Creation of a European campus for the Wood and Forestry industry

The "Communauté de Communes du Pays des Ecrins" is working on the project to create a High School of Wood and Forest in the Hautes-Alpes, in conjunction with neighboring communities of communes.

Cyrille DRUJON D'ASTROS, President de la Communauté de Communes du Pays des Ecrins
"This idea of a High School of Wood and Forest was born in the head of a young Haut-Alpin, Florian Court, a graduate in forest management. Seduced by this ambitious idea and at the same time realistic because it meets a need for training in our territory, the elected officials of the Pays des Ecrins offered him a position as project manager to develop the project. Through this project of a High School of Wood and Forestry, we wish to support both higher education, but also the economy and the attractiveness of our territory."

A European Campus for woodworking and forestry 

With the aim of improving inter-professional dialogue in Europe, consolidating cohesion within the industry and  strengthening their governance, favorable for a fixed price,, a European Campus for woodworking and forestry (“Haute Ecole du Bois et de la Forêt”) is  in the planning stage in the Hautes-Alpes region (France). This center of excellence will be complementary to those already existing in Europe when it comes to specific training and research  dedicated to the “Alpino-Mediterranean” resources.

The Alps and the Mediterranean area will be, in the years to come, the two ecosystems the most affected by climate change. Forests and associated species should evolve spatially at a rate which, for the most part, will not allow them to adapt to their new bioclimatic environment. For example, Parasitic infestations and their frequency will increase with warmer winters

Besides health consequences, the challenge is financial. Forest resources is particularly important and diversified, unlike to its exploitation and its valorization, both constrained by the geography of the place and by foreign markets. To limit this increasing health  trend, while answering the growing demand for wood in buildings, it is necessary to support these developments with an ingenious contribution of technical and scientific knowledges and skills.

With this in mind, the Hautes-Alpes region is actively working on the development of an unique Campus in Europe with the objective to train experts / engineers in the space of maintenance, industrialization and commercialization of natural resources coming from a territory combining Alps with Mediterranean areas.

The creation of this European campus recognized by the Forestry industry must therefore allow to: help access  high degree education in a promising  area; diversify and boost this industry; develop the “Alpino-Mediterranean” forest-wood industry at an European level (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia).

The “Haute Ecole du Bois et de la Forêt” project is fully in line with the EU's strategic framework for the Alpine region (SUERA). This center of excellence will support the transition of the forest and wood-building industries by developing the skills that will support tomorrow the strategic thinking of companies/managers  with regards to the development of new commercial offers, the organization of work, the digital and environmental transition.

Also, a multidisciplinary team of teacher-researchers will be recruited to carry out the teachings and Research and Development works. This center of excellence will be organized around 4 professional units (production, construction, sales/marketing, forestry engineering). Entrepreneurship will be at the heart of the training, through the presence of managers, tradespersons and industry leaders in the board of school (private campus managed by a recognized association of general interest), as well as thanks to the presence of professionals on site.

A network to develop

By integrating the governance of the project, partner organizations will be able to benefit of an access to the future technical platforms (workshops, research laboratories, etc.). They will also be asked to develop relationships with the best start-ups, developer communities, partner companies and research centers.

The “Haute Ecole du Bois et de la Forêt” project aims to develop a greater synergy, a stronger link with the regions of the Alpine and Mediterranean Arc and a greater international visibility.

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