Study Guide

Description

Degree Programme in Forestry
Bachelor of Natural Resources
240 c.u., 4 years
Full-time studies
Kuntokatu 3, 33520 Tampere
Head of the programme Ari Vanamo

The degree of students graduating of the Forestry Degree Programme is Bachelor of Natural Resources. The programme consists of 240 credit points (ECTS) and lasts for 4 years.

Eligibility: see TAMK pages and eligibility for bachelor's degrees www.tamk.fi

Description of the profession and working-life placements

A forestry engineer works as a planner, expert or supervisor in various areas in forestry, both in the private and public sectors. Some forestry engineers work as independent entrepreneurs. Typical tasks include purchasing wood, organizing wood harvesting and long-distance transport, managing forest resource information and other location information, planning and organizing the implementation of silvicultural measures, multi-objective forestry and forest nature management and protection tasks, and advising forest owners. In addition to the traditional forestry sector, a forestry engineer can also find employment in other related fields.

The work of a forestry engineer includes both independent work and teamwork. There are usually a lot of interaction situations with, for example, forest owners. The tasks include working both in the office and in the forest. In their work, forestry engineers have to manage various key areas of forestry (e.g. forest ecology, forest management, collection of forest resource data, geographic information, wood procurement) as well as know about business economics and how to work with different customers.

Value basis of forestry programme

Forestry engineers are responsible for the management, use and protection of a renewable natural resource - the forest. At the same time, they work with other people, society and companies. Considering different aspects of sustainability (ecological, social, economic) is essential, as is valuing other people and respecting their opinions. When planning and implementing the management of the forest owners' forests, the forestry engineer must take financial and ecological responsibility for his decisions. Forestry engineers must be honest and reliable in their duties.

Implementation of education in forestry degree program

In forestry degree program at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the learning strategy is mainly problem-based learning (PBL). The study units of the curriculum are for the most part built on the basis of working life-oriented situations and they are usually comprehensive entities. Central to problem-based learning are the tutorial sessions, where students first get to know the problem and set their own learning goals. Answers to the learning objectives will be sought during the next 1-3 weeks. After this, the same group of students goes through the issues in the final tutorial session and prepares a synthesis of what they have learnt. In problem-based learning, students' interaction and communication skills, as well as information acquisition skills, develop significantly.

In learning, students' independent acquisition of information plays a large role, but in addition to that, there are lectures, various practice tasks and plenty of exercises in the forest, field trips and visits. Also various virtual learning environments and e.g. the forest machine simulator is used in teaching.

Competences produced by the education

After the first year of study, students have an overall picture of forests, forest nature, forest management and the use of wood. Students know how to plan and carry out key forestry works and evaluate the quality of the works carried out. They know how to measure trees and timber and evaluate and calculate forest stand data. They also know how to use the university´s various information systems, search for information from different sources and prepare short reports in their professional field. In the summer between the first and second year of study, it is recommended to do the basic internship.

In the second year of study, the main focus is on knowing how to procure wood and utilize open forest data resources and GIS information. Students will develop an overall picture of the timber trade, timber harvesting and long-distance transport of timber. An understanding of the social importance of forests and the multi-purpose use of forests is also starting to form. After the second year, the students know how to make a wood harvesting plan for each forest and evaluate the quality of wood harvesting. They know how to make a forest plan, utilize spatial information and use various positioning tools and GIS applications. Students also know how to communicate about forest matters in another domestic language.

During the third year, students develop especially in their communication and interaction skills and deepen their forestry expertise. Students will get an overall picture of forest owners and forest owners' extension, as well as business operations in forestry. After the third year, students know how to communicate about forestry in a foreign language. Exchange study semester is possible during the third academic year. The program of the third academic year also includes optional professional studies, which can be chosen from TAMK's common offer according to one's own interests, by prior arrangement. Completion of freely chosen studies is also emphasized in the third year. Internship is recommended between the third and fourth academic year, but it can partly be done already between the 2nd and 3rd summer. After the third study year, students know how to plan and implement key forestry measures, organize a forest owner event, give personal advice, act as assistant supervisors and in project-based tasks.

In the fourth year of study, the students' competence combines the practical experience brought by the internship and the studies of the previous study years. The students' skills and understanding of forestry as a whole deepens and expands, especially in the direction of development and research skills. The final thesis is the key project during the last study year. After the fourth year, the student is ready to enter the working life in planning, expert or supervising positions.

Curriculum development and working life cooperation

During the process of drawing up the curriculum, development proposals have been received from the forestry education advisory board, whose members are representatives of working life from a wide range of different forestry sectors. Recently graduated alumni and the results of career tracking surveys have also been used in the preparation phase of the curriculum. In the preparation of the curriculum, publications from the research and development focus area of Forest Education of the Workforce Association, various feedback collected from students during the training, and the results of a national career tracking survey have been used.