Degree Programme in Forestry, adult education, Jyväskylä: 12AIMJ-1068

Description

KNOW-HOW PROVIDED BY TRAINING PROGRAMME

A forestry engineer works in an entity of forestry in diverse planning, guidance, education, marketing, management and assistant research tasks either in the service of society, forest owners or companies. To be able to promote sustainable forestry in these tasks, the forestry engineer has to:

- understand and control the biological processes of forest ecosystem and use the expedients to be able to control the structure, function and species of a forest ecosystem and promote ecological sustainability.
- understand the basis of economically profitable and reasonable function so that forestry would be profitable for a forest owner and the wood supply a forest industry would work efficiently.
- understand diverse needs and wishes focusing the use of forests and to be able to take these things in to account while working.
In addition to cope with in changing operational environment a forest engineer has to know ADP, communication and interaction skills, information acquisition and foreign languages. It is also essential to know leadership, marketing and project work skills.

WORKING LIFE PLACEMENTS
After graduating the forestry engineers can work in guidance tasks of forest owners in forest management associations or serving companies which use wood as raw material. With these companies the tasks are typically related to timber trade, timber harvesting or planning timber transportation. Forestry engineers also work in forest organizations which control the use of forests. They have also employment opportunities in forest machine manufacture companies for selling and post-marketing tasks. A forestry engineer can also be an entrepreneur.

BASIC VALUES OF THE EDUCATION
The focus of a forestry engineer’s work are forests, which offer diverse possibilities but also restrictions for economic use. The majority of Finnish forests are owned by private individuals, who – in addition to or instead of – financial value have placed other values on it as well. We would not need many forestry engineers if there were no businesses which use wood as their raw material. Because the forestry sector is an important part of national economy and because the society must ensure the benefits of the forests for future generations, the state authorities have placed goals and also restrictions for forestry. In this field, the forestry engineers work in various planning, guidance, education, marketing, management and assistant research tasks either in the service of society, forest owners or companies.

TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION
The degree programme in forestry uses problem -based learning, which makes it easier for students to enter the working life and which aims to develop skills for life-long learning. The learning is organized mostly in two-week cycles that start and end with a group tutorial.

Problem based learning has the following characteristics:
1) The study programme has been developed around the situations encountered in the working life and which integrate different subjects.
2) Learning in small groups under the guidance of a tutor is central. There are also lectures and field work as well as assignments.
3) The significance of independent information retrieval is emphasised and the students must take responsibility for their own learning.
4) The teacher instructs, makes the learning possible and acts as an expert resource for learning.
5) Negotiation and interaction skills, cooperation skills, problem solving skills as well as the skills for information retrieval and processing are actively developed.
6) Evaluating the learning is done in a versatile and comprehensive way by taking into account not only the end result but also the learning and working processes.

The tasks for a forestry engineer require the ability to work and make decisions independently and often an entrepreneur-like attitude or even working as an entrepreneur. The project studies at the end of the studies aim at developing these skills as well as the skills for project management.

KNOW-HOW PROVIDED BY TRAINING PROGRAMME DURING DIFFERENT YEARS

During the first year the students make oneself familiar with forest ecosystem, forest management and regeneration. They also learn how wood is used as a raw material for different purposes. They also learn the basics of wood procurement and computing skills.
During the second study year the students get acquainted with timber trade and timber harvesting. They also learn about forest ownership and basics of entrepreneurship. During the latter period of the second year the students study the transportation methods and equipments and the basic structure of forest machines.
The third year contains the professional studies. Students have selected either Special Issues in Wood Procurement or Technology of Forest Machines. In wood procurement students study wood energy, forestry counseling concentrating in advising forest owners to reach their goals. In addition they learn to know about harvesting planning in special areas.
Technology of forest machines provides the students get acquainted with moving industrial vehicles, where they need physics and mathematics for engineering, automation engineering, electrical engineering and drive line engineering and mobile hydraulics.