Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education welcomes an exciting autumn

Now we look forward to a great autumn together with new and old employees, new and old students, and exciting development of our core activities in Alnarp, Skinnskatteberg, Umeå and Uppsala.

Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education informs

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Camilla Widmark and I am the Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education at the faculty. I have been at SLU since 2001, became an associate professor in 2020 and I have been involved in education almost since day one. My background is in political science, economics and business administration, and I mainly research forest ecosystem services, conflicts, sustainable development, bioeconomy, policy development and policy implementation. I teach at both bachelor's and master's levels and supervise bachelor's and master's theses as well as doctoral students.

The start of the semester has just begun, and we are delighted to welcome new and old students back to our four campuses. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the start of the semester and especially to those who have welcomed new students. Finally, our corridors are bustling with students again and we once again have the privilege of following the students on their journey of knowledge.

We have worked intensively during the spring and summer on marketing our programs and we are pleased to see that three of our four bachelor's programs have improved admission numbers. In total, we have 270 new students registered this fall, compared to 224 the year before. At bachelor's level we now have 145 new students, which is 15 more than in 2024, and at master's level 73 new students, an increase of 14. Looking at the individual programs, the Forestry Master's Program welcomes 58 new students, Forest Economics 32, Forest and Landscape 40 and Forest Science 15.

It is also pleasing to see an increased interest in the forestry foundation year for prospective foresters. We have education in three locations, and all have a higher number of new students this year compared to previously, a total of 51 registered against 35 in 2024.

From July 1 this year, some new and some experienced program directors have begun their term of office. All can be contacted by email, and you can find more information via the link below.

• Programme Director of Studies (in Swedish): 

Student recruitment continues to be a central focus for the faculty during the autumn, where plans for activities during the late autumn and spring semester are in full swing. The next event is the High School Day in Umeå, where around 150 high school students from the Västerbotten region will visit on September 25. In addition, plans are underway to participate in fairs and activities, for example, SLU will participate in the major education fairs in Uppsala, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Just as before, we will also have an open house in collaboration with Umeå University in early November. We will also repeat the popular tour of high schools in early spring. In connection with student recruitment, SLU will also carry out an awareness campaign during the late autumn with campaigns in the media to strengthen the SLU brand. You can also help increase awareness of SLU and contribute to student recruitment by talking about our programs.

SLU will start a new Master of Science program - Master of Science in Bioresource Systems Engineering - in the fall of 2026. Our faculty is responsible for parts of the program that span over five years. The focus is on smart technical solutions and innovations for agricultural and forestry systems and will be offered from Ultuna. Intensive work is currently underway to develop course syllabi and prepare for the program start next fall.

• Master of Science in Bioresource Systems Engineering (in Swedish)

Additional education will start in the fall of 2026. We will start a technical-natural science basic education year that provides prerequisites and priority to be accepted to the bachelor program Forestry Science (BSc). The purpose is to support young persons who has a social science high school education to be able to qualify for the bachelor program. The program is offered in Umeå and includes basic courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics.

• Technical-natural science basic education year (in Swedish)

During the autumn I will visit all departments at the faculty to discuss undergraduate education, discuss opportunities and challenges in the future, and meet teachers. I am very much looking forward to discussing undergraduate education with all of you. Before we meet at the departments, do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to talk about education!

Camilla Widmark, Vice Dean Undergraduate Education Faculty of Forest Sciences