Sustainability: an Interdisciplinary Approach

6 ECTS credits
160 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4023732ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

English

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Business Technology and Operations

Educational team

Cathy Macharis (course titular)
Ganiyat Temidayo Saliu

Activities and contact hours

36 contact hours Lecture
24 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
100 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

Major social challenges call for systemic changes. However, changing our diverse and complex society is difficult and the outcomes are unpredictable. To empower tomorrow’s professionals in sustainable thinking and doing, this course combines inspiring lectures, with profound insights and hands-on experience. It offers a unique opportunity to work and learn beyond one own’s discipline, and build citizenship skills on sustainability knowledge.

The course consists of three tracks:

Theme sessions on sustainable development
Present-day sustainability challenges are presented by experts from academia, government or society, each active in a different discipline or working transdisciplinary. These talks are followed by a discussion about the extent to which each field can support transitions towards a sustainable society, and from where inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration is required.

Empower sessions on working with wicked problems
Here the basic concepts and models for sustainable change in our diverse and complex world are explored. Through literature and observations, these sessions tackle the notion of complex adaptive systems, as well as transition management, including systems thinking.

Group assignment, community engaged research and learning
The insights from the theme and empower sessions are completed by a practical experience. Interdisciplinary groups of students develop a pathway for the transition of a novel innovation towards a sustainable future and learn how to communicate it in a creative way. Hereby students explore in depth the complexity, possibilities, challenges, and essential stakeholders of the system around that innovation.

Additional info

Course material is provided through Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

Kennis

The student can recall, generalise and illustrate the presented state-of-affairs in sustainability research and development, and relate it to the envisioned transition towards a sustainable society.

The student can recognise, identify, illustrate and explain conceptual aspects of socio-technical development, including but not exclusively complex adaptive systems and transition management.

The student should be able to evaluate sustainability problems in a systemic way.

Praktische vaardigheden

The student can demonstrate insight in and skills for the transition towards a sustainable society by understanding the theory and practice of successful sustainability actions, and can conceive, explain, and evaluate real-life actions in a transdisciplinary context.

The student can express in thoughts and action that he or she creates enduring value and contributes to a sustainable society through transdisciplinary collaboration and critical reflection.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 70 which comprises 70% of the final mark.
Group Assignment with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Both assessment forms (that is, the written exam and group assignment) are required to pass this course.

For the group assignment a peer evaluation is included.

For the second session, we keep the grade of the assignment if it was passed in the first session, then only the exam is required.

AI Usage Policy for the written assignment:

In this course, students are permitted to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools for spelling and grammar correction to enhance the clarity and coherence of their writing. Additionally, AI may be used to summarize academic papers and generate citations, provided that students verify the accuracy of AI-generated references against original sources. The use of AI for content generation, idea development, or any form of substantive writing assistance beyond these specified purposes is strictly prohibited. Students must ensure that all submitted work reflects their original thoughts and analysis, maintaining academic integrity and the authenticity of their individual contributions.

Students are required to disclose any use of AI in their assignments by including a statement such as: "AI tools were used for spelling and grammar correction, summarizing academic papers, and/or generating citations in this document."Any misuse of AI tools beyond the allowed scope or failure to disclose AI use will be considered a violation of academic policies.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context