A New Aquaponics Training Program for Stellenbosch University

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponic technology to grow both fish and plants together in a closed-loop system. While aquaponics can play a role in increasing food security, it may also be a potential educational tool because of its interdisciplinary nature and required technological skill set. With aquaponics, students could conduct hands-on activities involving chemistry, physics, and biology to solidify their understanding of a range of theories. Beyond standard science, technology, engineering and mathematic principles, aquaponics may be related to projects on sustainability, environmental science, agriculture, the food system, health, economics, business, and marketing.

The interdisciplinary nature of aquaponics may make it an appealing tool for education, yet that same aspect may also make an aquaponics system challenging to implement and manage. Educators require appropriate training materials and training courses for their educational settings. The endeavours of the Aquaculture unit at Stellenbosch University and its Industry Partners aim to develop digital and interactive aquaponics study programmes for South Africa and across the SADC region by way of a hybrid teaching approach comprising of pre-academic online courses, scientific graduate studies, live practical training workshops and accompanying formats such as virtual workshops.

The online Introductory Aquaponics Course will be alive from April 2022 and the first two Postgraduate Diploma Aquaponics Hybrid Modules will be available in the beginning of 2023 and the complete Aquaponics Postgraduate Diploma Program in 2024.

A New Aquaponics Training Program for Stellenbosch University

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