Building bridges between school and work

When someone has worked in the forest field for as long as Börje Börjesson, one might be tempted to liken him to a tree. Given his Småland roots, perhaps a grand old oak? Trees aside though, Börje has seen major developments throughout his tenure at SLU, which started right before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But his journey to academia was anything but traditional. Says Börje:

- Like many others here, I have a forest background. In that sense I’m very traditional. But I came into academia in a roundabout way. In the 80s, I went back and forth between studies at SLU and working in the forest industry, mainly for what was then called Domänverket.

New perspectives

Not coming straight from a Ph. D. has been a challenge in some ways, says Börje, who is the programme director of studies at Skogsmästarprogrammet in Skinnskatteberg. But there have been upsides to his unorthodox background too – such as having new and fresh perspectives.

- Going back and forth between school and work is an unsustainable way of living. But the good thing is, you have a framework and something to anchor your studies. This comes back to how I think of higher studies in general, says Börje.

- The world of academia can be pretty rigid. If you don’t quite fit in, you might run into trouble. On the flipside though, you have new ideas and viewpoints that others don’t. I’ve tried to stay positive and grateful that I am able to work with what I’m interested in.

A bridge between school and work

Given his pivoting between school and work, it’s no surprise that Börje Börjesson has focused too much on helping others navigate that very topic.

- My entire career, pretty much, has been spent managing the bridge between higher studies and work. Taking that step from school to a job can be daunting and it’s more difficult today than ever before. Not least because work life has become so complex, especially in the forestry sector. We’re working on giving students a connection so that they know where they’re going.

How to measure quality

In this twilight zone between studies and work also lies a challenge for SLU as a university. According to Börje, it’s about the integration of the professional in the academic and, by extension, how you measure quality. And if you even can measure it.

- SLU is different from other universities. It’s very research focused, for one. But we also have a very broad range of educations. Some academic and some more professionally focused. To an extent, I see a challenge there, in offering a professionally focused education in an academic context. How do you integrate the professional aspects? And how do you even begin to measure the quality of an education like that?

The aspect of quality is central not only for SLU but for every university everywhere. Quality and reputation are key when looking to attract students and co-workers from other parts of the world. But what Börje wants is not a focus on improving quality, but a re-imagining of what quality even is.

- We talk a lot about quality, and that our education is of a high quality. And we measure it in various ways, like if the students are happy, how quickly they get a job and how much they make. But the key question to me is, is quality the same for every programme? We use the same yardstick for everything right now, and I think we can change that, says Börje.

Jack of all trades

Börje Börjesson spends a lot of his time – more than half actually – on being programme director of studies. That’s significantly more than most PSR’s. The rest of his time is spent teaching. He enjoys both tasks and he’s pleased that all programmes at SLU now are communicating and collaborating with each other – something that wasn’t true in the past. What Börje appreciates most, however, is the close relationships he often enjoys with students. Relationships that often begin before the students even enroll.

- For me as PSR, student contact is very important. And in a place like Skinnskatteberg, that role becomes more important than on bigger campuses. We don’t have support functions like larger campuses do, so I become more of a jack of all trades. Oftentimes I also correspond with students long before they even apply or enrol. You get to know them really well, and there’s a lot of feedback.

Recruiting in an urban world

A current and hard-to-solve issue for SLU, is how to attract enough new students. Today, many high schoolers opt for other programmes than the technical and natural science-based ones that are typically required to apply to SLU. Some say this is due to grade inflation and students avoiding challenging programmes that might make it difficult to obtain high grades. Börje Börjesson thinks the explanation is more multi-faceted than that.

- Historically, SLU has recruited most of its students from the country and small towns. Regions where there is a natural connection to forest and farming. Today we’re seeing a shift towards urbanisation. You used to have at least a grandparent living in the country. Today, many don’t even have that. As a society, we’ve lost that connection to a large degree. And this is true whether we’re talking wolves, forestry, meat consumption or any number of issues.

Text: Henrik Persson
Photo: Privat

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