Alain Joseph

I am originally from Orléans Canada  – a suburb of the Nation’s Capital: Ottawa. I have two major career goals for my life: (1) to become a university professor/researcher and (2) to become the superintendent of one of Canada’s beautiful National Parks. I started my student career at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario. I spent three years in Lindsay graduating as an Ecosystem Management Technician and as a Parks and Forest Recreation Management Technician. Following this, I spent a fourth year in Fleming at their Haliburton, Ontario campus and got a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Adventure Tourism Management. Knowing full-well that this would not be it for me as a student I then applied to the Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Environment at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. During my studies at Lakehead University I took some Finnish language courses and decided that I should put them to good use by going on exchange there.

I came to the Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in European Forestry to build on the relationships which I had started during an exchange visit as a Bachelor student. Ever since my first visit to Joensuu I had been searching for an opportunity to return and pursue graduate level studies and the timing was somehow perfect for me. I was particularly interested in the variety of courses which were offered from all of the partner universities and the fact that the programme awarded a double degree. The double degree in particular provides me with an edge over other job applicants and searching for PhD positions.

I have worked several jobs in the past from paper boy to liaison officer, to forest firefighter. The latter of those jobs is the one which has steered me towards an academic career. Mother Nature is a formidable force to be reasoned with and wildfire is one of the ways in which she manifests her power over us. Many aspects of forest disturbances interest me, not only the suppression of wildfire, but what effects decades of suppression have had on our forests. In the course of the MSc EF I have been able to connect with several people who will be able to help me further develop my career in fire ecology and management.

Mr Alain Joseph graduated in European Forestry from the University of Eastern Finland and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and is currently working as a Park Planner at Parks Canada.