Trans-national studies:
First European Course in Environmental Science [02.12.07]
New Master’s degree course “Environmental Science – Soil, Water and Biodiversity“ at the University of Hohenheim and three European partner universities will train experts to take up leading roles within Europe.
The EU creates a huge potential for jobs with its new Environmental Directive. For the first time water and chemical directives are to be regulated throughout Europe – and with this comes the requirement for a new generation of environmental experts, who are conversant with EU legislation and have knowledge of ecology and resource management. The ideal training for this is offered by the Universität Hohenheim working with three further EU universities to provide the first European Master’s course in “Environmental Science – Soil, Water and Biodiversity“ for leading roles in Europe. You can find further information at: www.enveuro.euThe new course combines a classic university degree course with e-learning and integral alternate study in at least one other partner university. The graduates are supervised by at least two lecturers from different countries and thus automatically gain a double degree from two universities. The course is taught in English and the entrance qualification includes a first Natural Science-based degree and proven knowledge of the English language. The closing date for applications is 1 June.
The course is based on an introductory basic unit “Environmental Management in Europe (EME)“. Half of this unit (15 ECTS credits) consists of a classic regular study course at the university, and the other half is done by means of e-learning online. In the second and third specialist semesters, students specialise in one of three specialist courses “Environmental Impacts“, “Environmental Management“ or “Soil Resources and Land Use. The Masters thesis is then worked on in the fourth specialist subject semester, which is supervised by lecturers from both universities.
“Of all the courses in Environmental Science currently on offer in the EU, there is not yet one which meets the requirements of specifically training graduates to work in the European jobs’ markets“, emphasises the Rector of the Universität Hohenheim, Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Liebig. “In order to fill this gap, we have developed this new course, in collaboration with our European partners from the Euroleague for Life Sciences, to which leading European universities in the fields of Management of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, Animal Husbandry, Nutritional Science and Environmental Science are affiliated.“
In addition to the Universität Hohenheim, the other partners involved in the new course, are the University of Copenhagen, the Swedish University for Agriculture in Uppsala and the University of Soil Culture in Vienna. “By utilising the common expertise from these four universities and the resulting synergy effects, we will be creating an exceptionally appealing course for students and one which, as yet, has no competition.“
Background: Job prospects
Two key governing directives by the EU Commission will have a serious and lasting effect on the need for highly-qualified university graduates in the near future: the Water Framework Directive, which was passed in 2000, and the Chemicals Directive, which came before the Commission in 2003 and was passed in 2006. Both directives have created new and more work for producers, distributors, operators and users, as well as state environmental monitoring authorities, which can only be overcome with correspondingly qualified staff. The Master’s degree course “Environmental Science – Soil, Water and Biodiversity“ (ENVEURO) is working towards a qualification in exactly these required fields within a European context.
Background: Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS)
The Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS) is a network of highly-qualified universities in Europe which was set up in 2001. Its members are the Universität Hohenheim, the University for Soil Culture in Vienna (Austria), the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), the Swedish University for Agriculture in Uppsala and the University of Wageningen (Netherlands). In July 2005 the Czech Agricultural University of Prague (Czech Republic) and the Agricultural University of Warsaw (Poland) also joined the network as observers.
The main objective of the Euroleague for Life Sciences is to promote an increased level of cooperation in the fields of the Management of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, Nutritional and Environmental Science and Life Sciences. Together the universities develop and put in place degree courses, which offer extended opportunities for the exchange of students and lecturers and can take advantage of the institutions and skills and expertise of the individual partner universities. All the courses offered within this network take place in English.
Contact for press:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Fangmeier, University of Hohenheim, Institute for Landscape and Plant Ecology
Tel.: 0711 459-22189, e-mail: afangm@uni-hohenheim.de