%0 Articles
%T Perspectives and limitations of Finnish higher forestry education in a unifying Europe
%A Schuck, Annette
%D 2009
%J Dissertationes Forestales
%V 2009
%N 78
%R doi:10.14214/df.78
%U http://dissertationesforestales.fi/article/1861
%X The aim of this exploratory study was to increase the knowledge about processes driving educational change in Finnish higher forestry education required by the Bologna Process. An analysis of implemented changes at 8 European universities in four countries delivering higher forestry education was conducted to compare the development in Finland to trends in Germany, Austria and The Netherlands. An international trend to broaden the scope of studies in forest sciences as well as the transferred competences during the studies was observed, which resulted in a renaming of most faculties and the degrees offered. In Finland and Germany the relationship of degrees delivered by universities as opposed to universities of applied sciences was problematic and there was a reluctance to introduce labor-market relevant Bachelor degrees at university level. Stakeholder involvement during curriculum development was at minimum level at most surveyed faculties. In other surveyed countries, forestry studies had undergone a low in enrolment during the observation period, while in Finland they were of constant attractiveness for Finnish as well as for foreign students. However, also here trends leading to short-term and part-time employment, as well as longer periods of unemployment of new graduates were visible. Surveys among Finnish and foreign students in Finland and Finnish stakeholders were conducted to analyze the perceived national need for change. Students in Finland believed that most relevant for finding a job would be application skills, as well as economic and international forestry knowledge. In general, students were satisfied with their studies, but disappointed about the quality of teaching and particularly with the employment situation in Finland. Application skills and entrepreneurial spirit were valued highly by Finnish stakeholders, with skills in a foreign language as a precondition for forestry graduates. Perspectives are a focus on application orientation for the undergraduate degree (with profiling considering degrees offered by universities of applied science) and on research and development for the graduate degree as suggested by Finnish stakeholders. A continued focus on economic aspects at the University of Helsinki and specialization on environmental, social and international aspects of forest science at the University of Joensuu appears desirable for profiling at the MSc level. Limitations are set by the current employment situation in the European forest sector requiring structured curriculum development and regular surveys of stakeholders to adjust the labor-market profile of forest science degrees.