Dynamics of a healthy society

This joint minor is offered in collaboration with Leiden University and Erasmus University. Activities will take place in Leiden, Rotterdam and The Hague.

Please note: In 23/24, this minor is only open to students who master the Dutch language.

Language of Instruction

The courses in this minor are mostly offered in English, but Dutch is needed for several elements including contact with the target population.

Course period

This is a 15 EC minor, offered over a period of 10 weeks in the first semester.

Health inequities, obesity among children, loneliness, performance stress among youngsters. What are the drivers behind such ‘wicked problems’ and how might they be related? This minor offers you the possibility to work with societal partners to gain a deeper understanding of real-life problems.

In this minor we apply a so-called ‘challenge based learning’ approach in which societal partners present students with a specific challenge for creating a healthy society. Students with various backgrounds work in interdisciplinary teams in which they engage in fieldwork and start collaborations with external stakeholders, such as policy makers from the municipality, public health workers and residents.

Students will be equipped for this ‘learning by doing approach’ by learning skills for interdisciplinary and participatory collaboration, such as participatory action research, and for conducting qualitative and quantitative research to understand the dynamics of a healthy society. Moreover, teachers from different disciplines in Leiden, Rotterdam and the Applied Universities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden will unfold the layers of a healthy society through the lenses of Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology and Governance.

After finishing this minor, the student is able to:

• Analyse the fundamentals of the challenges to a healthy society by interpreting different knowledge sources;
• Formulate an interdisciplinary problem definition, synthesizing monodisciplinary perspectives on the problem;
• Apply the fundamentals of transdisciplinary, transformations and transitions, including complexity theory and systems and transitions thinking relevant to the project;
• Reflect on their academic, theoretical, practical and (intra)personal experiences and biases, both as a group and individually;
• Interpret normativity and a variety of interests from different stakeholders while navigating uncertainty and complexity in an open learning environment.

• For questions about the content of the courses, see the tab 'Courses' on Leiden University Prospectus

Health inequities, obesity among children, loneliness, performance stress among youngsters. What are the drivers behind such ‘wicked problems’ and how might they be related? This minor offers you the possibility to work with societal partners to gain a deeper understanding of real-life problems.

In this minor we apply a so-called ‘challenge based learning’ approach in which societal partners present students with a specific challenge for creating a healthy society. Students with various backgrounds work in interdisciplinary teams in which they engage in fieldwork and start collaborations with external stakeholders, such as policy makers from the municipality, public health workers and residents.

Students will be equipped for this ‘learning by doing approach’ by learning skills for interdisciplinary and participatory collaboration, such as participatory action research, and for conducting qualitative and quantitative research to understand the dynamics of a healthy society. Moreover, teachers from different disciplines in Leiden, Rotterdam and the Applied Universities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden will unfold the layers of a healthy society through the lenses of Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology and Governance.