Partner Details
Centre for Alternative Technology
Awards
Target Award
Recruitable Target
Alternative Exit
Alternative Exit
Recruitable Target
Programme Offerings
Full-Time
DL-CAT-SEP
F2F-CAT-SEP
Educational Aims of the Course
The overall aim of the programme is to train postgraduate students so they are able to play a significant role in the development of approaches and application of knowledge to communicate and bring about transformative change in sustainability and adaption to global environmental issues. By their very nature global environmental issues are complex, and require a holistic awareness of scientific, social, cultural and economic concepts, issues, and theories. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach is taken throughout the programme and is implicit in the programme aims and learning outcomes. This programme will offer appropriate support to students, so they can continue to build their knowledge, understanding and skills to become independent learners for the future. The specific aims of the programme are:
• To critically reflect upon the consequences, seriousness, and urgency of environmental and climatic change with respect to how these multidisciplinary factors influence sustainability thinking and approaches to adaptation
• To hone the ability to identify and appraise the complex influences that technical, political, legal, social, cultural and psychological factors have on the human / nature interface.
• To develop technical evaluation skills to become systematic, logically iterative and imaginative, in order to make sound judgements within the limits of uncertainty and incomplete data, and communicate evidence and conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• To develop critical, practical and analytical problem-based learning and transferable skills to in order to make informed decisions to transform behaviour at a variety of organisational levels and bring about sustainable change;
• To enable students to extend their capacity for independent study and to make an original contribution to research within the fields of Sustainability and Behavioural Change.
• To develop the self-confidence and ability to act on, initiative, and to prepare for the rigours and demands of employment or further postgraduate study in areas related to sociology, communications, or sustainability.
• Provide students with a well-developed academic base for further learning /research/ personal and professional development and employment within the fields of sustainability and/or behavioural change.
• To develop transferable skills including written and verbal communication, IT, problem-solving, teamwork and time management skills, to prepare the students for leadership in the workplace.
Learning Outcomes
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Teaching and learning will be via interactive lectures, workshops, discussion groups, seminars, presentations, and practical work. Assessments will be written assignments such as essays, project reports and or via presentations, academic posters or a communication intervention. Intellectual skills are developed through the teaching and learning programme. Experimental, research and design skills are further developed and practised through a broad range of coursework activities and project work. Written or verbal individual feedback is given on all work submitted. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are assessed through assignments. Professional social science skills are taught during workshops in the core modules. Other relevant numerical and practical skills are taught across the suite of options. Experimental design is taught in the Applied Research Design module and in the Dissertation module and is embedded thought the topic via lectures and workshops, and practical work. Critical analysis and problem solving skills are embedded in all modules and are taught, developed and practised through debate, workshops and all forms of practical work. Experimental research and design skills are assessed in the Applied Research Design and dissertation module and is embedded throughout the topic via lectures, workshops and practical work. Professional social science skills are taught during workshops in the core modules. Other relevant numerical and practical skills are taught across the suite of options. Professional social science skills are assessed via the dissertation and in core modules ‘Theories of social and system change,’ ‘Introduction to the Politics and Economics of the Environment’ and ‘Communicating Transformational social change’ as well as in some of the optional modules. Transferable skills are taught, developed and practised through the teaching and learning programme. Social science techniques and problem-solving skills are taught on ‘dissertation and core modules ‘ Theories of social and system change,’ ‘Introduction to the Politics and Economics of the Environment’ and ‘Communicating Transformational social change’ Students will also develop additional numerical and statistical problem solving skills within the dissertation and in modules such as ‘Buildings for People’.