Engineering for Sustainability (Summer School)
Academic Study Board of the Faculty of Engineering
Teaching language: English
EKA: T910004102
Censorship: Second examiner: Internal
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Summer school (autumn), Summer school (spring)
Level: Bachelor
Course ID: T910004101
ECTS value: 5
Date of Approval: 21-01-2021
Duration: Intensive course
Version: Archive
Course ID
Course Title
ECTS value
5
Internal Course Code
Responsible study board
Administrative Unit
Date of Approval
Course Responsible
Name | Department | |
---|---|---|
Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen | bls@igt.sdu.dk | SDU Life Cycle Engineering, Institut for Grøn Teknologi (IGT) |
Mette Smølz Skau | mskau@tek.sdu.dk | TEK Uddannelseskoordinering og -support, Det Tekniske Fakultet |
Programme Secretary
Name | Department | City | |
---|---|---|---|
Tina Carøe Sørensen | tcs@tek.sdu.dk | TEK Uddannelseskoordinering og -support, Det Tekniske Fakultet |
Offered in
Level
Offered in
Duration
Mandatory prerequisites
You must have completed at least two years of studies in engineering or natural sciences and have an interest in sustainability.
Learning objectives - Knowledge
The aim of this course is to provide knowledge about:
- the history and development of global sustainability challenges (e.g., climate change, water shortage, food security, and energy supply) and policy frameworks/agendas (e.g., circular economy, green economy, bioeconomy, material and energy efficiency, urban sustainability, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals);
- basic concepts, tools, and theories used in environmental system analysis and industrial ecology, especially material flow analysis and life cycle assessment;
- environmental impacts related to societal production and consumption activities and sectors (e.g., electronic waste, buildings, and transportation sector);
- the system perspective of sustainable development, especially the linkages of different sustainability challenges (including food-energy-water nexus and material-energy nexus).
Learning objectives - Skills
Be able to work with the following skills to:
- choose appropriate environmental system analysis tools for addressing given societal sustainability challenges;
- assess framework conditions for a specific industry or societal production and consumption activities;
- describe/characterize specific material and energy flows for a given system/problem, identify their impacts on the environment, and explore drivers behind and mitigation strategies from a systems and engineering perspective.
Learning objectives - Competences
Have the competences to:
- become aware of core sustainability challenges of modern societies and the potentials and limitations of engineering knowledge in addressing those challenges;
- start using system thinking and system approaches for solving complex problems and communicate the results with stakeholders.
Content
We believe that engineers can contribute to creating sustainable solutions for our future. This requires understanding of the interactions between technologies and systems with the world on a global scale. It requires a holistic approach, getting an insight in the consequences of our decisions: How can we create a solution that solves one problem without generating another problem somewhere else?
The course provides you with skills for understanding the challenges of sustainable development. You will get an introduction to Environmental System Analysis theory, methods and tools. You will learn when and how to apply such methods to the engineering tasks of assessing and designing sustainable solutions. We apply a systems approach throughout the course, and you will get insight in some of the societal frameworks and concepts to sustainability such as Industrial Ecology, Industrial Symbiosis, Circular Economy and Bio-Economy as well as the concept of Cleaner Technology/Best Available Technology and its role in EU environmental regulation. You will get an introduction to some of the core tools, e.g. Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment. Further, you will get a good insight in the advanced Danish initiatives of sustainable development of the societal infrastructure systems such as energy and waste management systems.
The course is run by researchers from SDU Life Cycle Engineering. The aim of our research is to optimize engineering solutions with concerns for their resource consumption, energy efficiency and impacts on climate and environment. We strive to develop the knowledge and methods for achieving this insight from an overall holistic perspective. We are engaged in exciting projects in various areas, and we will include relevant examples from our ongoing projects in the course to give you an impression of “what’s going on right now” in these fields.
URL for Skemaplan
Teaching Method
Lectures plus group work.
Results of the group work are an integrated part of the teaching and will be presented and evaluated during the course. Students participate significantly in class and carry out project work in small teams. The work, analysis of the problems and reporting will be performed in teams of 3-4 persons.
Time of classes:
2 weeks in August
Number of lessons
hours per week
Teaching language
Examination regulations
Exam regulations
Name
Exam regulations
Examination is held
Examination is held: August
Tests
Exam
EKA
T910004102
Name
Exam
Description
Attendance is compulsory (80%).
Group work based report handed in before/on the last day.
Form of examination
Compulsory assignment
Censorship
Second examiner: Internal
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card - Exam number
Language
English
ECTS value
5
Additional information
Please note that registration for this course is binding
Enrollment is limited to 20 students. If more applicants than places, applicants who meet the mandatory requirements are prioritised according to the below selection criteria:
- Students from SDU-TEK who need this specific summer course or 5 ECTS electives in order to graduate
- Students from SDU-TEK and SDU-NAT provided the course is approved as an elective on their study programmes
- Other students from SDU-TEK with preapproval of credit transfer
- Other students from SDU with preapproval of credit transfer
Note: If further selection criteria are needed this will be based on a first-come-first-served basis.