TWO-YEAR MASTERS IN VALORIZATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MOUNTAIN AREAS
The Masters’ Degree in VALORIZATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MOUNTAIN AREAS, tought in English, takes place in Edolo, mountain municipality in the central Alps, in the provice of Brescia. The course aims to form professionals who are capable of promoting the enhancement, development and sustainable management of mountain territories, by applying innovative approaches and a systemic vision.
The graduate will be able to promote the creation of products and/or services of economic and social value beginning from the specific environmental, natural and agro-forestry resources of the mountains, following the principles of sustainability and in relation to local and global processes operating at the level of environmental (e.g., climate change) and socio-economic factors (depopulation, competitiveness and new models of development, etc.) and related national, European and international intervention policies.
METHOD AND LAERNING OBJECTIVES
During two-year course the students will acquire 120 ECTS.
The training aims to promote the sustainable enhancement of the specific resources of mountain territories by teaching innovative, scientific and technological methods and approaches with particular reference to the analysis, monitoring, conservation, management and enhancement of natural and agro-forestry resources (e.g. analysis and monitoring of mountain ecosystems, planning of forestry and silvicultural restoration and conservationactions, protection and production functions including ecosystem services; collaboration in defining natural resource management plans, enhancing agrobiodiversity, etc.).
The strategic economic sectors involved are:
1) tourism: planning and promotion of greenways and paths, dissemination/environmental education
2) energy from renewable sources, as well as (with regard to “bio-resources” and mountain agrobiodiversity) traditional local short supply chains (e.g. agritourism companies, catering, crafts, etc.)
3) in typical industrial supply chains in various sectors such as agri-food, medicinal/health, nutraceutical, cosmetic, manufacturing (e.g. textile) biotechnology, or in the context of the bioeconomy and the circular economy.
The specific knowledge, skills and competence of a historical-geographical, juridical-legislative and economic nature will allow the graduate to contribute to the development of business, marketing of product, service and territorial strategies, appropriate to the mountain context, both for the start-up of new businesses and for the planning and management of interventions in the context of programs and strategies for the development of these areas.
Furthermore, the expert professional of the mountain territory knows how to use effective communication techniques and methodologies (transversal skills applicable across a range of sectors) including the most innovative digital technologies (web, social, etc.). This is essential to effective interaction with service and innovation centres, between the mountain and urban, local and “global” scales, for continuous training, networking, technical-scientific dissemination and outreach, as well as the marketing of the territory and its products and services.
The course takes place entirely at the UNIMONT pole of the University of Milan, active for already 25 years at Edolo, a mountain municipality in the central Alps, exclusively dedicated to the development of mountain areas through teaching, research and third mission activities. The location of the centre favours teaching within the mountain environment and gives students the opportunity to experience, on a day-to-day basis, the characteristics of the territory that, as professionals, they will influence.
From a methodological and operational point of view, students are guaranteed an experience that is anything but “local”, as UNIMONT is part of an “ecosystem” that includes the main sector stakeholders at regional, national and international levels, effectively connecting the local dimension with the supra-local, facilitating the processes of innovation, capacity building and empowerment of human capital essential for the enhancement of these territories.
Therefore, the master course is specific for mountain areas but it includes a multidisciplinary approach and the connection between the local and the global dimension.
PROFESSIONAL PROFILES
The graduate will be able to collaborate in the design, implementation and promotion of unique products and/or services of economic and/or social value deriving from the environmental and agroforestry resources of the mountain territory.
In parallel, graduates will gain all necessary inistruments to participate in the management of projects for the enhancement and development of the mountain territory in the context of local, regional and national programs, and European and international cooperation Additionally, graduates will have the ability to understand and interpret the specific legal, administrative and socio-economic cultural framework of these territories, to understand dynamic phenomena related to change (climatic and demographic), within the context of the planning of interventions allowing ecological and digital transitions for the definition of new models of sustainable development.
UNIVERSITY BACKGROUND AND LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Proficiency in English at a B2 level or higher per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is required for admission.
Precise entry requirements and deadline for applications are available here: https://mountainside.cdl.unimi.it/en/enrolment
CONTACTS
Secretariat of study programme: unimont@unimi.it
Watch the video-messages of the students enrolled in the course here: https://youtu.be/JEWW3GyM-to