IUFRO's Special Programme for Development of Capacities offers in the period 2025-2026 a limited number of sponsorships for Scientific Visits (SV) to a forest research organization overseas. 

The desired outcome is to provide both the beneficiary and their affiliated organization with the opportunity to build research collaboration and capacity and to provide opportunities extending beyond the initial scientific exchange. The goals for the beneficiary include skills development, establishing productive relationships with scientific peers in the host country, using the visit to benefit their own research and, if possible, publishing scientific material. 

The SV programme is intended for early career scientists affiliated with IUFRO organizations and who are employed at an institution in an economically disadvantaged country and reside in an economically disadvantaged country. 

Early career scientists: scientists who have completed their MSc or PhD in forestry or related fields, are 35 years old or younger, and who are locally affiliated with an institution of research and higher learning in their respective country of residence. 

Deadline for application: 31 July 2025

Mobility period: January to March 2026
 

List of countries eligible for SV

Details of Open Call

How can we manage forests when the future is uncertain? That's the challenge facing the scientists behind IUFRO's Division 4: Forest Assessment, Modelling and Management. In the latest episode of Branching Out: the forest podcast, Co-Coordinators Bianca Eskelson and Don Hodges describe the world of forest data, what it can tell us, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Division 4 plays a critical role in helping us understand how forests grow, change, and respond to disturbance, from insects and wildfires to droughts and climate stress. It bridges traditional forest science with cutting-edge technologies like remote sensing, LiDAR, and AI. Data help us plan and we need to focus on resources that can be applied. 

Listeners will hear how big data supports forest management plans, how simulation tools offer glimpses of alternative futures, and why uncertainty and local knowledge still matter. Bianca quotes George Box: "All models are wrong, but some are useful". Don explains how this Division's work even stretches into forest economics and employment, addressing global shifts in value chains and green jobs. 

One of the most exciting takeaways? The emergence of AI in forest science. A new IUFRO Task Force, AI for Forest Science, is exploring how machine learning, autonomous sensing, and causal inference could transform how we monitor, predict, and manage forest landscapes.

This episode unpacks the power and limitations of modelling the future of forests. Because while we can't collect data from tomorrow, we can prepare for it, thoughtfully and collaboratively. Presented by Jose Bolaños (IUFRO HQ) and Nele Römer (IFSA). 

Tune in to Branching Out: the forest podcast! Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don't forget to follow us!
 

If you are an IUFRO officeholder or member, please share your news with us. 

Closing date for the issue 6: 6 June!

You are invited to apply for studying Master of Science in Tropical Forestry (academic intake 2025-27) with classes starting in October 2025. The programme is taught in English language at the Technische Universität Dresden, one of the 11 German Universities of Excellence.

Since its inception in 1995, this unique 2-year master's degree programme has garnered international recognition through its focus on social, ecological and economic aspects of tropical forest management. This is an excellent opportunity to study in an international, intercultural, and dynamic working environment offered at the reputed ‘Chair of Tropical and International Forestry' that offers integrated specialization in tropical ecology, forest and development policy and resource management. In this programme, you will learn from and work alongside a competent academic and research team, who will supervise your field research in international tropical or sub-tropical contexts. Drawing on a two-century-long expertise in forest sciences, the programme puts emphasis on the ecological, technical as well as social science dimensions in forestry. Special attention is given to the socio-economic as well as socio-political aspects during the education. 

At the end of the study programme, interested graduates with outstanding merit will have a chance to enter the PhD programme and join the TU Dresden team of researchers. You will also benefit from TU Dresden's competent alumni network of over 400 forestry professionals employed by some of the major national, international, intergovernmental, and private organizations around the world.