ON THE WAY TOWARDS A LOW-CARBON SOCIETY - Increasing professionalism in land use and landscape management within climate change The European Commission is looking for cost-efficient ways to make the European economy more climate-friendly and less energy-consuming. By 2050, the European Union could cut most of its greenhouse gas emissions. In this framework, the idea of a low-carbon society has been launched as an aim of future societies. According future scenarios and national strategies a lot of new environmental specialist are and will be needed for preventing climate change and achieving aims of a low-carbon society. Nowadays, the problem is that higher educational sector does not have a straight relation to a real working life which would be the best concerned to mentor and direct the educational structures on the field of environmental issues. A close co-operation between working life and education as well as working life based issues as threads of study structures would be way to train environmental specialist who would be able to respond to challenges of land use and landscape issues and, broadly, to challenges of a low-carbon society. The wide-ranging aim of the project is to create and empower higher educational structures which will achieve professionalism in the management of land use and landscape issues targeting the idea of a low-carbon society and, hence, preventing climate change. The specific objectives of the project are: 1) To elaborate what and how land use and landscape issues are in focus in the partner countries (Finland, Poland and Spain). 2) To design collaboratively a study module which meets the needs of the partners and future challenges of land use and landscape issues and test it in the pilot courses. 3) To enable the exploitation of produced deliverables into the other European countries and educational levels. TowardsLCS is a consortium of nine partners from three countries including three academic institutions and six local, regional or national organizations: FINLAND 1. University of Eastern Finland 2. Metsähallitus, the Parks & Wildlife Finland (national public body) 3. Regional Council of North Karelia (regional public body) POLAND 4. Adam Mickiewicz University 5. Miejska Pracownia Urbanistyczna (Municipal Planning Office) (local public body) 6. Zakład Zagospodarowania Odpadów (Waste Management Company) (enterprise) SPAIN 7. University of Girona 8. Landscape Observatory (consortium, advisory body) 9. Girona Provincial Council (local public body) The main outputs of the project will be: a competence analysis of relevant and topical questions related to land use and landscape planning and management issues in the partner countries, curriculum and learning materials for the pilot courses, a study module, a study platform, a methodological handbook and an article focusing on the methodology of the project and the experiences of the cooperation. Three pilot courses (one in each partner country) will be organized for piloting nationally and regionally relevant questions arisen through the competence analysis and testing teaching and learning practices. The consortium will organize three meetings or seminars, and the university partners will meet three times for planning the pilot courses. Behind all the project activities affects the constructivist theory of learning. Addition to above-mentioned intellectual outputs, multiplier events and learning activities, analysis of current and available study supply and the website can be counted as results of the project. The project will highlight environmental questions which are real and present in land use and landscape planning and management at the local, regional and national levels. The project will empower the local, regional and international cooperation between university and non-academic partners and it will open opportunities for further cooperation on the fields of higher education, regional development and research.