Training aimed at promoting innovation and its evaluation in agriculture: using expert skills acquired through research as education tools in agronomy DEXi Practical Case Studies are part of the academic course of students in their last year of training in agricultural engineering. Using DEXi generic software, students were asked to create a hierarchical cluster tree as a tool for evaluating the sustainability of farming systems based on multiple criteria. This training strategy is wide-ranging in its approach, and is based on the work and research methodology of the team. Expected competences and knowledge include: i) multi-criteria evaluation in agronomy, relevant tools and indicators, as well as weak and strong points of this method, ii) being capable of applying pluridisciplinary skills at different levels, iii) and developing analytical and negotiation skills for working as a member of a panel of experts. The aim is to test students in a real-life situation, so they can progressively learn to handle multi-criteria evaluation as well as currently available and emerging decision making tools for production systems.