ERASMUS+ KA2 Programme project. “Rural 3.0: Service Learning for the Rural Development (RURASL)”​

The Rural 3.0 project: Service Learning for Rural Development – RURASL will establish a framework for an integrated transnational approach to teaching and academic learning that contributes to the development of rural areas, meeting their needs and promoting innovation in these areas through an innovative methodology (learning-service) and creating partnerships between communities and universities.The project partners are 8 universities from eight European countries and 8 community partners, which are mostly Local Action Groups (LAGs) that receive funds from the EU LEADER program to support rural development.

The UAM team is composed of Rosario Cerrillo, Paula Lazaro, Pilar Aramburuzabala and Esperanza Valdés (FUAM-UAM Emprende). The work is carried out in close collaboration with Galsinma, the LAG in the north of Madrid, which includes 42 municipalities. The three-year project began on January 1, 2019.


The objectives of the Rural 3.0 project are to:

    • Develop entrepreneurial skills in the rural community.
    • Improve the quality of education for sustainable development and promote partnerships between the university and the community in rural areas through the innovative service-learning methodology.
    • Increase the relevance of universities, since their students aim to fulfill a service that is in line with the demands of rural businesses and social needs in rural areas.
    • Establish a virtual center with a wide network of academic and rural stakeholders that will offer teaching and learning content (a transnational academic module dedicated to courses on learning-service and social entrepreneurship, community training materials and digital learning and collaboration tools) and promote Interactions between Universities and stakeholders of the rural community.

The main benefits of the project are:

    • The creation of an international alliance between the university and rural community that promotes education and entrepreneurship of people living in rural areas, connecting universities with companies in rural communities to work on a common problem: the development of knowledge and skills necessary to achieve change in rural communities.
    • The Strengthening the skills and innovative capacity of adult rural social entrepreneurs.
    • The development of practical learning-service and social entrepreneurship experiences for university students in specific rural environments.