Course syllabus adopted 2021-02-12 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).
Overview
- Swedish nameHållbar utveckling - kritiska perspektiv och möjliga lösningar
- CodeFFR102
- Credits7.5 Credits
- OwnerTIELL
- Education cycleFirst-cycle
- Main field of studyCivil and Environmental Engineering
- ThemeEnvironment 7.5 c
- DepartmentSPACE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
- GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Course round 1
- Teaching language Swedish
- Application code 63121
- Maximum participants180
- Open for exchange studentsNo
- Only students with the course round in the programme overview.
Credit distribution
Module | Sp1 | Sp2 | Sp3 | Sp4 | Summer | Not Sp | Examination dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0113 Project 4 c Grading: TH | 4 c | ||||||
| 0213 Examination 3.5 c Grading: TH | 3.5 c |
|
In programmes
- TIDAL - COMPUTER ENGINEERING, Year 2 (compulsory)
- TIELL - ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, Year 2 (compulsory)
Examiner
Göran Berndes- Full Professor, Physical Resource Theory, Space, Earth and Environment
Eligibility
General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
The same as for the programme that owns the course.Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Course specific prerequisites
None (i.e., none at bachelor level).Aim
The aim of the course is to inspire students and stimulate reflection on how they can contribute to sustainable development, both in their everyday lives and in their future professional roles. This requires that students acquire a good understanding of the concept of sustainable development, sustainability challenges in today's society, and strategies to meet these challenges. The objective of the course is therefore to generate an interest in sustainability issues and ethics, and to provide the student with knowledge and tools to tackle complex sustainability challenges and ethical dilemmas in their future professional practice.Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
- account for and critically appraise the meaning of sustainable development and its three principal dimensions: the ecological, the economic and the social dimension.
- give an overview of the human influence and effects on the earth's climate system and ecosystems, and the socio-economic consequences of these at the global and local level.
- reflect on major restrictions and options for the sustainable use of natural resources and technologies, including key technologies for sustainable energy systems.
- account for the differences between different ethical frameworks (consequential, duty and virtue ethics), apply these on ethical dilemmas, as well as reflect on different views on professional ethics and the engineers responsibility for sustainability.
- collect and critically examine information that is relevant to the topic of the course, and communicate this information both in speech and writing.
Content
The course content is divided into three thematic blocks. Below a brief specification of the content of each block is given:
1. Perspectives on sustainable development:
- the history and the meaning of the concept of sustainable development, including its three dimensions: ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
- current global trends in important indicators for ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
- discussion about key concepts such as substitutability, weak vs. strong sustainability, intra- and intergenerational justice and how these relate to the ethical dimensions of sustainable development.
2. Ethics and the engineer's responsibility:
- introduction to basic ethical frameworks (consequential, duty and virtue ethics).
- basics of moral reasoning, common fallacies and methods for analyzing ethical dilemmas.
- discussions on engineering ethics, the difference between private and professional ethics, and the responsibilities of the engineer.
3. Sustainability challenges and solutions; the role of the engineer
- human climate impact, consequences for humans and ecosystems, climate action
- other sustainability challenges and strategies to meet them, the roles of companies and engineers
- project work that connects the different parts of the course, where students obtain information about a real product or service and interview a professional engineer about aspects of ethics and sustainable development.
Organisation
This course aims to convey knowledge about field that is both large and complex. For this reason, lectures and literature are key elements for achieving the learning outcomes. However, just as important as a broad knowledge base is the ability to critically reflect over the knowledge that has been gathered. Not the least is this the case for normative (ethical and moral) aspects of sustainable development where no simple scientific answers are to be found. Therefore the course emphasizes the course elements (mandatory hand-ins and small group discussions) that aims to stimulate a deeper reflection and dialogue about the course contents.Literature
'Hållbar utveckling: nyanser & tolkningar' by Fredrik Hedenus, Martin Persson & Frances Sprei, plus additional texts available through the course homepage.Examination including compulsory elements
The examination will be carried continuously throughout the course, through hand-in exercises, mandatory group seminars where the hand-ins are discussed, and small written exams ("duggor"). The requirements for passing the entire course (7.5 hp) is as follows:i) to pass the hand-in exercise in block 1 and 2
ii) to participate in the seminar discussions in block 1 and 2
iii) to pass the small written exam ("dugga") in block 1 and 2
iv) The third block is examined through a project work that is carried out in a group and reported through a group submission, as well as through a peer review of another group's report.
The course is graded on the scale U, 3, 4, 5 based on the total amount of points from all hand-ins and small written exams.
The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.