MSc, PGCert, PGDip Sustainability

This class will offer an introduction to the concept of sustainable development and how it has evolved across time as well as its various uses across disciplines.

Students will explore, firstly, the history of the concept of sustainable development and the global challenges that it seeks to address. Key concepts such as the 3 pillars, the notion of planetary boundaries and circular approaches to resource management will be presented. The integration of ecological perspectives and climate change issues within the wider agendas for SD will be explained. The concept of Nexus challenges and systemic thinking for the SDGs will be exemplified and enable participants to consider holistic solutions in practice.

This class revolve around critical thinking exercises and recognition of divisive epistemologies around solving sustainability challenges. It encourages deeper understanding of barriers to using community and 'non-scientific' knowledge for the development of smart and localised solutions to global problems.
The class includes interdisciplinary group work, aiming to enhance participants’ ability to work with ‘others’ and perform quality community engagement, hand in hand with improved project management skills in the context of collaborative projects. It will cover cross-cutting issues like ethics, inclusion, as well as familiarisation with evidence-based approaches to research and integration of data sources. All those are key for working in global context and for achieving sustainability from a human and social perspective. The class includes groupwork in the form of designing fieldwork where students will work on challenges identified by external stakeholders and familiarise with tools related to understanding needs for sustainable solutions in real life context.

The class, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, introduces circular economy as a systems-based concept in which production is designed to be restorative and resilient, while waste is designed out of the system. Circular economy is thus featured as a reaction to the conventional dispensation of the linear ‘make-use-dispose’ economy, and as a framework for the development and management of a sustainable, ‘waste-as-a-resource’ economic system. The implications of the concept for research, policy and industrial practice are also explored as these relate to innovation and knowledge production; social trends and consumer behaviour; conservation and sustainable use of energy and material resources; climate change and environmental sustainability; and design of business models for green enterprise development and for sustainable growth and employment generation.

Governance of energy systems is as much a technological, financial, and economic challenge as it is a political one. This class focuses on this latter aspect of the politics and political economy of global energy policy. Its central aim is to develop a good understanding of how political systems and institutions shape energy policy and governance outcomes.

The class is grounded in political science and political economy models and equips students with analytical tools to:

1. rigorously assess variation in energy policies around the world
2. analyse these policies
3. understand the drivers of differences in policies
4. formulate actionable policy recommendations

Drawing on examples and data from the developed and developing world, the class strikes a balance between academic and policy debates and between different approaches to student learning and engagement, including, for instance, scenario analysis, group work, or role play.

This class provides you with a comprehensive overview of natural resources, sustainable consumption and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through consideration of such topics as:

• where natural resources are located
• how they are used and what are the key challenges facing consumption
• what policies are in place to protect natural resources globally
• how environmental change and degradation may impact natural resources
• how conflicts can occur over natural resources and the steps we can take to remediate this

The aims of this class are to provide you with a range of concepts, insights and evidence that will enhance your understanding of contemporary organizational challenges in managing people.  The aim is to ensure that you can make judgements about your behaviour, and that of others, and can seek to influence organisational practice and outcomes effectively. In addition, the aim of the course is to provide an understanding of modern organisations in terms of the management of people, the strategies and processes of HRM, and to provide the basis for a critical review of human resource systems and techniques.

This class teaches essential principles, tools and techniques of Operations Management – both in general and as applied to specific manufacturing or service businesses. A section of the class focuses on service operations, where specific subjects and operational issues surrounding services will be discussed.

In preparation for the Dissertation an intensive course known as Dissertation Skills is taught early in the 2nd semester, covering all aspects required for successful submission. By the end of this class, combined with necessary readings, you should be sufficiently prepared to undertake your dissertation, which requires a pass mark to proceed.

This class will cover theoretical and critical perspectives across the following content:
• organisational structure, design, culture and climate, including globalisation and international aspects
• models and methods of organisational and individual change and development
• wider context of change and implications for people management

This class focuses on building core knowledge of effective solutions to the climate emergency and the motivation and skills required to manage impactful, long-term action. It focusses on four areas: First it will develop a clear moral and economic case for action before developing understanding of climate science, the causes and impacts of climate change and will link these to consumer and government service demand. It will then explain, across jurisdictions, the legislative and policy opportunities (and threats) for individuals and organisations resulting from government action on climate change. The final section will explore the broad range of mindset, skills based and technical solutions required for solutions.

