Teaching

Teaching and learning activities

I gave my first full-length university course in the fall of 1984. The course was offered at the University of Helsinki and was called "Biostatistics".

• since then, teaching has continued regularly in many universities in Finland and abroad

• in 40 years, over 3000 students have attended - and passed! - my on-site courses 

The focus of my university-level courses and lecture series is on four main topics:

• Forest ecology, covering the major ecological structures, processes, and functions of forests, with an emphasis on, but not limited to, disturbance dynamics and successional patterns in boreal regions

• Forest conservation and biodiversity, covering various aspects of habitat classifications, species habitat associations, and the ecological basis for forest conservation

• Plant-herbivore associations and forest entomology, including population ecology and dynamics, food web and trophic level interactions and disturbance and outbreak dynamics and conservation of forest insects

• Methodology and scientific reasoning in ecology, covering basic and advanced levels of statistical and numerical analysis, experimental design, and scientific reasoning in forest ecology and biodiversity research.

Curriculum development and academic program leadership

In addition to the annual courses, I have been involved in the development, coordination and administration of university teaching at all academic levels, from undergraduate and minor study units to full doctoral programmes.

The duties include:

• 1996–2010: Chairman of the coordination group for multidisciplinary environmental studies of the university (in Finnish: monitieteisten ympäristötieteen opintojen koordinaatioryhmän puheenjohtaja). These studies connected teaching of all the five faculties of the university, and offered courses up to intermediate level. The study program attracted around 50-100 students annually.

• 1996–2005: Person-in-charge of the study minor “Environmental Management and Multiple use of Forests” (metsien ympäristönhoidon ja monikäytön sivuaineopintokokonaisuuden vastuuhenkilö). 

• 2007–2021: Director of the International Study Programme in Forestry and Environmental Science (metsä- ja ympäristötieteen kansainvälisen vaihto-opiskelijaohjelman johtaja). The programme attracted around 50-70 exchange students each semester, and was organized jointly by the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the School of Forest Sciences. In total, over 1000 students have attended the programme during its lifetime.

• 2012–2015: Person-in-charge for the study major “Forest sciences” at the University of Eastern Finland (Itä-Suomen yliopiston metsätieteen oppiaineen ja pääaineen vastuuhenkilö). This programme covers all BSc and MSc level studies that are required to achieve corresponding BSc and MSc academic degrees in forest sciences in Finland. All the major fields under forest sciences and forestry are covered in these studies. Only two universities in the country offer MSc in forestry and forest sciences.

• 2013–2017: Director of the doctoral programme on “Forests and Bioresources FORES” (metsien ja metsien bioresurssien tohtoriohjelman johtaja). This programme is the only doctoral-level programme that focuses exclusively on forests and their resources in Finland. About 10 doctoral degrees are awarded annually.