UC Davis and the University of Jaén Sign Collaboration Agreement

Summary

UC Davis and the University of Jaén signed an agree­ment to col­lab­o­rate and advance the olive oil sec­tor, aim­ing to con­nect research efforts and cre­ate a net­work of uni­ver­si­ties across five con­ti­nents. The col­lab­o­ra­tion, which began before the for­mal agree­ment, is focused on improv­ing the qual­ity and effi­ciency of olive oil pro­duc­tion, with plans to iden­tify spe­cific col­lab­o­ra­tions and expand the net­work to other uni­ver­si­ties in the future.

Today in Jaén, UC Davis and the University of Jaén for­mal­ized an agree­ment aimed at advanc­ing the olive oil sec­tor by con­nect­ing the research engines that so pas­sion­ately sup­port it. The col­lab­o­ra­tion was reached and signed by University of Jaén rec­tor Juan Gómez and UC Davis Olive Center exec­u­tive direc­tor Dan Flynn.

The pur­pose of the agree­ment is to serve as a start­ing point for col­lab­o­ra­tion between the schools, and from there develop a net­work of esteemed uni­ver­si­ties across five con­ti­nents. Members would include uni­ver­si­ties who are lead­ers in the olive and olive oil sec­tor for their con­tri­bu­tions to edu­ca­tion, inves­ti­ga­tion, and knowl­edge trans­fer.

As Flynn explained to Olive Oil Times, despite recent con­tro­versy over the qual­ity of for­eign olive oil in the US mar­ket­place, inter­na­tional uni­ver­si­ties are keen to share their knowl­edge with one another, cre­at­ing ​“free trade at a uni­ver­sity level…there’s a com­mit­ment to look for other ways to work together.”

And it’s a col­lab­o­ra­tion that began before any agree­ments were signed. Today, the uni­ver­si­ties came together with olive oil pro­ducer Castillo de Canena to present the Luis Vañó 2015 Research Award, for which both schools served as judges.

For Flynn, the col­lab­o­ra­tion is part of accom­plish­ing two of the Olive Center’s key goals: first to improve the qual­ity of olive oil, and sec­ond to improve its pro­duc­tion effi­ciency — all with the ulti­mate objec­tive of cre­at­ing a bet­ter liveli­hood for the pro­duc­ers.

As for what’s next, Gómez told Olive Oil Times that ​“the next step is to iden­tify spe­cific col­lab­o­ra­tions between UC Davis and the University of Jaén, and then to reach out to other uni­ver­si­ties to be part of the effort.”

When asked who those other insti­tu­tions might be, Gómez said that noth­ing has been decided, but that they have pos­si­ble future col­lab­o­ra­tions in mind.