Regenerative Agriculture Research Program
Dates: Mar-Jul & Sep-Dec
Regenerative Agriculture Research Program
The Regenerative Agriculture Research Program offers positions to students who are committed to make a change in the way we approach agriculture through their thesis work or internship.
Research Program
OFFERS A RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WHO:
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Would like to combine their thesis/internship with an on-farm learning opportunity on regenerative agriculture. Most universities offer ECTS for doing an internship or thesis project;
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Are interested in adding value with their research in practice;
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Would like to work on challenges that will make farms take the next essential steps towards restoring an ecosystem in Southern Spain;
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Would like to work next to other motivated students from different disciplines and learn together;
WHAT WILL THE PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?
During the Regenerative Agriculture Research Program you will spend most of your time on your research project. However, you can also participate in a wide variety of activities on and around the farm. During the program you will:
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Develop your own research project related to your field of study and connected to a current need on the farm. This research project can be your thesis or (research) internship;
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Participate in farm and restoration work on La Junquera and Finca el Roble. The work and projects will be related to a monthly theme that connects to the activities on the farm that month (e.g. crop management, soil management, water management and nature & biodiversity management);
RESEARCH PROJECTS
The following projects are open for application for March 2025:
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Regenerative agriculture e-learning platform. We want to develop a digital tool to help farmers to understand and implement regenerative farming practices.
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Orchard plots comparison research (EU biodiversity tool).
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Arthropod identification and monitoring.
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Regenerative entrepreneurship. (Development of the business cases of the regenerative education HUB, funding requests, writing the proposal…).
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Sustainable Architecture- Designing the regenerative education HUB facilities.
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Regenerative vegetable garden design: Food circularity.
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Local education intern. (Work on workshops and presentations on climate change and regenerative agriculture for local schools).
ACCOMMODATION AND CO-WORKING SPACE
During the program students stay in our student housing on a farm called Finca el Roble (55 min drive from La Junquera). This is one of our new farms which are being transformed from conventional to regenerative organic during the coming years. The program will take place at La Junquera and partly on the farm you are staying at, depending on the activities. The Regeneration Academy office is at La Junquera and has a great working space that is available between Monday – Friday.
LOCATION
Murcia, Spain
DATES
March 2025 – June 2025
Sept 2025 -December 2025
FOR WHO
Thesis and internship students
GROUP SIZE
5-9 people
LANGUAGE
English
PRICE
€550/month
APPLICATION
janneke@regeneration-academy.org
SCHOLARSHIPS
Erasmus for EU students
TESTIMONIAL
FINN HARRIES
“I spent an amazing week at the Regenerative Academy in Murcia, Spain to complete a crash course in regenerative agriculture.
This is part of my research for my masters degree at Cambridge University. I loved learning the basics of soil health, water capture, food harvesting and composting. 🌱
The course is run on a massive 1,100 hectare farm that used to practice traditional industrial agriculture but now is leading the way in regenerative practices in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.”
NATHALIE NAHAI
Where to start? I signed up for the Regeneration Academy’s one-week crash course, with the intention of gaining some practical knowledge and hands-on experience of what regenerative agriculture is, and how it can be used to restore ecosystems and food networks. In reality, it turned out to be so much more than this – it was one of the most transformative, memorable and joyful courses I’ve attended. The team was generous, open-hearted and welcoming, the food was a delight, and we came away feeling emboldened and optimistic as to the futures we can create when we work together towards a common goal. It was an extraordinary experience, and one which I can’t recommend highly enough.
RUBY & CHRISTABEL REED
The @regenerationacademy at @lajunquera are experimenting with, engaging in and researching regenerative agriculture in their 1700 hectare farm. They are brave and immensely inspiring, working at scale in one of the most impoverished parts of Spain where the land is being desertification by the climate and by conventional agriculture, as well as by the people and communities that used to inhabit it. This incredible community is proving that it is possible, even if not straightforward or simple, to transition to agricultural practices that revitalise both the planet and people. Last week we learnt about the power of context, complexity, culture and community 🌞🌻🥬”
Arno Foppe
My research project at La Junquera made me experience the reality of regenerative farming and gave me the opportunity to contribute to the next steps on the farm.
— Paulina Binsfeld - de Bus
“Doing my thesis at La Junquera has broadened my perspective on regenerative farming a lot. Because it is such a big farm, I got the opportunity to learn about all the different elements of regeneration, not just the agriculture part. Living here and seeing the day-to-day activities showed me that nothing is perfect, it’s a constant trial and error, not a pristine concept. I also learned a lot about what my role can be in a community and what elements I want to take with me when starting my own farm one day.””
Sofía and Pablo
In this course, we learned about the regenerative model, a model that proposes a paradigm shift in the current agricultural system and that involves the commitment and fight against the loss of biodiversity, climate change and desertification. Through small seminars, debates, and above all, visits to the field, one knows first-hand what day-to-day life is like in the field and how to make a living from the regenerative business.
The course is taught by professionals in the field, who are the living example of the wealth that is generated there. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to make a living from agriculture, for environmental researchers, or simply for curious people who want to rediscover nature
