Professional course Sustainable Development: Principles and Practice

Content

You will explore the fundamental nature, causes and consequences of sustainable and unsustainable development. Practical exercises and projects will give you first hand experience of putting key concepts, frameworks and tools for implementing sustainable development into practice.

What do I get out of it?

You will learn to develop:

• A critical understanding of the nature, causes and consequences of sustainable and unsustainable development and the ability to communicate effectively about these issues.
• The ability to explain and critique some of the key definitions and frameworks that are used to explain and implement the concept of sustainable development, and demonstrate an ability to utilise them in response to real-world challenges.
• The ability to explain and critique theories that attempt to explain the relationship between human beings and the natural environment and to demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship between environmental sustainability and meeting fundamental human needs.
• The ability to critique and apply commonly used methodologies and tools, for integrating sustainability in a range of contexts, for example, places, policy, products and service delivery.

What does it cover?

This course is structured around three themes:

Sustainable development - key concepts, frameworks and tools: This topic introduces some of the defining concepts of sustainable development including systems thinking, environmental limits and interconnectedness of human health and well-being and environmental sustainability. Through interactive lectures and workshop sessions students will apply and critique some of the most commonly used sustainability frameworks and strategies including The Natural Step, Five Capitals, One Planet Living, Permaculture Design and Cradle to Cradle. 

Sustainable design: Taught through examples and case studies, this topic looks at the role of design thinking and design tools for sustainability. Students will examine the key elements of strategic sustainable design and have the chance to try out key tools such as lifecycle analysis and sustainability impact analysis to develop a concept for a redesigned sustainable product or service.

Alternative socio-economic systems: This topic examines the shortcomings of the existing economic system and looks at potential alternative models. Students will consider how the economic system affects social and eco-systems, and consider whether sustainability is best pursued through the reform of capitalism  or the establishment of different systems altogether.

Each of these themes is taught by a team of expert practitioners in the field, thereby ensuring students benefit from both theoretical and practice-based insights.

Learning and Teaching

The courses are taught through a mixture of face-to-face and independent learning, comprising weekly lectures, workshops and group discussion.

The pattern of contact sessions (five continuous Thursdays, all day) is highly accessible for those who wish to study part-time.

This is a highly participative course. Delivery methods are primarily experiential and participant centred, engaging you in practical exercises, personal study, and critical reflection upon the relationship between theory and practice.

Study time

The course is structured around five contact days. Students undertake a significant amount of directed and independent study between and after the contact sessions.

To complete the module and assessment, if taken, we recommend students allocate approximately 150 hours including taught sessions and personal study time. This is only a guideline and will depend on the participants' motivation and learning abilities.

Assessment

Participants who wish to receive credit for their learning can undertake the assessed project at the end of the course. On successful completion, the module credits may then be used towards the masters qualification in Sustainable Development in Practice or UWE's range of postgraduate qualifications in Integrated Professional Development.

To achieve accreditation for this module, you will be required to carry out a project in which you apply key sustainability concepts and tools to a real world challenge such as developing a strategy for making a product or service sustainable.

Formative assessment will be carried out throughout the module by setting regular tasks for students that will assess their grasp of the material covered. Tasks will be reviewed as part of the sessions.