28 October 2025
A digital educational platform combined with a digital twin of a farm can help both students and Swedish farmers understand how different factors affect yields and profitability.
The collaboration concerns a new digital educational platform being developed for agricultural education at Jamk University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Cooperation between researchers at Linköping University (LiU) and Jamk is now set to deepen.
Researchers Minna Silvennoinen and Satu Aksovaara from Jamk University recently visited Agtech Sweden and The Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture, both based at Linköping University.
“We are very pleased about this. Digital, realistic tools can be highly significant for the future of vocational education and for the professional development of active farmers,” says Karolina Muhrman, Managing Director of Agtech Sweden and The Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture, as well as a researcher in educational sciences at LiU.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss the learning platform, which is based on simulation and modelling of real farm data, as well as a digital twin of a farm.
A New Approach
These tools can help both students and farmers understand how different parameters influence yields and profitability, such as crop variety selection, sowing time, irrigation, fertiliser application rates and soil type.
“This is an entirely new way of teaching digitally,” says Minna Silvennoinen, Jamk University. “By connecting data from machinery, weather, soil and crops, the user gains a clear picture of the farm’s situation.”
Agtech Sweden and The Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture have followed the development of the platform for several years and will now contribute through pilot testing.
“Being part of developing this together with Jamk is very exciting and fully aligned with our work. The platform can become an important tool for increasing the use of digital data in agriculture,” says Per Frankelius, Associate Professor at LiU, who together with Karolina serves as Managing Director of Agtech Sweden and The Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture.
Simulation and Mathematics
During the visit, research projects conducted at Linköping University were also presented, focusing on simulation and mathematics. Professor Sofia Nyström and Associate Professor Song-ee Ahn presented a project on simulation within upper secondary vocational education.
Crop Protection
The group also visited Vreta Education Centre for an activity focusing on precision crop protection. Among other things, an advanced crop protection sprayer was demonstrated. Using pulse nozzles in combination with tramlines based on satellite imagery or sensor data, it can reduce the use of plant protection products by up to 90 per cent.
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