Yet, despite all this ancient knowledge and a global population of 7 billion people, it wasn't until 2012 that a university level course in aquaponics was offered on Earth. Also in 2012, food grown using aquaponic principles became more widely available in Canada, with the energy firm ecoTECH signing a multimillion dollar contract to grow produce for one of Canada's largest supermarkets. Also, during a similar time frame, Several schools in different parts of the world were teaching young people various life skills by intergrating aquaponics into their curricula.