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Cursus: SK-BCHDO
SK-BCHDO
Science and Technology for sustainable development
Cursus informatie
CursuscodeSK-BCHDO
Studiepunten (EC)7,5
Cursusdoelen

The goal of the course “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development” is to increase your insight into the possibilities for and limitations of using science and technologies to contribute to the understanding of sustainability issues and to assist sustainable decision making in research and development.

After completing this course:

·       you will understand how science and technologies can contribute to sustainable development
·       you can address, debate and analyse the ethical implications of case studies of sustainability science and technology
·       you will be able to perform a sustainability assessment for a product, service or technology
·       you will be able to conduct project work in a team, in the field of science, technology and society
-       you will be able to write a scientific report and effectively communicate sustainable decisions based on your research results  
 
 
Inhoud
In project groups of 6-8 students you will analyze a concrete product or technological option, which may be part of a strategy aimed at sustainable energy and material supply. Examples of such alternatives are the use of biomass for the production of fuel, e.g. ethanol and methanol; the sustainable use of fossil fuels; efficient use of materials (e.g. recycling); and the use of renewable materials, e.g. for the production of novel bioplastics.
 
During the first two weeks of the module, introductory lectures are given to support the project work (8 weeks). These lectures, combined with tutorials, provide the basics on environmental and economic assessment of technologies, together with efficient team work. You will be expected to apply these skills when working on the project. The following themes will be discussed:
 
·       Background of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development – what is sustainable development
·       Process analysis – material and energy analyses of chemical processes, process chain analysis;
·       Environmental assessment – how to perform a first environmental assessment of a product or a process;
·       Economic evaluation – how to assess economic viability;
·       Philosophy will be used to train argumentation and debating skills as well as to add ethical reflection in the assessment of technologies. 
 
The project addresses technological, economic, environmental and social aspects that are relevant to the introduction of technological options. It is part of the project work to scope the problem, to formulate the research questions (including the choice of concrete sustainability assessment criteria), to conduct a literature survey, to search data and to perform calculations and qualitative analyses in order to answer the research questions. You will present the research questions, approach, results and conclusions in two plenary presentations, once in an early phase of the project and once more at the final stage. You will also prepare a report, which represents the main deliverable of this course. 
 
Sustainability plays a central role in this course.

Note:
The final course grade will be satisfactory (pass) or unsatisfactory (fail), expressed in numbers, 6 or higher
and 5 or lower respectively. The final grade will be rounded off to one decimal place (e.g. 7.4). An average
grade of 4.00‐5.49 is unsatisfactory, an average grade of 5.50‐5.99 becomes a 6.
If you have fulfilled all course obligations but failed to obtain a final grade 6 or higher, you will get one
chance to repair, via a supplementary assignment (“aanvullende toets”). However, a non‐rounded off
final grade <4.00 implies a definite fail, i.e., no right on a repair assignment.
Character and content of the supplementary test will be decided upon in due time. If you pass the
supplementary test, a final course grade of 6 will be recorded in the student progress administration
system.
If you do not use the opportunity to perform the repair or supplementary test, the unrepaired insufficient
grade will be final. If the repair or supplementary test grade is lower than 5.50, the final insufficient grade
will be sent to the student desk.
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