Sustainability: an Interdisciplinary Approach

6 ECTS credits
160 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1022163ANR for all students in the 1st semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

Taught in

English

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Business Technology and Operations

Educational team

Cathy Macharis (course titular)
Waldo Galle

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

The Sustainability course combines lectures from both academic and operational experts from different disciplines, and will bring the student in one semester the state of the art in sustainability. The combination of academic lectures pointing out the latest knowledge in the field together with professionals sharing their experiences is an unique and enriching concept. Testimonials by amongst others: Colruyt Group, Engie, Triodos Bank, the European Commission, ...

This interdisciplinary series of lectures is built around 10 themes in the field of sustainability. After a general introduction on sustainability in the first lecture, the following themes are introduced and elaborated in more detail:

Climate change: This lecture is about climate and its impact on sustainability.
Production: This lecture deals with the concept of sustainable materials in a production environment.
How to measure sustainability
Circular Economy and LCA: This lecture explains the concept of a circular economy and discusses Life Cycle Analysis as a tool to assess the sustainability of the production cycle.
Mobility: This lecture is an introduction to sustainable mobility and logistics and the related trends.
Energy: This lecture is about sustainable and renewable energy technologies.
Politics & Mitigation Strategies: This lecture is about political and juridical aspects of sustainability and gives an introduction into EU climate & energy governance.
Buildings: This lecture gives an introduction in sustainable architecture, construction and design for change.
Sustainable strategy & innovation: This lecture deals with sustainability in management and corporate social responsibility, as well as sustainable innovation.
Society: This lecture goes into sustainable working and living.
Food & Health: This lecture gives an introduction in food from a sustainable perspective and on how our health is impacted by sustainability issues and what could/should be improved.
Coaching session: what can we do ourself?

Each theme contains a 3-hour introduction in the theme, followed by a one-hour testimonial by an NGO or a company, in collaboration with Wetenschapswinkel (http://www.wetenschapswinkel.be) and The Shift (http://theshift.be).

Additional info

Course material: Slides and videos provided through Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

After following this course, students should be able to understand the different aspects of sustainability. The testimonials will provide insight in the practical implementation of sustainability concepts and actions to improve sustainability in real life.

Praktische vaardigheden

The practical skills acquired in this course consist of the practical implementation of the theoretical concepts. Students will learn that sustainability will not be achieved by only looking at one specific aspect, but that interaction, interdisciplinary actions and cooperation are needed in order to make a company, a street, a university, a city, … more sustainable.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 70% of the final mark.
PRAC Teamwork determines 30% 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.

Within the PRAC Teamwork category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Assignment with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Not applicable.

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