Course Outline
The
programme is built on the following four segments:
Timeline:
The
Introductory block begins in mid-October 2010 and is finalised nine months later
in June 2011. The Advanced block runs from late August 2011 through the
rest of the year and the Applied block begins in January 2012 and ends in
the end of May. The Thesis research preparations are initiated during the
Advanced Block and continue off-campus from the end of May. The Thesis is
prepared and defended the last week of September, and Graduation takes place in
the beginning of October 2012.
The
four segments:
I. INTRODUCTORY
BLOCK
The
courses in the introductory block provide a basic understanding of the key
subjects that are required for an integrated, multi-disciplinary, perspective to
environmental management and policy. The various subjects link on to more
in-depth teaching in the consequent parts of the programme. The block is
delivered as a distance course.
-
Introduction
and multidisciplinary theme assignment (5 ECTS)
The course
introduces the participants to the masters programme in general and
particularly to the basic distance block, including a topical introduction and
a more technical part covering communication methods and information
sources.The assignment introduced has the ambition to put the course contents
in the introductory block into perspective by applying it to a common
assignment theme. It is finalised in a web-based conference where all
participants contribute.
-
Environmental
science and sustainable development (8 ECTS)
This course aims to
give the student a basic ecological literacy and provides a basic natural
science perspective on the character and magnitude of to the environmental and
social challenges that are facing mankind.
-
Business
fundamentals (6 ECTS)
Basic business functions with relevance to
environmental management are introduced and discussed in this course. Course
components include control, decision-making, budgeting, accounting,
investment, strategy and corporate social responsibility.
-
Principles
of technical systems (6 ECTS)
Key areas of environment-related
technical systems are dealt with in this course: energy systems at industrial
and societal levels, waste management, water management, and separation
techniques. The format is case studies combined with basic concepts on the
functioning of key technical unit operations.
-
Economics,
consumption and society (5 ECTS)
This course provides the
fundamentals of economic analysis about market economies, with focus on
demand, supply and price, followed by an introduction to Environmental
Economics, where tragedy of the commons is analysed. A short introduction is
also given to economic valuation methods and cost-benefit
analysis.
The
course also includes a module on the environment and consumption problematic,
where key issues in the debate around sustainable consumption systems are
introduced and discussed.
II.
ADVANCED BLOCK
The
advanced block is the first part of the programme that is delivered on-site in
Lund. Based on the platform created in the preceding distance block, the focus
here shifts to understanding key strategies on how to intervene in and improve
systems of production and consumption.
-
Introduction
to Sustainable Consumption and Production (2 ECTS)
This course
consists of a comprehensive introduction to preventive environmental
strategies and approaches.
-
Environmental
Assessment Methods (7 ECTS)
The course is designed to provide
students with an understanding of how anthropogenic impacts on the environment
may be evaluated. The subject matter will include a treatment of natural
science, economic and technological frameworks for analysing environmental
problems, and will also deal with relevant tools (such as Life Cycle Analysis
and Cost-Benefit Analysis) that are currently used in the evaluation of
environmental impacts.
-
Industrial
Sustainability Strategies (11 ECTS)
This course presents
strategies and activities from a corporate perspective. The scope of the
subject ranges from the broad understanding of ecological sustainability of
organisations and industries, to the development of specific managerial tools
and methods that can be applied to improve, measure, and communicate
environmental performance. The course includes topics such as Optimisation of
technical systems, Environmental management, Strategic environmental
management, and Eco-design; supplemented by a range of study visits for
first-hand insight into current practice in production and consumption
systems.
-
Corporate
environmental management in practice (5 ECTS)
Group assignment
where students assess environmental management practices in a local reference
company or other organisation. The course includes work on-site on the
companies, analysis, report writing and presentations to the companies and
course participants.
-
Policies
and Approaches for Sustainability (PAS) I (5 ECTS)
The PAS I
course deals with the measures and activities initiated on a societal level,
by national and local authorities, international agencies and similar
organisations. PAS I starts with a module giving an overview of preventive
environmental policy instruments and the fundamentals of environmental law and
policy. Economic instruments, including environmental taxes and charges,
deposit-refund systems, and emissions trading, is the focus of the other
module of the PAS I course. Instruments include such for energy policy and
policy for sustainable housing.
III.
APPLIED BLOCK
In
the Applied block the understanding created in the previous blocks is taken
further and there are more regular references to research in the field. The main
lines of development are (1) on individual research, and (2) on practical work
in collaboration with business and municipal actors.
-
Policies
and Approaches for Sustainability II (5 ECTS)
The PAS II course
consists of three modules. It starts with a module focusing international
policy and law, with an individual student assignment presented orally and in
written. The second module focuses policies in the fields of energy and
climate change. The third module is devoted to the issues of how policy, law
and economics interact, with some expamples from environmental product
policy.
-
Applied
Research in Sustainable Consumption and Production (8 ECTS)
This
course aims to introduce the students into specific research areas in the
field of sustainable consumption and production. The format is common lectures
for the areas, followed by individual research papers under supervision of
IIIEE researchers, and common discussions/seminars. The research areas are
linked to on-going research at the IIIEE.
-
Strategic
Environmental Development (9 ECTS)
The SED course aims at training
students in their skills for practical analysis and for assisting clients
(including municipalities, industrial and business clusters, large-scale
enterprises and development project managers) on strategies for improved
sustainability. The intention of the SED course is thus to explore the
practical application of sustainability concepts, tools and strategies on real
“systems of production and consumption” in a regional context. In this course,
the students improve their theoretical knowledge and develop a practical
understanding of how to systematically approach, analyse and intervene in a
real-life complex system to identify desired outcomes and necessary actions.
Field studies, interaction with stakeholders, workshops and reporting are core
activities of this course.
-
Applied
Research Methods (8 ECTS)
This course teaches how to research and
prepare research papers, including elements such as information gathering
using e.g. interview techniques and literature studies, formulation of
research tasks, etc. Core issues are practiced in real exercises linked to
other parts of the programme, such as the thesis project.
Within the
course a student-led exercise is carried out. Students take initiative and
organise themselves around topical issues they feel deserve further attention
within the programme. The format includes several different potential delivery
modes, including internal seminars, workshops and web-conference. Audiences
include alumni (web-based) and local business contacts.
IV.
THESIS
The thesis work (30 ECTS) is an individual
research task focusing an aspect of preventive environmental strategies or
approaches, resulting in a thesis of high quality. Students will be encouraged
to select thesis subjects related to their home countries, and linked to
industries, authorities or organisations active in these countries. For the
thesis work, the Institute will encourage and try to facilitate the involvement
of advisors active in the countries and organisations in question. These
advisors will work in close co-operation with the main responsible advisor at
the Institute. Many of the theses written by former students have been developed
in co-operation with and for organisations and industrial enterprises. The
thesis projects are normally linked to research at the IIIEE.
