The collaboration between the Centre for Research on Desertification (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA) and the School of Agricultural Foremen of the Provincial Council of Valencia (ECA) can be considered a success story. Through agreements signed between the School of Vocational Training, the CSIC and the University of Valencia, CIDE and ECA have been collaborating for over 15 years in training students and turning them into technical staff who are in high demand by various research teams working on environmental issues. CIDE (an organisation under the CSIC, the University of Valencia and the Valencian Regional Government) is at the forefront of research and boasts scientists of internationally recognised standing.
Since the ECA and CIDE began their training partnership, a significant number of students on the Higher-Level Vocational Training Course in Forestry and Environmental Management have undertaken their work placements in a scientific environment of national and international significance. This practical experience, gained during the work placement phase, translates, once studies are completed, into a significantly increased rate of direct employment at the centre itself, with the recent recruitment of five ECA students.
With the support of the research organisation, students learn to monitor vegetation and its response to forest fires and climate change. They also help to monitor the health of forest ecosystems within Protected Natural Areas and participate in wildlife monitoring programmes, amongst other ecosystem services. The students themselves describe the experience as transformative. The model works because CIDE’s involvement goes far beyond simply providing physical space. Some of its researchers participate by giving specialist talks at the Educational Centre and propose real-world cases as the basis for the students’ inter-module projects.
The ECA ensures a rigorous selection of candidates in line with the profile required by the research teams. In short, this is a set of synergies between the two centres that we hope will establish itself as a clear commitment to the future of many new professionals in the environmental sector.
CIDE communication
