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The Future of Professional Forestry Education: Trends and Challenges from the Malaysian Perspective
Abstract
The traditional forestry education schemes are no longer sufficient to train professional foresters to manage the forest resources in
a changing world. Even in forest-rich nations such as Malaysia, the challenges faced by forestry education are growing. The declining
student enrolment and interests in the field must be stopped, if the field is to remain viable. The roles played by the forest have shifted
from purely commercial products exploitation to environmental and social centric. In this context, forestry education will need to be
restructured to impart the necessary knowledge and skills to the foresters to enable them to perform up to expectation in the field.
... Thus the capability needs of these professionals are becoming diversified. Consequently, as is the case in Kenya (Arevalo et al., 2014), Malaysia (Ratnasingam et al., 2013) and other countries, universities seek to review and create new curriculum which addresses the fast changing capability needs of forestry professionals (Temu et al., 2006). ...
Provokes discussion about forestry education, calling for programmes that help people to equip themselves to research and solve problems not simply academic research, but also practical problems of land use planning, community consultation and forest management not only in the framework of public servants and corporate employees, but also as responsible professionals and good citizens. Education involves a commitment between staff and students, and this relationship should change as students develop. In short, staff should help freshers, final-year students should help themselves, and researchers (both staff and students) should help each other. When we create an environment which is stimulating, relevant and challenging, we will attract students (and staff) of the highest calibre. They will demand flexibility, inspirational courses, and excellent teaching. They will establish an exciting research program if we provide active and supportive supervision. And they will shape the future of forestry education.