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Program Overview

The university program in question is "Nature in the city: turning knowledge into urban forestry practice," a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) provided by Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with several international partners. This course is part of the European Innovation Programme on Urban Forestry 4.0, dedicated to university students.

Course Description

Urban Forestry is a transdisciplinary field spanning from urban design to forest ecology, from socioeconomics to information and communication technologies. This course aims to provide a well-rounded knowledge of Urban Forestry, considering all these aspects. It focuses on introducing the concept of Urban Forestry, exploring the different topics that constitute the foundations of this field. The course is designed to help participants learn how to think and act with an interdisciplinary approach, cooperating with other specialized professionals to develop effective and sustainable solutions for cities.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the MOOC, participants will be able to:

• Understand, explain, and discuss the concept of urban forestry and its key characteristics.
• Identify urban and peri-urban forestry categories and the main UPF design principles.
• Recognize ecosystem services provided by urban forests and differentiate between different ES.
• Understand the basic concepts of forest ecology and management, tree inventory, forest monitoring, and how existing areas can be included in developing plans.
• Recognize the complex nature of urban forest governance, the roles of different actors and stakeholders, and how to engage them to be participative.
• Understand and explain the concept and practice of entrepreneurship in urban forestry, relevant impact indicators, and the dynamics underlying the formation and growth of entrepreneurial ventures.
• Identify a range of different public and private ways to fund urban forestry initiatives and how to make them attractive for investment/grants.
• Develop a positive attitude towards new and challenging demands, showing a lively interest in novelty, openness to experience, exchange, exploration, and discovery.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively in digital environments or with digital tools.

Course Structure

The course is structured into five weeks, covering:

1. History of Urban Forestry: The history and development of urban forestry across the world, the concept and interdisciplinary character of urban forestry, and green and resilient cities.
2. Urban Forestry Planning and Design: Urban design principles, ecosystem services provided by Urban Forests, and Urban Forest inventory/mapping tools.
3. Urban Forest Ecology: Details of forest ecology and forest management.
4. Socioeconomics - Governance and Community Engagement: Socioeconomics and governance and policy aspects.
5. Entrepreneurship and Innovation: How to build and grow entrepreneurial ventures, technologies for urban forestry, and how to fund a forest project.

Additional Resources

• A glossary is available for reference.

Assessment and Certificate

The final grade for the course will be based on the results of answers to assessed quizzes. Participants must score 60% (or higher) in each quiz to successfully complete the course. A certificate in the form of an Open Badge can be achieved by reaching at least 60% of the total score in each assessed quiz and filling in the final survey.

Faculty

The MOOC is the result of a collaboration between many international experts from various institutions, including Politecnico di Milano, Ente Regionale per i Servizi all'Agricoltura e alle Foreste (ERSAF), Etifor, The European Forest Institute (EFI), The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), CREAF, AGRESTA Forest solution for the future, Transilvania University of Brașov (UNITBV), Forest Design, Trinity College Dublin, Nature Based Solutions Institute, and Green City Watch.

Fees and Access

The course is entirely free of charge and fully online.

Prerequisites

No prerequisite knowledge is required for this course.

Activities

Throughout the MOOC, participants will work on reflecting on the contents and experiences brought by the MOOC experts and improving their own experience, considering inputs emerged from discussions with peers. Activities include focusing on specific inputs individually, interacting with other learners during webinars and through external tools, and sharing and discussing experiences, challenges, and solutions to help and support professional development.

Total Course Workload

The total course workload is 50 hours.