Forest Engineering

Qualifications

BE(Hons), PhD

See also Engineering

Introduction

Forest engineering is a hybrid of engineering, forestry and management. It requires people who can combine skills to solve engineering problems in the natural environment, with a focus on balancing economic, societal and environmental requirements.

Forest engineers construct and evaluate the operational systems that make the forest industry ‘work’. This can include:

• designing and building new roads
• developing or modifying forestry equipment
• planning harvest operations
• optimising transport logistics
• integrating new technologies
• supervising employees and contractors
• ensuring safety standards are maintained.

Forest engineers work with the public and governmental agencies. They look after the environment, and may steer projects through the resource consent process. Forest engineering graduates know the forest environment and forest products and processes, and they provide the essential link between the forest and the final product.

The education and training of forest engineers includes courses and expertise from the School of Forestry and the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. There is a real focus on 'hands-on' engineering practices, with many field trips to expose students to real-world engineering problems and opportunities. The Forest Engineering programme at UC is the only one of its kind in Australasia, and one of only two in the Southern Hemisphere.

100-level courses

The first year of the BE(Hons) is called the Engineering Intermediate Year. See Engineering for more information on the Engineering Intermediate.

200-level and beyond

• See all Forest Engineering courses

The First Professional Year emphasises basic engineering subjects including forest engineering, forest economics, materials, mechanics and forest measurement.

In the Second Professional Year, this knowledge of engineering principles is consolidated and students are introduced to the basic principles of forest management, design, geotechnical engineering, infrastructure management, geospatial technologies in forestry and wood science.

At this stage, there is an opportunity to specialise in solid wood processing by studying at either the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, or the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Through formal exchange programmes, students spend 8–12 months in either Vancouver or Blacksburg, taking courses in solid wood processing. No tuition fees beyond the usual UC fees are due.

The Third Professional Year contains a balance of Forestry and Engineering subjects, including harvest systems, transportation and road design, and forest engineering research, with special emphasis on management, design and individual projects.

Career opportunities

Forest Engineering graduates are in high demand both in New Zealand and overseas, and, at present, we fill only about half of industry's demand for suitable graduates. Major companies, forestry consultants and contractors recruit overseas to make up the shortfall in qualified personnel.

Forest engineers have a wide skill-set that provides work opportunities both at home and abroad. Graduates can take up employment in the forest industry, but because of the multidisciplinary nature of forest engineering, job opportunities are also available in areas including general engineering consultancy, local and regional councils, government agencies, resource management and research.

Careers in these organisations are challenging, creative, stimulating and offer great scope for advancement.

For further career information, please go to www.canterbury.ac.nz/careers

Contact

School of Forestry
Forest Engineering Programme – Director of Studies
Forest Engineering
Telephone: +64 3 364 2127