementação de caudais de manutenção ecológica. Passagens p/ peixes, tipologia, localização e dimensionamento. Estrutura e ecologia ripárias. Papel e valor da mata ripária. Restauro da vegetação ripária. Alterações morfológicas do canal e leitos fluviais. Extracção de inertes. Efeitos e formas de mitigar alterações. Restoration of habitats, sections and river segments. Assessment of water quality, ecological and fish. Official indices and their calculation.

Syllabus

Analyzing population responses to the environment drivers. Demographic strategies. Interspecific relationships: cooperation, reproduction, competition. Interspecific relationships. Regulation of populations. Use of RAMAS and VORTEX software in the application of deterministic, stochastic, matrix and metapopulation models using study case. Habitat use and selectivity. Variability and genetic structure of populations, processes of adaptation, isolation and evolution. Estimation of population parameters: analysis of population sampling data. Absolute counts. Distance sampling. Movement and dispersal. Population management: Sustainable exploitation; Conservation and meta-population theory; Management of invasive species. Animal ecology in urban environments. Analysis and management of agricultural and forest habitats for wildlife conservation.

Syllabus

1. Module 1: Bioclimatic and biogeographic context of Portuguese vegetation; methods of vegetation study.
2. 1. Bioclimatology and biogeography: history and concepts;
3. 2. Biomes;
4. 3. Methods of vegetation study.
5. Module 2: Vegetation conservation and plant mapping.
6. 1. Plant mapping;
7. 2. Biodiversity, vegetation management and conservation;
8. 3. International Conventions, European Regulations, agri-environmental and forest-environment measures.
9. Module 3: Agroforestry systems.
10. 1. Concepts and typologies;
11. 2. Hydrological balance and nutrient cycling;
12. 3. Silvopastoral systems: community rural areas as a case study.
13. Module 4: Restoration and rehabilitation of vegetation and plant communities.
14. 1. Degradation factors;
15. 2. Restoration methods; Phytoremediation;
16. 3. Case studies (riparian galleries; wild fires; weed control; sand dunes; phytoremediation).