This course familiarizes participants with the FAO Science and Innovation Strategy. It introduces the Strategy's core components – the pillars, outcomes, enablers, and guiding principles – fostering a holistic understanding of the Strategy. Key concepts such as science, innovation, and technology are defined, highlighting their roles in driving progress. The course presents the Strategy's vision, goal, and scope, emphasizing better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind, in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Practical application is emphasized, enabling learners to apply the Strategy to real-world scenarios to promote sustainable agrifood systems.

This course focuses on technical, business and regulatory aspects of Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It covers Internet technologies for IoT, then IoT standards, architectures and interoperability, as well as IoT policies and regulations, including IoT security and privacy issues. The course includes IoT services in 4G and 5G mobile systems, including massive IoT and critical IoT use cases. The IoT generates large amounts of data that cannot be processed by traditional techniques, and such data is referred to as Big Data. In that manner, the course includes Big Data overview, Big Data ecosystem and reference architecture, Big Data technologies and use cases, as well as business and regulatory challenges for Big Data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is targeted for processing Big Data in Internet and telecom networks. In that regard the course covers introduction to AI in ICT/telecom world, and AI applications in Internet and telecom environments, including Machine Learning aspects for 5G mobile networks. The course further includes Big Data and AI challenges, business aspects, as well as policies and regulation. Finally, the course covers governance of IoT, Big Data, and AI.

In this comprehensive course, we will delve into the critical issue of electronic waste (e-waste) on a global scale. E-waste, comprising discarded electronic devices and equipment, presents a growing environmental and societal challenge. This course aims to provide you with a comprehensive overview of this issue, incorporating the latest statistics and legislative developments sourced from the Global E-waste Monitor and the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership.

Human behaviour is often unpredictable, shaped by various factors like biases and mental shortcuts. How can we further enhance our initiatives to account for this wide range of influences on behaviour? Designed exclusively for UN personnel, our eight-week online 2025 UN System Behavioural Science Springboard Programme identifies tools, techniques, and mindsets from across the system to tailor evidence-based interventions that work with, not against, human behaviour.