Proposal for a forest engineering theme at Waikato University

This proposal came after some Gisborne schools said that wanted a North Island alternative to the University of Canterbury’s BE (Hons) Forest Engineering.

The School of Engineering, Te Kura Mata-Ao, at the University of Waikato wants feedback from forestry industry experts on a proposal to have a Forest Engineering theme of our existing BE(Hons) Civil or Mechanical Engineering. A theme is where engineering students can elect to take specialist papers, in this case forest engineering, to help prepare them for a career in that industry. It comprises three specialist Forest Engineering papers, plus a final year industry related Forest Engineering capstone project and compulsory 800 hours of work placement in the forestry industry. See below an example of the proposed structure for the BE(Hons) Civil Engineering with a Forest Engineering theme.  Light green indicates the Forest Engineering theme papers.  

To deliver the Forest Engineering theme, we aim to recruit a new academic staff member with forest industry experience and expertise. They will work with industry to determine the content of the three papers, coordinate and supervise industry related capstone projects and liaise with our Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team to ensure students get appropriate forestry related work placements.

• We want to know your thoughts on the proposal and whether engineering graduates with a Forest Engineering theme will be valuable to the industry.
• We would appreciate any suggestions you might have on what graduate attributes the forestry industry expects from engineering students.   

Please email your feedback and comments to: Professor Mike Duke, mike.duke@waikato.ac.nz