Achieving Sustainability: Social, Ecological and Economic Perspectives.

Explore the intersection of ecology, social sciences, technology and economics to foster sustainable solutions for the future of our society.

We are living in an era of unprecedented human impact over nature and resources, where the technological revolution brought us to a point where it may seem that our lives are not directly connected to natural laws. Reliable information and effective analytic skills are therefore necessary to understand the complex issues that challenge our ability to develop sustainable systems.

During this Minor, students will acquire knowledge to understand, prevent, mitigate and remediate environmental problems and to create sustainable (and remunerative) solutions with the aim to reduce our impact/ecological footprint on our society. With this new understanding or eco-literacy the students will begin thinking critically and take up environmental sustainable decisions, which may include transforming environmental problems into business solutions.

To reach these goals, three modules of 5 EC each on Environmental Sciences, The Economics of Sustainability, and Bio-based Economy (as a sustainable solution to merge environmental sustainability and business) are implemented in a holistic and integrated manner. The modules are designed in an interactive and active learning format (problem-based learning) and have a strong “hands-on” approach, with links to real case-studies in Rotterdam and in the Netherlands.

The Minor is open to 3rd year students, preferably with a background in life sciences, economy or social sciences.
The content is of special relevance to future green business managers, environmental economists, environmental scientists, social scientists, ecologists, designers, planners and entrepreneurs that will work for the transition from a fossil-based to a circular economy.

Modules:

1. Biobased Economy
2. Environmental Sciences
3. The Economics of Sustainability

• understand the principles of ecosystem organization and functioning, environmental sustainability and resilience;
• analyse and estimate the impact of environmental problems on natural ecosystems;
• identify approaches to mitigate and reduce environmental issues;
• have a clear picture of the concepts of green growth and resource dependencies/reutilization, including the recycling and cascading of biomass;
• be familiar with the theoretical conceptualisation and operationalisation of sustainability in Economics;
• understand how circular economic structures can be created;
• be acquainted with institutions, policies, governance and regulations for a sustainable economy;
• have a proper knowledge of the recent technological developments in the service of sustainability in the fields of energy (including biofuels), materials (including bioplastics), biotechnology, waste processing and agriculture;
• start thinking in systems by acquiring the basic principles of industrial ecology and regenerative cities.
• critically assess the impact of such approaches on our society.

• Open to max 40 students;
• The Minor requires a full-time dedication : we discourage the students to enrol supplementary courses running in the same period;
• The Minor will be entirely conducted in English language;
• The Minor will take place in the Erasmus University College building (Nieuwemarkt 1A, Rotterdam)
• The attendance to lectures, PBL sessions and workshops is strictly mandatory ;
• A considerable amount of self-study during each week is needed (30 hours on average);
• The Minor will follow the EUR calendar. It will start on 1** September 2025** with a mandatory session on PBL educational system.

Modules:

1. Biobased Economy
2. Environmental Sciences
3. The Economics of Sustainability

Teaching methods
The teaching method includes problem-based learning (PBL) sessions, lectures and workshops. The PBL sessions are organised in small working groups (around 15 students per class). Lectures are given by both EUC academic staff and external guest experts in the field. A workshop will be organised at BlueCity Rotterdam, where hands-on activities are planned. These activities will help the students in understanding the opportunities as well as the bottlenecks when translating theory into practice.

Teaching materials
Teaching materials include scientific articles, reports, book chapters, and videos.

Method of eximination:
The method of examination will include three components:

1. A final group project ,**** covering the content of the three modules in a holistic manner.

2. An individual final assignment . A multidisciplinary assignment aiming at evaluating the capacity of the students to think critically and propose innovative solutions to existing case-studies

3. Professional conduct . In order to maintain the professional conduct unaffected, a student can skip one mandatory session per module only.

The final grade will be calculated by combining the single grades of these components.

Composition of final grade:
The composition of the final grade will include the combination of these individual components:

• Group project: 50%.
• Individual assignment: 40%.
• Professional conduct: 10%. In order to maintain the professional conduct unaffected, a student can miss out one mandatory session per module only.