Course syllabus for Leadership for sustainability transitions

Course syllabus adopted 2024-02-14 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameLedarskap för hållbarhetsomställningar
  • CodeSEE040
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPTSE
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyEnergy and Environmental Systems and Technology, Mechanical Engineering
  • DepartmentSPACE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 28122
  • Maximum participants45 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0119 Project 2.5 c
Grading: UG		2.5 c
0219 Intermediate test 2 c
Grading: TH		2 c
  • Contact examiner
  • Contact examiner
  • Contact examiner
0319 Written and oral assignments 3 c
Grading: TH		3 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second 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

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Aim

The course provides theoretical perspectives, methods and tools for leading sustainability-driven innovation in society. The leadership builds on backcasting as an over-arching approach, where you develop a leadership on three levels: leading yourself, leading together with others, and leading for humanity. This leadership is introduced through literature and lectures, is applied in a real-world case, and is developed through individual exercises and reflection. Based on this foundation, you will in your future career be able to lead complex transitional processes involving stakeholders from different societal sectors. Some of the students attending the course choose to deepen their leadership capabilities further by taking the course SEE050 "system interventions for sustainability transitions", which in turn prepares for a thesis in line with Challenge Lab.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

1. Understand and describe challenge-driven innovation processes.

This includes understanding different innovation logics and the kind of leadership that is required for sustainability transitions as well as the ability to put knowledge into practice.

2. Conduct future studies

This includes reflecting on different approaches to engaging with futures, with a focus on backcasting approaches, testing robustness and handling critical uncertainties. Being able to formulate guiding principles for a system from different sustainability dimensions is also included.

3. Apply systems thinking and mapping of socio-technical systems in order to identify sustainability transition strategies.

This includes zooming across scales, understanding systems dynamics and identifying root-causes, identifying leverage points in multi-level systems, understanding "lock-in" mechanisms, developing and critically appraising conceptual solutions (design thinking), iteration and experimentation.

4. Apply tools to surface multiple perspectives and facilitate dialogue in a multi-stakeholder setting.

This relates to the abilities to learn about yourself and from others, to understand and respect needs, perspectives, and actions. This includes techniques for self-leadership and participatory problem-solving, dialogue tools, co-creation, perspective awareness, and active listening.

Content

Backcasting from sustainability principles is a key methodology during the whole course. Backcasting is helpful to break free from path-dependency and free the mind by starting from a desirable sustainable future and consist of four steps:
  1. Frame conditions for a sustainable future on a level of principles
  2. Analyse gaps between the present situation and sustainable futures
  3. Identify leverage point interventions for bridging the gaps
  4. Create strategies for realising the leverage point interventions
As well as in the backcasting approach, the course applies two perspectives for a holistic approach in dealing with complex challenges:

  • Outside-in perspective; including system dynamics, transition and design as tools to understand and deal with the external requirements global sustainability put on systems. 
  • Inside-out perspective; including methods and tools to understand and reflect on your own values, strengths and visions - as well as to understand and lead in the interaction with different stakeholders within the complex system.

In a case conducted during the course, you will, through group assignments, identify needs and possible ideas that can point the way for further solutions - for bridging the gap found between the sustainable future and the current situation. 

Organisation

For each of the steps in the backcasting approach, the two perspectives (Outside-in and Inside-out) will be addressed by three ways of learning:
  • Theory and Tools: Lectures and literature with introduction of tools.
  • Case Work: A hands-on case where the tools are applied in real-world sustainability challenges.
  • Reflection: A reflection paper on leadership encompassing the whole course where you will reflect upon the tools and their use in the case. The purpose of the reflection is to digest the knowledge and experiences (double-loop learning) and relate it to leadership abilities and to your own values.
To apply the theory and tools to address sustainability challenges in the socio-technical system, you will be introduced to a hands-on case. The case will be using sustainability challenges in West Sweden for initiating solutions - connecting the gap between the sustainable future and the current situation.
To be able to lead in a dialogue, while working on the case, you will also explore your own personal values and strengths. (Inside-Out perspective).
To be able to better understand the system and the current situation, you will in group work - be interacting with stakeholders, thereby getting a broader picture of the overall challenge and understand the system from different perspectives. In this part, dialogue tools are introduced and used hands-on. The dialogue and the application of causal loop diagrams, enables the identification of points for intervention in the system.
The project ideas, identified in this course, will serve to unlock and facilitating change in the sub-system, and subsequently to initiate possible transformation of the larger system.

Literature

Course literature available at the Canvas course page.

Examination including compulsory elements

The course is examined through a case that takes part during the entire course, a reflection paper and a mid-term exam.

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.