Teaching EA at an Austrian University: Experiences and Challenges

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Teaching EA at an Austrian University
Experiences and Challenges

• By Dr. Ralf Aschemann, ANIDEA
• Seoul, Yonsei University
• 1 December 2009
• International TwoEA-M Seminar

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Structure

• Universities in Austria
• Subject Environmental assessment
• Teaching experiences
• Teaching challenges
• Some final remarks

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Universities in Austria

• Public universities 22
• Private universities 12
• Universities of applied sciences
  (Fachhochschulen) 19
• Federal Ministry of Science and Research (FMSR)
  autonomy since University Act 2002
• Rector, Academic Senate and University Council

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Source BMWF(FMSR)
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Source BMWF(FMSR)
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Total number of students in Austria
240,000 students at universities 35,000
students at universities of applied
sciences) 5,000 students at private
universities 280,000 students total (8,355,500
population ? 3.4 )
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Subject Environmental Assessment (EA)

• No M.Sc. or B.Sc. programme in EA in Austria, yet
• But Different courses/lectures in EA (e.g. Graz
  University, Graz University of Technology, Vienna
  University, Vienna University of Technology,
  Klagenfurt University, Innsbruck University etc.)

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Subject Environmental Assessment (EA) - 2

• Courses/lectures in EA related fields, such as
  assessment tech-niques, indicators, GIS,
  environ-mental legislation, environmental
  economics, environmental plan-ning, management
  etc.
• I am lecturer at Graz University ? focus
  

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Graz University

• Founded 1585
• Six Nobel Prize Awards (e.g. 1933 Erwin
  Schrödinger for physics)
• Six faculties 74 institutes 22,000 students
  2,800 graduates/year 100 degree programmes
  staff 3,500 (2,500 scientific) 170 mio
  budget/year plus third-party funds (approx. 293
  bio Won, 22.5 bio Yen) Source
  www.uni-graz.at

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Graz University - 2
Source www.uni-graz.at
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Teaching experiences

• EA framework in Austria
• Austrian EIA Act (implementation of EC EIA
  Directive)
• Austrian SEA legislation (implemen-tation of the
  EC SEA Directive)
• Federal country (legislation at federal and
  provincial level)
• Long (environmental/land-use) planning tradition
  with many experiences/know how gathered

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Teaching experiences - 2

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. Programme Environmental system
  sciences with lectures in, inter alia, EA and
  environmental management
• Motivation and interest of students in EA are
  varying, but that is not specific to EA
• Use of WebCT (e-learning plat-form) turned out to
  be positive

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Teaching experiences - 3

• Legislation issues (Requirements of EC Directives
  or annexes of Austrian EIA Act) sometimes
  difficult to understand for students
• Invitation of guest speakers (e.g. environmental
  ombudsman of Styria, EA practitioner) offered
  valuable input from the non-academic world

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Teaching experiences - 4

• Case studies as suitable means for explaining and
  demonstrating EA in practice ? EIA Database of
  Environment Agency Austria including EIS and
  other documents
• Visualisation (e.g. process, assess-ment matrix)
  eases understanding of complex issues

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Teaching experiences - 5
Dont behave like an super expert, who does
know anything in the EA context
http//glareanverlag.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/c
artoon009.jpg
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Teaching challenges
Learning not as burden, but as education for the
(professional and private) future of the students
http//campusib.fh-burgenland.at/images/2240007.1
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Teaching challenges - 2

• Try to make legislation issues more attractive
  and better to understand
• Diversity instead of uniformity Guest speakers,
  e-learning, case studies, role plays etc.
• Overcome students resistance to journal papers
  (perhaps only an Austrian phenomenon)

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Teaching challenges - 3

• Updating lectures in order to offer
  state-of-the-art knowledge
• Clarifying the relations to the professional
  world (e.g. application of EIA Act for different
  professions)
• Encouraging students to be curious to know more
  and detailed EA issues (? e.g. master thesis)

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Some final remarks

• Experiences and challenges in teaching EA not
  unique
• EA is important and will become more important in
  the future
• Bologna process (with its three main objectives
  mobility, international competitiveness,
  employability) requires efforts for scholars and
  students

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Thank you
... for your kind attention!