Bioeconomy – a new joint degree programme in English
Bioeconomy is our future, also on the job market. That's why Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr) together with Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (WUST) open English-language studies in Bioeconomy. The agreement on the joint degree programme was signed on Monday by the rectors of both Wroclaw universities – Prof. Jaroslaw Bosy and Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs.
- Joint degree in bioeconomy – what will you learn?
- Bioeconomy is our opportunity and our future
- The admission to the Bioeconomy joint degree programme starts on June 1, 2022
Prof. Jarosław Bosy, the rector of UPWr, has no doubts that if the Ministry created conditions for joint studies, this should be done and in this way the didactic offer of the university should be enriched. 'Technical solutions, which the WUST specializes in, as well as our knowledge and solutions concerning the environment combined together are particularly valuable when we talk about sustainable development and we educate specialists for its needs', emphasizes the rector.
Prof. Agnieszka Bieńkowska, Vice-Rector for Education of the University of Technology, adds that the idea of launching a joint degree programme emerged several years ago, but its implementation required broad cooperation, e.g. in terms of preparing the curriculum. 'Running a joint degree programme will make it possible not only to complement the didactic offer, but also to strengthen the potential of both universities', she underlines.
The Bioeconomy degree programme will be created at the UPWr's Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy. It will be a 7-semester, full-time first degree studies conducted in English.
'The aim is to educate qualified engineers who will be prepared to solve problems and challenges of the developing bioeconomy, understand the needs of the changing world and be able to creatively solve environmental problems', says Prof. Krzysztof Lejcuś from the Institute of Environmental Engineering at UPWr, who together with Prof. Andrzej Białowiec from the Department of Applied Bioeconomy at UPWr is the author of the concept of the degree programme.
UPWr researchers have no doubt that the bioeconomy is shaping a new market for work, production and services. A market that requires new advanced knowledge and specialized personnel. Therefore, the education will include engineering knowledge with the latest scientific achievements, innovation, technology, know-how security, industrial production processes, supply chain logistics and economics.
Joint degree in bioeconomy – what will you learn?
'The degree programme has been arranged in such a way as to develop skills of innovative and interdisciplinary approach to problem solving and to create competences for technology implementation and cooperation between science and business', they emphasize.
In the joint project, the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at WUST will implement courses in environmental biotechnology, sustainable management of natural resources, recycling and reuse of raw materials, environmental management and air protection.
'Joint studies are a proven worldwide solution, which is very beneficial to students. They can draw on the knowledge and experience of lecturers and the didactic base of both universities', emphasises professor Bartosz Kaźmierczak, the dean of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at WUST. 'The education provided in English opens our offer also to foreign applicants, including the participants of international student exchange programmes', he adds.
Bioeconomy is our opportunity and our future
The bioeconomy is our future. The main goal of the European Green Deal, enacted in 2019, is to use natural resources more efficiently as part of the so-called 'circular economy'. By 2027 alone, the EU intends to provide €100 billion in financial support for a fair transformation.
The development of the bioeconomy is constantly contributing to the creation of new jobs, hence a graduate of the new course will have many opportunities to use the acquired knowledge. They will be able to find employment in newly established companies associated with the broadly defined sustainable economy, in the Bio-Based Industry sector, in companies involved in the production, storage or distribution of bio-products and in the closing of matter and energy cycles, as well as in biorefineries. Qualified engineers will also be sought after in state and local administration, non-governmental organizations, consulting companies, research laboratories or biotechnological companies.
The admission to the Bioeconomy joint degree programme starts on June 1, 2022.
