Gaining in-depth urban forestry knowledge with the Uforest Specialization School

uforest specialization school

An intensive in-presence training for 20 selected students

With a lot of excitement from both Uforest and participants, tomorrow the 12th of September 2023 the Uforest Specialization School will start in Barcelona

The Specialization School represents the final step of the Uforest Programme, which includes different training opportunities for students and professionals. Specifically, the Uforest Programme is structured into 2 main components: 2 online courses (“Nature in the City: turning knowledge into urban forestry practice” and “Greening your City: develop your urban forestry project”) and 1 in-presence intensive training (the Uforest Specialization School). On the one hand, the first online course – “Nature in the City” – provided participants with in-depth knowledge on the fundamentals of urban forestry and the different disciplines it involves, from ecology to urban design. On the other hand, during the second online course – “Greening your city” – participants had the opportunity to develop their own urban forestry project and grasp the different technical, administrative, and environmental challenges around the planning of an urban forest.

How is the Uforest Specialization School structured?

The Uforest Specialization School is a 14-day intensive training program, with one week in Barcelona and one week in Milan. Reserved to the 20 best students who have completed both online courses, during the Specialization School participants will have the opportunity to further refine their knowledge in urban forestry. Through lectures, seminars, workshops and field visits, the aim of the Specialization School is to provide students with the necessary skills and insights to work in the sector of urban forestry. Training sessions will feature both experts from the Uforest partnership – such as Cecil Konijnendijk (Nature-based Solutions Institute), Corina Basnou (CREAF), José Luis Tomé (Agresta), and Maria Chiara Pastore (Politecnico di Milano) – and external experts, such as Vicente Guallart (IAAC) and Laura Cid (Barcelona Metropolitan Area). 

Check out the programme for the week in Barcelona and for the week in Milan!

How was Uforest Specialization School developed?

The Uforest Specialization School was developed as the final step of the Uforest Programme, therefore providing more specific insights on urban forestry, as well as more practical skills. In this regard, the Uforest Programme was designed as a funnel in which students had the opportunity to expand their urban forestry knowledge one step at a time. The Uforest Programme was developed by the Uforest partnership following the results of the “Training Needs and Stakeholders Analysis”. This analysis provided a good overview of the existing training needs in the urban forestry sector, with particular attention to the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities. The information was gathered from more than 240 questionnaires filled out by respondents of 27 different european nationalities. Thanks to this analysis, the Uforest partnership was able to developed learning opportunities tailored on the training needs of students and professionals in the urban forestry sector.