>From the 12OCT94 Pronivce by P. Luke ___________________________________________________________________ UBC Site for Wood Products Program ---------------------------------- University of British Columbia has approval to launch a highly coveted national school for Wood Products Processing. An industry-led advisory group has accepted UBC's bid to start the school over four competing applications from universities in New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba. The degree program, which starts next fall, will provide Canada's secondary wood manufacturers with engineering expertise they have had to import from Europe, said Winipef-based furniture maker Art DeFehr, who chairs the industry's education initiative. UBC's existing Forestry and Wood Science programs factored in the choise, said DeFehr. UBC will also inter-connect its wood processing program to community colleges across Canada, he said. UBC has also called fro the program to link with wood products courses for high schools now being developed in five B.C. School districts. The program is expected to annually graduate about 35 to 50 wood process engineers. It will also offer graduate degrees and continuing education. Students must work two semesters in industry to graduate. "What you're going to get is people who are able to drive a plant from the inside, absorb new technology from around the world and drive it toward finished products," DeFehr said. UBC's proposal envisions a centre that will cost $32.7 million to develop and to operate over six years. About half of that is covered by existing UBC funds, with the rest to be raised from government and industry. Research shows a demand for 2,000 to 3,500 wood-process engineers in Canada, if the industry intensifies its engineering to European levels.
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