Picture source: UBC Forestry
To engage the AP-FECM Steering Committee in advancing innovation in forestry education in the AP-FECM region and keep our communication regular, the AP-FECM Executive Office (EO) has proposed and coordinated the AP-FECM Online Seminar with the confirmation from the AP-FECM Steering Committee.
This seminar will be organized by each AP-FECM Steering Committee on a rotational basis. The on-duty steering committee is responsible for contacting the speaker and promoting the event within their universities and regions. The invited steering committee can give the talk or recommend one expert to give the talk. EO can help promote the seminars to all AP-FECM members and post them on the AP-FECM website. The seminar will be recorded and posted online.
Seminar time: The first Thursday of each month, can be adjusted to another day if necessary.
Seminar frequency and duration: Once per month, 1 hour each time. 45 min presentation+15 min Q&A is recommended.
Seminar topics: In 2025, our webinar focuses on the theme of innovation and new trends in forestry and forestry education. As a result of rapid climate change, biodiversity loss and new technological advances, the continued importance of forests to humans, and the threats that forests face, the careers of forestry professionals are evolving rapidly, especially in the Asia Pacific region. Higher forestry education in the Asia Pacific region has been evolving rapidly over the past few years to keep up with the evolving trends in the forestry sector and to accommodate the needs of students and society.
Innovation and new trends in forestry or forestry education can be shared in the webinars, for example, new trends in technology in forestry, teaching pedagogy, conceptual developments, paradigm shifts and program and curriculum innovation are all suitable topics for webinars.
Our Next Webinar:
AP-FECM webinar
Title: Smart Teaching for Forestry Education and Practices in China
Speaker: Prof. Lin Cao
College of Forestry and Grassland
College of Soil and Water Conservation
Nanjing Forestry University
Time: Tuesday. July 29, 2025, 6–7 PM PDT (Vancouver)
Zoom Link: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/65488012441?pwd=RTDRdIayAD7ICJo9TgZiChpGEARSY3.1
Meeting ID: 654 8801 2441
Passcode: 600712
Abstract:
Accelerating the innovative application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in forestry higher education is an important means to improve the quality of education and teaching. Forestry higher education urgently needs to undergo profound changes in its educational structure, teaching mode, learning paradigm and evaluation methods, in order to shape a new ecology of “AI+” education and teaching.
Nanjing Forestry University (NJFU) actively promotes the construction of smart teaching for forestry higher education. First, a virtual simulation experiment teaching sharing platform has been established, and the NJFU Plan for the construction of virtual simulation experiment courses were formed. Second, the “Shuishan Digital Integrated Teaching Cloud Platform” was built and focused on promoting high-quality development of undergraduate education empowered by AI technology. Finally, an integrated platform for the smart courses was built, a “knowledge graph and question database”, a course specific “intelligent agent” and “digital person” were created, and multiple evaluations and an “AI+forestry” collaborative innovation platform for industry, academia, and research were also established.
Profile:
My researches focus on advancing the applications of remote sensing technologies to estimate forest structural, biophysical and biochemical properties at a range of spatial and temporal scales, as well as the applications of novel technologies in smart forestry for precision silviculture, forest management and biodiversity monitoring. Key areas of my interests include applying LiDAR technology to sustainable forest management, developing new methodologies for high throughput forest phenotyping using UAV, and linking multi-sources, multi-temporal remote sensing data to forest growth and biodiversity.
At Nanjing Forestry University (NJFU), I teach the courses of Introduction to Smart Forestry, Forest Information Science and LiDAR Applications in Forestry. I also serve as the Deputy Dean responsible for undergraduate education in the College of Forestry and Grassland, the College of Soil and Water Conservation, NJFU..
2025 Tentative Schedule
| Seminar time (Vancouver time) | On-duty Steering Committee (Host) | Invited Steering Committee | Speaker | Title |
| 6 PM, February 27, 2025, | AP-FECM Executive Office | Dr. John Innes, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada | Dr. Orlando Rojas, University of British Columbia | Bioinnovation Accelerates Through a Cross-Disciplinary Framework |
| 6PM, March 06, 2025 | Dr. John Innes | Dr. Antanas Spokevicius, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia | Dr. Christopher Weston, Associate Professor (Forest Eco, Fire & Soils), University of Melbourne | Forestry Education in Australia – Engaging the Forest Sector |
| 7PM, April 22, 2025 | Dr. Antanas Spokevicius | Dr. Mohammed Al-Amin, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University, Bangladesh | Dr. Guangyu Wang, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia | Forest Therapy: Healing Power from Forests — Origin, Theories, Challenges, and Opportunities |
| 7PM, May 08, 2025 | Dr. Mohammed Al-Amin | Dr. Cristián Bonacić, Department of Ecosystems & The Environment, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile | Prof. Pablo I. Becerra, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile | Forestry Education and Professional Practice in Chile |
| 6PM, June 26, 2025 | Dr. Cristián Bonacić | Dr. Xiong Li, Beijing Forestry University, China | Dr. Juan Shi, Beijing Forestry University | The Application of Virtual Simulation and Large Model in Forestry Education in China |
| 6PM July 29, 2025 | Dr. Juan Shi | Dr. Hao Ren, College of International Education, Nanjing Forestry University, China | Dr. Lin Cao, Nanjing Forestry University | Smart Teaching for Forestry Education and Practices in China |
| TBA in August, 2025 | Dr. Hao Ren | Dr. Weibin Wang, Southwest Forestry University, China | ||
| TBA in September, 2025 | Dr. Weibin Wang | Dr. Baatarbileg Nachin, National University of Mongolia | ||
| TBA in October, 2025 | Dr. Baatarbileg Nachin | Dr. Jorge Mario Chavez, Faculty of Forestry Sciences, La Molina National Agrarian University, Peru | ||
| TBA in November, 2025 | Dr. Jorge Mario Chavez | Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Philippines Los Baños, Philippines | ||
| TBA in December, 2025 | Dr. Juan M. Pulhin | Dr. DKNG Pushpakumara, Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka | ||
| TBA in January, 2026 | Dr. DKNG Pushpakumara | Dr. Rachanee Pothitan, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Thailand | ||
| TBA in February, 2026 | Dr. Rachanee Pothitan | Dr. Hoang Van Sam, Director of International Cooperation Division, Vietnam National University of Forestry | ||