InterUniversity Sustainability Challenge

In this course, BSc students from several study programmes at Utrecht University, Wageningen University and Eindhoven University will collaborate, each with their own expertise, to work towards out-of-the-box, scientifically sound solutions for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The course contains of a series of lectures offering views on the SDG’s from several science fields and on methodological approaches towards interdisciplinary work. Then the students will form groups to work on a topic related to at least 3 SDG’s. In the proposal phase, the project will be defined and the work distributed. The final result will be a prototype, which will be visually presented in the form of a physical or digital design and substantiated by a written report.
The students will meet the lecturers and fellow students using innovative synchronous online learning tools, like the Virtual Classroom. The purpose of the inter-university collaboration is to meet people outside of the students’ habitat and to benefit from the expertise and perspectives those other people offer. At the same time, this collaboration will help reveal to the students from which knowledge, expertise, skills, perspectives and cultural aspects they approach the project themselves.
The students take responsibility for the project themselves. This means they come up with ideas, and they have a positive attitude towards taking advantage from inter-disciplinary collaboration.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• describe their project’s dimensions of sustainability from a transdisciplinary perspective using the relevant SDG’s (collaborative proposal/paper writing);
• critically analyze/examine real-life sustainability challenges in a specific city on a systems thinking level (collaborative proposal/paper writing);
• develop, present and critically discuss a scientifically sound and sustainable solution, using a trans-disciplinary perspective and a design-based approach (artefact, final presentation);
• reflect on transdisciplinary, inter-university online collaboration in the context of this course and their personal role (evaluation Paper + reflection forms).

Assumed Knowledge:
Sustainability problems as defined in https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html and awareness of the relationship with your study programme, your personal skills and expertise.