Viewing value creation in the Bio-Economy sector through the lens of sustainable forestry is an innovative and new approach, but no multidisciplinary M.Sc. program in Europe focusing on the combination of sustainable Forestry and Bio-Economy exists, yet. Bio-Economy in itself cannot be considered as self-evidently sustainable and visions about the relationship between Bio-Economy and sustainability differ substantially. Thus concepts, academic discussions and political strategies need to be properly balanced and tackled simultaneously by young academics and professional experts.Higher Education Institutions (HEis) continuously face the challenge of producing 'fit-for-job' graduates in response to rapidly changing demands on various job markets. This challenge is even more critical in study programs tightly coupled with innovative and multidisciplinary sectors and technologies such as Bio-Economy or Nature Conservation. Thus universities offering students a multidisciplinary full 360 view on issues and topics of Bio-Economy have to modernise, renew and align their curricula towards multidisciplinary skills and competencies and internationalize permanently to compete on the international market of higher education.The BIOECON project establishes a Higher Education Institution network of excellence for peer2peer learning and joint academic capacity building among three European and three Vietnamese partners in the field of Sustainable Forest- and Bio-Economy involving different perspectives and stakeholders to meet the stated challenges adequately. The project actors promote ecological and economical sustainability in the Bio-Economy sector at the interface of academic concepts, required skills and professional expertise in an international arena of future graduates. It contributes to a successful implementation of the EU Bio-Economy as well the Green Economy strategy in Vietnam. The European added value lies in the enhances academic and institutional cooperation.
Viewing value creation in the Bio-Economy sector through the lens of sustainable forestry is an innovative and new approach, but no multidisciplinary M.Sc. program in Europe focusing on the combination of sustainable Forestry and Bio-Economy exists, yet. Bio-Economy in itself cannot be considered as self-evidently sustainable and visions about the relationship between Bio-Economy and sustainability differ substantially. Thus concepts, academic discussions and political strategies need to be properly balanced and tackled simultaneously by young academics and professional experts.Higher Education Institutions (HEis) continuously face the challenge of producing 'fit-for-job' graduates in response to rapidly changing demands on various job markets. This challenge is even more critical in study programs tightly coupled with innovative and multidisciplinary sectors and technologies such as Bio-Economy or Nature Conservation. Thus universities offering students a multidisciplinary full 360 view on issues and topics of Bio-Economy have to modernise, renew and align their curricula towards multidisciplinary skills and competencies and internationalize permanently to compete on the international market of higher education.The BIOECON project establishes a Higher Education Institution network of excellence for peer2peer learning and joint academic capacity building among three European and three Vietnamese partners in the field of Sustainable Forest- and Bio-Economy involving different perspectives and stakeholders to meet the stated challenges adequately. The project actors promote ecological and economical sustainability in the Bio-Economy sector at the interface of academic concepts, required skills and professional expertise in an international arena of future graduates. It contributes to a successful implementation of the EU Bio-Economy as well the Green Economy strategy in Vietnam. The European added value lies in the enhances academic and institutional cooperation.