Current status of the development of ļæ½Biodiversityļæ½ master program

Wide or narrow scale of disciplines?

Problem: Too general disciplines, which had to be studied on bachelor level.

Solutions:

To substitute with more specialized subjects and enforce prerequisite subjects. Make possible to pass the prerequisite subjects (mainly individual study). Establish limits for credit points in different divisions of sciences (environmental sciences, biology etc.) for admittance.

Some disciplines should be addedļæ½ in order to improve the syllabus (e.g. landscape ecology)

To get better overview from the proposed program is needed to include annotations of the disciplines

Explore bachelor programs in NOVA-BOVA universities in order to adapt master degree program

Explore PhD programs in NOVA-BOVA universities in order to get idea about possibilities to study further after graduating ļæ½Biodiversityļæ½ program. Introduce the syllabus to possible employers as well as to the students.

One possibility to enhance the number of disciplines in the basic module and according to the selected narrow speciality, divide students into groups. In this case, not all disciplines in the basic module are not obligatory. Negative result: It will diminish the number of students in the subjects.

Organize some courses as part-time studies and studies during weekends.

Preliminary proposals for the roles of different universities:

Latvian Agricultural University can be responsible for Module N 6: Management of Landscape and environmental quality (living quality)

Module 3:

Discipline: Advanced course in floristics

Discipline: Mycology

Module 5: Whole disciplines.

Basic study:

Discipline: Environmental economics

Discipline: Biodiversity

Discipline: Statistics in natural sciences

Discipline: Conservation biology

Discipline: Boreal fauna and flora

Latvian advisory agency will provide the subject: Environmental issues in rural development

Lithuanian Agricultural University will cooperate in:

Module 3:

Discipline: Advanced course in floristics

Module 4:

Discipline: Investigation of polluted sites and remediation techniques

Module 5:

Discipline: Diversity and management schemes in forestry

Discipline: Dynamics of forest ecosystems

Discipline: Paludology and peatland forestry

Discipline: Forest regeneration

Module 6:

Discipline: Landscape management and maintanance

Discipline: Ecological agriculture

Making this syllabus attractive is important to stress development of land use, natural resources, changes of nature during three periods: the first independent time in the Baltic countries, Soviet occupation and the second independence. Key word: landscape restoration. Self-improvement capacities of the nature. To stress the case studies.

Main university responsible for the curriculum is EAU. Some modules or training will be conducted in the other Baltic countries. Scandinavian colleagues will provide some disciplines or lectures as guest lecturers in the Baltic universities.

Very preliminary price of the curriculum is 8.3x10⁶ EEK or 0.5x10⁶ EUROs

Time schedule:

To open the program in autumn 2004.

To advertise the program in Baltic, Nordic (European) universities, to ask is attractive, do their students are interested in the ļæ½Biodiversityļæ½ master program

The next steps:

• To complete the whole program during this year, but keep in mind possibilities to start not with whole program and very many students, may be some basic disciplines and a few students.
• Detailed action plan and timetable, funding possibilities.
• Distribution of annotations, deadline 3 weeks.
• Mechanisms for quality assurance.
• Apply the next workshop on November in Tartuļæ½ with local case studies (mining area, reforestation, restoration of military areas, restoration of seminatural communities).
• Ask for assistance from more institutions and persons (Hannes Palang and Helen)