The consortium members of the European-Vietnamese Higher Education Network for Sustainable Forest- and Bio-Economy (BioEcoNet) met at the Southeast Finland University of Applied Science (XAMK) in Mikkeli, Finland from 12-15 June 2018. The meeting was the second development meeting for the BioEcoNet project, coordinated by the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.
The main objectives of the meeting were to report on progress made towards the development of new syllabi and learning materials since the first development meeting at the Vietnam National University of Forestry in Hanoi, to share initial feedback received on the proposed curriculum framework following discovery analysis and stakeholder exchange activities conducted by each partner, and to deliberate over strategies for technical implementation of marteloscope sites, eLearning platform and other forthcoming project deliverables. One session was dedicated to the exchange of information about forest- and bioeconomy-related national policy laws.
With numerous participants visiting Finland for the first time, the meeting provided an opportunity to experience first-hand XAMK campus life and forest management practices in Finland, while building on the connectedness between consortium partners and intercultural understanding. Overall the meeting was a success with demonstrated progress towards curriculum development activities, constructive discussion and insightful exchange.