News

VNUF and HNEE MoU signing at XAMK in Mikkeli, Finland

BioEcoNet partner institutions continue building on established partnerships during the first Development Meeting in Mikkeli, Finland in June 2018. Here, the Vietnam National University of Forestry from Hanoi, Vietnam and the University for Sustainable Development from Eberswalde, Germany sign a Memorandi of Understanding facilitating student and faculty mobility between their respective institutions. The MoU assures cooperation between the partners extends beyond the three-year lifespan of the project.

BioEcoN at Bio-Economy Conference in Halle, Germany (6/2018)

BioEcoN Coordinator Dr. Kevin Beiler attended the 7th International Bioeconomy Conference from June 6-7, 2018 in Halle, Germany. The conference was organized by the ScienceCampus Halle and the BioEconomy Cluster Central Germany. Scientists, researchers and renowned representatives from industry met with the motto “Bio meets Economy – Science meets Industry”.

Additional information may be found at: www.bioeconomy-conference.de

Partners meet in Mikkeli for First Development Meeting

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.

Development Meeting in Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam (3/2019)

Consortium members will meet for the 2nd Development Meeting of the BioEcoN project 11-15 March 2019 in Thai Nguyen City north of Hanoi, Vietnam. The meeting provides a venue for direct interactions between members as they continue work on curriculum development and implementation of the marteloscope sites, DSS and eLearning platform. The meeting is organized by Dr. Ho Ngoc Son and his team at Thai Nguyen University for Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF).

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BioEcoN: First Technical Meeting conducted at VNUF in Hanoi

Bio-Econ: First Technical Meeting conducted in Vietnam

During the first week of March 2018, the BioEcoN consortium met for the first technical meeting at the Vietnam National University of Forestry in Hanoi. The BioEcoNet Project aims to develop a Msc. curriculum on sustainable bio-economy by 2020. Researchers and lectures from Germany, Spain, Finland and Vietnam used the meeting in Hanoi to discuss the topic of bio-economy, and to discuss priorities and the development plan for the new curriculum. Discussions highlighted the different traditions and multi-actor perspectives of the four partner countries. These perspectives will flow into the learning and teaching materials to be developed. At the end of the meeting the team agreed on work packages to be implemented until the next technical meeting in June 2018 in Finland.

Needs assessment on-going

The BioEcoN project aims to serve industry, society and university graduate alike: by creating innovative curricula that meets thier needs. Therefore the consortum partners are currently contacting industry and stakehodlers to assess their needs. In Vietnam, Finland, Spain, and Germany the project addresses enterprises and institutions operating in the bioeconomy sector that benefit from up-to-date, highly skilled university graduates as drivers of innovation. These actors are asked to rate the BioEcoNet consortium’s ideas for future modules of the new M.Sc. curriculum on Sustainable Forest-and Bio-Economy.

TheBioEcoN develops a new, innovative, up-to-date university master curriculum on sustainable forest based bio-economy. Thereby, the project wants to support value creation in the bio-economy sector as it equips universities and future graduates with the required skills, innovation and methodologies needed by actors already operating in the bioeconomy

Kick off in Eberswalde

On 16-20 January 2018 the kick-off meeting of a new EU-funded ERASMUS PLUS BioEcoNet took place at the Faculty of Forest and Environment in Eberswalde, Germany. BioEcoN is short for European-Vietnamese Higher Education Network for Sustainable Forest- and Bio-Economy. Six partner universities from four countries work together in the project coordinated by the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE).  In addition to HNEE, Europe is represented by the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Ltd. (XAMK) in Mikkeli, Finland and the University of Valladolid (UVa) in Palencia, Spain. Three partners are from Vietnam: the VNU University of Science (VNU-HUS) in Hanoi, the Vietnam National University of Forestry (VNUF) in Hanoi, and the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) in Thai Nguyen City.

The aim of the project is to develop curricula for a new Masters course in the field of bio-economy over the next three years. The new teaching content is intended to enable graduates to manage sustainable use of bio-based materials and their value chains.

At the four-day kick-off meeting in January, the university representatives from Spain, Finland, Vietnam and Germany met to exchange country experiences and plan the course of the project in detail for the next three years.

BioEcoN successful in Erasmus Plus Call 2017

With the idea of a European-Vietnamese Higher Education Network for Sustainable Forest- and Bio-Economy, a project consortium led by HNEE  was successful in the latest Erasmus+ call for proposals withing Capacity Building in Higher Education. The proposal was selected amongst 756 eligible applicants. In addition to HNEE, the project consortium includes South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences in Finland, University of Valladolid in Spain, the VNU-National University of Science and Vietnam National University of Forestry in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry in Thai Nguyen Provence, Vietnam.

The Project Director, Prof. Jan-Peter Mund, has this to say: “The participating universities have the opportunity to renew and align their curricula towards multidisciplinary skills and competencies. This will better support innovative activities allowing students and future professionals to interface different topics and to foster collaboration between the diverse disciplines of bio-economy”.