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Distance Learning

COURSE ON BUILDING MODELS IN ECOLOGY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATION
[ ENROLLMENT ] [ COURSE OPERATION] [ DATES ] [ DURATION ]
[ BEGINNING OF THE COURSE ] [ THEORY ] [ CASE STUDIES ] [ DIPLOMA ]

ENROLLMENT

In order to enroll for the course, fill out the Application Form, which can be obtained by clicking here. Fill in the Application Form with your personal details and send it to Juan Martin Garcia jmarting@catunesco.upc.edu .

If the Application is successful, the student will be informed of the available payment methods.

Once the student has paid the enrollment fee, he or she must inform Juan Martin, by e-mail o fax, in order to commence the course.

After this, the student must send: a photocopy of an official identity document, a photo and a photocopy of their recent education.

COURSE OPERATION

DATES
The course is carried out in a very personalized way. As a result, as the academic year progresses students enroll, study and complete the course independently from one another.
DURATION
The amount of time a student needs to dedicate to the course is 50 hours. Students can do the course at different speeds according to their ability, the level they wish to reach, and the amount of time at their disposal.
Students normally complete the course in 2 to 4 weeks.
BEGINNING OF THE COURSE
After enrolling and pending receipt of the documentation, which takes a few days to arrive, students have access to the Theory section on the Student's Website, and they can take some complementary lectures in advance.
At the beginning of the course students receive all the documentation, which includes the CD-ROM with the software. The documentation is divided into two sections, Theory and Case Studies.
Once the documentation is received, the Theory stage is over, and the students install the software and perform the Case Studies.
THEORY
Students read the section on theory -- it is brief and concise -- and respond by e-mail to some issues the teacher raises, not so much as a test, but as a way of identifying possible doubts or conceptual gaps. On many occasions the students express their doubts directly. Communication is always via e-mail.
Students will require approximately 5 to 10 hours for this part.
CASE STUDIES
The student performs the case studies and produces the corresponding model on the computer, which is explained in the Documentation. The goal is for students to become proficient at using the software and at the techniques for modeling.
Then, if they wish, students can perform different simulations with the model, modifying it freely and discussing the changes they make with the teacher. The aim is that students learn to design simulations efficiently, and to describe the various courses of action that the simulations seem to suggest.
Student-teacher communication is via e-mail, so the teachers hand out the assignments, while students inform them of their progress and send the files created by the software as attachments.
The model files that the students send enable the teachers to assess the difficulties the students may have encountered, and attend to them in a totally personalized way, as teachers are viewing the students' work. This is a totally new experience since it allows students to make progress through the course according to their own needs.

DIPLOMA

Students must complete the whole Theory section, and at least half of the Case Studies in order to be awarded the diploma. The "Modeling for Ecology and Natural Resource Management" Specialization Diploma is granted by the Technical University of Catalonia at the end of the academic year, and is sent to the students by post.

Information Organization Students Website Documentation Inscription