RUFORUM and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation Launch Open-Source Curriculum Network on Neglected and Underutilized Species
RUFORUM and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAiR) convened the Transformative Teaching of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on 11-12 December 2025. The workshop brought together more than 50 participants from different parts of the world, including universities, research institutes, civil society, and private sector actors. The meeting launched the Collective Action on Transformative Education | Open-Source NUS Curriculum Network, managed by RUFORUM and facilitated by GFAiR, with funding support from the European Union and the International Foundation for Science (IFS).
The Nairobi workshop established three practical foundations for delivery in 2026. These included a shared curriculum direction across crop-based and cross-cutting working groups, aligned to transformative teaching and systems thinking, early module concepts for piloting in 2026, and a time-bound workplan to guide baseline mapping, curriculum co-design, validation, and piloting.
The 2026 implementation approach follows two routes to support early uptake while building toward a stronger open-source curriculum package. The first route focuses on embedding NUS into existing courses, where partner universities integrate NUS into current teaching across relevant disciplines through examples, case studies, assignments, field-based learning, and value chain applications. This route supports faster adoption through existing approval pathways. The second route focuses on developing online micro-courses with university-backed micro-certification. Partner universities will co-develop short, targeted micro-courses for online or blended delivery, enabling more consistent content, wider reach across institutions, and stronger scale while maintaining academic quality through university involvement and endorsement.
Call to engage through the baseline
RUFORUM and GFAiR are now launching a baseline survey to map current NUS teaching, research, institutional capacity, and innovation linkages across universities. The findings will guide curriculum priorities, module selection, micro-course design, open educational resource development, expert engagement, and pilot planning from March 2026, and will also inform agricultural and nutrition research funding policy discussions. We invite universities and partners across regions to contribute through the baseline by sharing existing teaching assets, course examples, and relevant initiatives. The baseline takes about 20 to 25 minutes to complete.
To participate, please complete the baseline survey here: https://tinyurl.com/3hbzux2x. The deadline is 10 March 2026. For questions, please contact nus.network.coordination@gmail.com;or christine.gathecha@gfair.network
