Is the landscape architecture degree program still up to date and if not, what needs to change? This key question is answered in the September issue of G+L on the basis of a large-scale online survey. We also asked professors and lecturers for tips on the most exciting student research projects, bachelor’s and master’s theses written by their students. We let the authors themselves present these in the issue. True to the motto: The stage is yours.
Cover: Alex Avalos via Unsplash
Professional impression
Very friendly, highly organized and extremely eloquent. For this issue of G+L, we worked with a total of 47 students from six universities and asked them to present their work themselves. The professional impression the students left behind is enough to put many a planning office in their pocket. At the same time, the quality of the projects is sometimes simply impressive. So students are lazy, have too much time on their hands and regularly get lost in pseudo-philosophical questions.
From provocation to questioning
Our cover this time? Pure provocation. At the same time, however, it also raises questions about the prejudices that students encounter time and again about what a degree course must or should actually achieve today. We find this exciting and we don’t want to avoid this question in this issue.
The opportunity to present your own projects
For the third time in total, we are giving students the opportunity to present their Bachelor’s, Master’s or project work in this issue. We alternate between students from universities and students from universities of applied sciences. After the colleges and universities of applied sciences had their turn last time in 2021, it is now the universities’ turn again. To select the works, the G+L editorial team contacted the faculties and asked for suggestions for works that had impressed them in the recent past.
Survey on landscape architecture studies
The novelty in this issue: in addition to the student work, we present the results of the current G+L online survey. In this survey, we asked students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland whether and to what extent landscape architecture studies need to change. 91 percent of respondents said that they think the course needs to change. Point.
The voice of a practitioner
I am also delighted that we are able to publish the strong voice of a practitioner, Marlene Heichele from the Ingolstadt-based firm Weinzierl Landschaftsarchitekten, who is not afraid to name the impact that the gaps in training have on her daily work. Thank you, Ms. Heichele, for your contribution.
All in all, this is a very complex G+L issue, which personally gives me a lot to think about. We have been facing the same challenges for decades. The climate crisis. The missing voice of the planning disciplines. The shortage of skilled workers. Now the economic crisis. A looming construction crisis. And instead of training the next generation in a targeted manner, we are picking on the zero-buck attitude of Gen Z. This magazine proves it: They are keen, they have energy. But both need to be encouraged. This cannot be the sole responsibility of universities or future employers.
The September issue “Student Work III” is available here in the store.
In our August issue, we looked at the digitalized city – read more here.