The Master in Forests and Natural Areas with a professional focus is designed to train bioengineers in the field of management, protection and sensible and sustainable exploitation of forests and natural areas in a great variety of ecological and socio-economical contexts.

The programme is designed to train future bioengineers to become:

 

• Professionals able to diagnose problems linked to the management and the exploitation of natural and forest resources and to propose efficient solutions: sustainable management of ecosystems, rural development and development of forestry, exploitation of wood and other forest resources;
• Scientists able to understand complex processes on different spatial and temporal scales, trained to multidisciplinary approaches and consultation with other specialists;
• Innovators able to design new management methods for natural and forest environments in order to increase the durability of ecosystems goods, resources and services within the context of climate change and evolution of societal demands.

 

Training provides students with:

 

• knowledge in the field of environmental science (e.g. forestry, ecology, soil science, hydrology, …) and human sciences (e.g. economics and forestry policy, environment law, …);
• technical skills in environmental bioengineering (e.g. geographic information systems, ecological and environmental diagnosis, data analysis, modelling, assessing resources) and in integrated analysis (e.g. project management, system analysis, multifunctional landscaping, …).

 

Strongly multidisciplinary in character, this Master focuses on the practical application of the skills, knowledge and techniques that students acquire for the solving of concrete problems. The training also reserves a lot of room for field education and relies on the expertise of professionals in the fields of management, landscaping and exploitation of resources. A particular emphasis is placed on the mechanistic study of processes, the analysis of complex systems, fusion of multi-source data and support for decision-taking and the ability to think on the long-term.

This programme comprises a series of activities totalling 120 credits spread over two years worth 60 credits each. It is structured as follows:

The overall structure of the Bachelor in Engineering (Bioengineering) and the Master in Bioengineering clearly reflect the concepts of specialization, gradual choice and individualization of the courses.

1^st cycle (Bachelor):

• same programme for SC and AGRO in first year (BIR11BA),
• special programme in second year (BIR12BA) for all the BIR students,
• distinct programme with 30 credits for elective modules in third year (BIRC13BA, BIRA13BA, BIRE13BA): three minors available: chemistry (BIRC), agronomy (BIRA), environment (BIRE).

2^nd cycle (Master):

• choice of four Masters in Bioengineering with a professional focus, together with sixteen elective modules which partly overlap, optional courses (either free choice or from the lists) and a final individual dissertation.

This overall structure gives students the opportunity to customize their programme whilst at the same time retaining both the comprehensive nature of the training and the foundation elements of university education: independence, competence, open-mindedness and interest in research.

The sixteen elective modules, which partly overlap at the level of the four Masters in Bioengineering, correspond to fields of activity identified on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of graduates of the Faculty working professionally and of contacts with potential employers. 

Year 1:

• first part of the compulsory common core curriculum (25 credits),
• compulsory professional focus programme (30 credits),
• choice of one elective module (15 credits) from a list of five. At least 5 credits of this module should be taken during the first year. Certain optional courses may be organised in collaboration with the three other Masters in Bioengineering.

NB: Enrolment in the additional interdisciplinary training module in “Business Creation” is not automatic. In order to enrol, students must submit their application to the coordinators of the Business Creation programme and participate in the selection process.

Year 2:

• remainder of the compulsory common core curriculum (50 credits),
• remainder of the elective module (10 credits)

Additional training "Business Creation"

The interdisciplinary training in “Business Creation” is one of the elective modules proposed within the framework of the Master in Forestry and Natural Areas. However, since this module is worth 20 credits (instead of the 15 credits provided for an elective module), some modifications of the common core curriculum are required.
This module must be taken as of the first year of this Master’s programme.
Enrolment is not automatic. In order to enrol, students must apply for admission and participate in a selection process. Only after having received the permission to participate in this programme may students contact the academic secretary to establish their personal course programme and plan the distribution of their courses over the two years of their Master’s programme.

This additional programme features in the Master programmes of various faculties (Bioengineering, Law, Business Management, Civil Engineering and Psychology). It is designed to provide students, as potential creators, with the tools for analysis and understanding which will help them appreciate how entrepreneurship works when creating or taking on a business and develop projects of this kind within existing organizations.
In addition, this training enables students to gain familiarity with other disciplines and to learn how to work in multidisciplinary teams.

For further information on this training programme, please refer to: http://www.uclouvain.be/cpme.html

The Master in Bioengineering programme follows on the Bachelor in Engineering (Bioengineering) with a minor in Environment. Access to this Master is also possible after a minor in “Agronomy”, providing a small adaptation of the programme that must be validated by the academic secretary.

Successful completion of this programme enables direct entry to other training programmes in the second and third cycles.

• Advanced Masters: the Advanced Masters in the field authorized by regulations in addition to those established by the University Development Commission (Commission Universitaire au Développment – CUD) in the same field.
• Doctoral programmes: PHD in Agronomy and Bioengineering