Academic Skills in Forest Sciences
Course number: 3513019, 6 ECTS. Akateemiset taidot metsätieteissä
Blas MOLA-YUDEGO
What are the main parts of a MSc thesis? How do you structure a manuscript? Which audience you target in a presentation? How can you read a scientific paper efficiently? What is the process to publish your research? How can you design an effective poster?
Course description
A student starting a MSc programme needs a deep understanding on writing and reading scientific reports and how the different dissemination channels work in science. Academic Skills in Forest Sciences introduces all aspects related to scientific discourse and academia. The course has already some tradition: it was originally conceived in 2010 for students of the MSc of European Forestry, in order to prepare them for the final thesis. Shortly after, it was open to all students of the School of Forest Sciences of the University of Eastern Finland. The course was originally conceived by David Gritten, and followed by Javier Arévalo, under the leadership of Paavo Pelkonen and Timo Tokola. The present form of the course started in 2015 and has been originally designed and coordinated by Blas Mola and Olalla Díaz; in 2018 Pierre Bernier was our guess lecturer. The course includes lectures, workshop exercises, a final seminar with oral presentations, as well as independent and collaborative work on learning tasks at this learning environment.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the principles of the scientific method (i.e. systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses), as well as conduct assignments following the principles of good scientific practice;
- Identify and analyse the main elements of a scientific article and a MSc thesis in forest sciences, as well as write an academic abstract;
- Identify the main elements of an oral academic presentation, as well as design and conduct a presentation in front of a live audience;
- Compare the characteristics of various traditional, collaborative and ICT-based communication methods (incl. talks, blog, wiki, ) and their strengths when addressing different audiences (e.g. forestry specialists vs non-specialists), as well as use some of these methods to communicate scientific findings effectively.
Essentials
Academic skills and competencies related to oral presentations (using Power Point, Prezi, posters, etc) and other forms of communication (academic writing, using ICT-based tools), as well as for writing the MSc thesis.
Course responsible
Blas Mola-Yudego, School of Forest Sciences, Borealis room 376, email address: blas.mola(at)uef.fi