Timber Engineering Online Dr Sabine Nolte Project Coordinator / Research Fellow Centre for Timber Engineering, Napier University Edinburgh, UK Dr Dan Ridley-Ellis Senior Research Engineer Centre for Timber Engineering, Napier University Edinburgh, UK Summary This paper highlights some of the opportunities, challenges and issues encountered in creating online teaching and learning materials for timber engineering that provide an experience equivalent to face-to-face teaching for the student. It introduces the Timber Engineering Online project at Napier University’s Centre for Timber Engineering in Edinburgh, which aims to establish best- practice for flexible online education for the forest and timber industries with respect to learner needs as well as those of the education providers. The project is part-funded under the European Social Fund Scottish Objective 3 Programme 2000-2006, which aims to improve economic growth and create jobs in Scotland. 1. Introduction Specific education in timber engineering started at Napier University in Edinburgh in 2004, with the introduction of a new Bachelor’s programme in ‘Civil and Timber Engineering’ and two new Master’s programmes in ‘Timber Engineering’ and ‘Timber Industry Management’. This activity was sparked by the establishment of the Centre for Timber Engineering, in 2003, with funding from industry and Scottish Enterprise. The Centre was created because of a recognised lack of timber engineering knowledge among graduates and professionals in the UK, where timber forms about only one percent of a traditional civil engineering degree syllabus (The Structural Engineer, 2003). The forest and timber industries form an important part of the Scottish Economy, particularly in rural areas, and forest outputs are set to rise over the next fifteen years. Timber frame construction is gaining market share within the UK and the expanding timber industries are facing problems in recruiting staff with sufficient timber knowledge and skills. Much of the specialist expertise is held by an ageing workforce and organisations struggle to train younger staff while maintaining competitive productivity. The urgent need for timber engineering education to meet the current needs and capitalise on future opportunities is well recognised, but the capacity to deliver this timber engineering education in the necessary volume and delivery mode was missing in the UK which stimulated the setting up of the Timber Engineering Online (TEO) project. 2. The Educational Needs of the Forest and Timber Industries As part of the TEO project, the educational needs of the forest and timber industries were assessed by online survey (Ridley-Ellis and Nolte, 2006). The purpose of the research was to gain information about specific curriculum and skills needs, to measure preferences for delivery mode and to assess readiness for take-up of online learning. About half of the employers and a third of the employees who responded to the survey expressed an interest in additional education and training in timber engineering. It has been proposed that some