26.03.2009
"I know of no other study location than Freiburg where you have such freedom to choose the areas in the curriculum you want to focus on."
Laura is studying the management of ecosystems on a natural science base (Copyright: Baden-Württemberg International)
Laura van den Kerchove is an ‘outdoor’ person who enjoys nature and all kinds of outside activities. She appreciates Freiburg as a place to study because the town is located very close to the Black Forest. In her Master´s programme in Forest Ecology and Management, the 25 year old woman from Luxembourg is studying the management of ecosystems on a natural science base.
She had studied geography in Strasbourg/France and spent six months in Indonesia to write her Bachelor thesis before coming to southern Baden-Württemberg. “I definitely prefer the system in Freiburg,” she states. “I know of no other study location where you have such freedom to choose the areas in the curriculum you want to focus on or where the technical equipment - ranging from computers to GIS software availability - is so excellent.”
The course at the University of Freiburg offers Laura highly professional and thus individual personal supervision by professors. Each year about 30 students with very diverse scientific backgrounds from about 18 countries start the course “Forest Ecology and Management” – selected from several hundred applicants. “A well written letter of motivation usually counts just as much as good marks,” Laura believes.
The highly motivated graduate student aims to become a teacher in the field of “nature awareness and environmental education”. She doesn’t regard herself as a scientist but is more interested in the social aspects of her study field. Having travelled many parts of the world, she could very well imagine working with a non-governmental organization (NGO) in a developing country. But recalling her internship in Canada, where she noticed a dramatic lack of environmental awareness, she knows that “even very well developed countries have a lot to learn about environmental problems and are often not aware of what they are doing to our planet.” This is what appeals to Laura: “A job in a nature school, similar to the Naturschule Freiburg e.V. where I can raise both children’s and older people’s awareness of nature and environmental issues is my goal for the future.”
She will be perfectly prepared for the job. Some months ago, she started off-the-job training in parallel to her Master´s course at the Naturschule Freiburg e.V. in nature and environment education which will be finished by the time she gains her Master´s.
www.uni-freiburg.de
www.forest-ecology-management.uni-freiburg.de
