Improving and expanding wood science education

Interest in wood as a renewable material has grown as sustainability and climate thinking has permeated society. As a result, more and more sectors need knowledge about how wood behaves and how to use it sustainably. ‘The growth of wood construction has been strong both in Finland and abroad, so more resources have been needed to develop teaching in wood products,’ says Professor Lauri Rautkari from the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems.

Resources for a five-year project to develop wood science teaching have become available through over 700,000 euro donations from foundations and companies. With the donations, a new lecturer position has been established at the department, strengthening the teaching and impact of the discipline. In addition, the contents and availability of online courses have been developed.

The Yrjö and Senja Koivunen Foundation has played a particularly active role. Its management had considered how to develop new business around wood. They discovered that there was a shortage of experts, such as certified designers. 'We analysed the business development needs, as well as where there were gaps and where education had not responded quickly enough to these needs. We had a clear vision of where to invest, and the development of Aalto's wood product teaching was a perfect fit with our goals,' says Mikko Niini, Chairman of the Board of the foundation.

Education open to all

UPM has a wide range of projects and product development collaboration with Aalto, but according to Pirkko Harrela, Executive Vice President, Stakeholder Relations, the development of wood product teaching is the only one that is purely related to developing teaching. ‘There is a broad interest in renewable materials, and we liked the idea of opening up the curriculum to people who are not full-time students of wood product engineering. High-quality online courses can also be offered to external parties or companies without high fees,’ says Harrela, justifying UPM's donation.

Although few people are required to study wood science, the renewed online courses in the field are some of the most popular at Aalto. Around 200 students attend each course. ‘We teach not only our own students, but also students from other Aalto schools and from other Finnish universities, as well as industry experts,’ says Rautkari.

Kristiina Lillqvist, Senior University Lecturer in teaching, says that special attention has been paid to the quality of the online courses. ‘We have developed both the content and the format of the courses. The content has been updated and structures clarified. A variety of teaching methods are used online, such as high-quality videos and web-based activities, not just lecture recordings.’ 

Continuous interdisciplinary dialogue

According to Lillqvist, there is also an ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue with teachers from other fields about the content of wood product teaching. The aim is also to provide wood science students with the skills to develop the field, and to create new products and new ways of processing wood.

It is important to include sustainability issues, which are always topical, in the teaching. 'The idea of using natural resources wisely is built into all teaching. It is also important to learn to critically examine different sustainability assessments, to participate in the discussion and to be at the centre of development.' 

Text: Heidi Hammarsten

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