21. 5. 2025
The UP Senate approves the accreditation application for the higher professional study programme Wood Innovation for Sustainability
As part of the GDI UP project – Green, Digital and Inclusive University of Primorska – the UP has developed a new higher education study programme Wood Innovation for Sustainability. At its 20th regular meeting (May 21, 2025), the UP Senate approved the application for accreditation of the degree program, which will be forwarded to the Council of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (NAKVIS) for further examination and decision-making.
The study program comprises six areas: Core Subjects, Foundation Subjects, Digital Woodworking Skills, Business and Economics Skills and Sustainability, Built Wood Environments, Practical Education and a Mobility Window (International Experience).
(Photo by: Miran Kambi膷)
When designing the study program, we pursued the following goals:
- Interdisciplinarity, as we recognized the need to integrate knowledge from different disciplines to solve complex problems in the wood industry.
- Innovative teaching methods (e.g. brainstorming, case studies, collaborative learning, discussions, group research, problem-based learning, project work) to make the courses attractive and prepare students to meet the challenges of the industry after graduation.
Practical training accounts for 24 of the 180 credits of the degree program, or 13% of the total course requirements. This is intended to close the gap between theory and practical experience. Direct work in companies in the woodworking industry enables students to enter the direct work process, where they can apply and reflect on the specialist knowledge they have acquired.
The higher professional study programme Wood Innovation for Sustainability includes a mandatory "mobility window", through which UP also fulfils Objective 12.1 – “The volume of international and intercultural content in UP study programmes will be increased, namely through the implementation of mobility windows and other elements of the ‘internationalisation at home’ concept” – from the University of Primorska’s Medium-Term Development Strategy 2025–2030 (). Students will be able to complete the mobility window at partner universities or in the form of practical training in numerous leading European organisations or companies across Europe.
The study programme was developed in accordance with the guidelines set out in the 2024 Policy Document of the European Wood Policy Platform WoodPoP “Wood-Based Circular Bioeconomy for a Sustainable Europe” ().
The project Green, Digital & Inclusive University of Primorska (GDI UP) is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the European Union – NextGenerationEU. The project is implemented in accordance with the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) under the development area Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, component Strengthening competencies, in particular digital competencies and those required by the new professions and the green transition (C3 K5), for the investment measure Investment F. Implementation of pilot projects, the results of which will serve as a basis for the preparation of a roadmap for the reform of higher education for a green and resilient transition to a Society 5.0: project Pilot Projects for the Reform of Higher Education for a Green and Resilient Transition.
Photo by: Miran Kambi膷