Ecotechnology

Klaus Enzenhof from Austria

2nd year student Ecotechnology

What makes Ecotechnology in Östersund special?

Mainly two things: The contact with the professors is really good; it is easy to communicate with them and to exchange knowledge. Secondly, there is a lot of room for your own ideas. Within the programme there are many opportunities for your input.

What do you want you do after your bachelor degree?

First I want to work in the field, and get some practical experience. Then I would like to continue my studies and specialize further within environmental science.

Is there something that especially motivates you within this bachelor?

I enjoy working on the group assignments and the presentations. Because we have them so often we learn how to speak in front of people and how to communicate our area of expertize. In the groups we get to work with more opinions. In think these different perspectives improve our final results. Besides that it is fun to learn form each other.

This also simulates a future career setting. Within our line of work we will probably cooperate quite a lot, and this is the perfect place to practice.

Is there a special area within Ecotechnology that you are interested in?

I am especially interested in forestry and building.

What kind of excursion did you have?

I went on several different excursions. In my first year, for instance, I went to Bydalen for a week and we had quite some one day excursions to for instance a waste water treatment plant, the waste dump, nearby lakes, the forest agency and local companies. Now I am in my fourth semester, in which I can choose my own courses. You can expand your knowledge within any field of interest.  I am currently specializing in geography in cooperation Umeå University, which is also located in Sweden.

What do you do next to your studies?

In Östersund you can do quite a lot of outdoor activities, which you will also notice within the bachelor. Next to my studies I like to do cross country skiing, and we go often go downhill skiing in Åre (one of Sweden’s biggest ski resorts about an hour away from Östersund). This is mainly for the winter though. In the summer there are nice mountain bike tracks.

I’m also active within the International Committee (IC), we organize different social events, such as dinner parties and dog sledging.

Ying Wang from Chengdu, China

2nd year student Ecotechnology

What makes Ecotechnology special to you?

Over time the study became more special to me. I found the subjects there interesting and important. Here we care about the air, water and soil. These things are not expensive, but we need them every day. Like a doctor we learn about the illnesses there are, how to prevent the and how to deal with them. Only our patient, who we want to keep healthy, is the nature.

What year are you in?

I am in the second year, in my ‘free semester’.

What are you doing for your free semester?

I am doing an internship in a company, and I am also preparing for my final thesis.

What did you do before your bachelor in Ecotechnology?

I worked in an investment company in Nanjing.

What do you want you do after your bachelor degree?

I have not decided it yet, but I think I will find a job in within the environmental sector or continue my studies and do a master degree.

Is there a special area within Ecotechnology that you are interested in?

Yes, now I am thinking about eco toxicity and clean energy, which are quite interesting to me.

What do you do next to your studies?

Besides studies, I do a lot of sports.

Programme Coordinator Erik Grönlund

Why was Ecotechnology created?

Lars Thofelt created the Ecotechnology programme and I think he had one main reason. He thought that too much knowledge was staying in the Universities instead of doing work in the society. Through this programme he wanted to ‘put knowledge into work’.

What kind student do you hope will apply?

First, you need to have an interest in environment in environmental questions. Then second, I hope you have an interest in making a change.

What makes this Ecotechnology programme so attractive or special?

We have an interesting interdisciplinary mix of courses within the programme. Besides that I believe that we are more applied than other similar programmes. The third thing I would like to add is of course our location. I hope students come here for our education, but I also hope that students would come here for Östersund’s location. ‘At the foot of the mountain’, you can easily go skiing and the nature is beautiful here.
It is a nice part of the world to spend three years in.

What is the perspective for students after they have finished?

We have seen that students end up in many different careers within the environmental sector. They have jobs in both in the public and the private sector. From our experience students often benefit from the broad perspective they get from this programme.

What are the key concepts of Ecotechnology?

It is one of the few interdisciplinary environmental programmes in Sweden.

We try to put knowledge into work.

We want to make a change.

The interviews have been done by Albertine Potter van Loon 1st year student Ecotechnology

Content

The Ecotechnology Programme is a three-year education leading to a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. Most of the time you study two courses in parallel.