The educational aim of this class is for students to understand how they can enact social impact through organisational strategy. The purpose of this class to develop students into organisational leaders who approach strategy with a social lens. Where social impact is not simply a CSR exercise but is embedded in the organisational outcomes and activities.

There is a growth in the number of entrepreneurs starting businesses with social and environmental purposes. This module examines ideas and practices for addressing social needs. These include social enterprises, collaborative innovation networks, hubs, digital platforms, and support intermediaries. The module is centred around how students can start their own social entrepreneurship projects. The module will consist of a selection of presentations and discussions around social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

The intent of the class is to enhance students' criticality of the world around them, teach them to question the validity of statements made around sustainability, and prepare them to create change, either at an individual, business, third sector or societal level using the knowledge and concepts of social responsibility and sustainability marketing. It build upon knowledge on strategic Marketing management, consumer behaviour, brand management and marketing research.

This module aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of those key concepts, methods, tools and techniques that are fundamental to effective and efficient running of supply chain operations from suppliers’ suppliers to customers’ customers.

The module covers an Introduction to supply chain operations; Demand management; Master planning; Material management; Capacity management; Inventory management; Distribution management; and Case studies.

On completion the participants will be able to design and manage operational supply chain planning, scheduling and controlling systems for complex and disparate operations. In particular, students will:

• Understand the basics of supply chain operations in relation to planning, operating, scheduling and controlling, including knowledge of supply chain operation practices (demand management, master planning, material management, capacity management and inventory management); understanding the impact of supply chain operation practices within commercial and social contexts and global trends in supply chain operation practices
• Identify and assess different methods, tools and techniques for managing plans, operations and materials of end-to-end supply chains
• Demonstrate the ability to apply those methods, tools and techniques in different contexts, including manufacturing and service sectors, with a critical awareness of drivers and obstacles in real life and the ability to produce sensible solutions to overcome them

Assessment and feedback is in the form of 2 in-class tests (60%) and one coursework (40%).

Climate change will be the pre-eminent global political and economic issue of the 21st century. This class is intended to provide students with an overview of the basic model underlying the economics of climate change and the economic approach to climate change policy. It then goes on to describe the complications that need to be considered beyond this basic model in order to think about climate change policy in the real world.

This class will introduce policy relevant issues and knowledge in the economics of development. Lectures will combine insights from theoretical economic models with policy-relevant empirical evidence on in low-income countries. Moreover, through the thorough analysis of empirical research, the class will assist students in developing skills required to make an effective contribution working as an applied economist.

In this class you'll explore key economic issues at the heart of topical energy questions – building on the University’s outstanding reputation as a centre of excellence in energy technology and policy.
The class covers the objectives of energy policy; private and social perspectives on energy supply and demand; the special case of regulation of energy markets; the use of economic models in energy analysis; the economics of oil and gas activity and links between energy use and the energy sector and an economy.

This class teaches quantitative methods with a practical emphasis. You'll gain an understanding of aspects of econometric theory and of fundamental econometrics tools that are routinely used in the analysis of economic data.

You'll apply the methods you learn about to a variety of models and data sets used in Economics and Finance.

The class will cover the following estimation techniques:

• Descriptive Statistics
• Linear Regression Models
• Heteroscedasticity
• Unit Roots and Cointegration

Each topic will be introduced in lectures and consolidated through practical applications in lab sessions. In this way, students will gain practical experience in analysing data. On completion of the class you should be in a position to motivate and conduct your own empirical work, and you'll have the opportunity to demonstrate this in your Summer Projects.

A growing, and increasingly important, part of the work of many applied Economists includes the economic analysis of environmental issues. Additionally, many professionals working in the fields of energy, the natural environment, or business more generally will find that their careers require some working knowledge of economic approaches to environmental problems. The main objective of this class is to provide a thorough grounding in the economics of the environment, with a particular focus on environmental protection in an international policy context, such as climate change the loss of biological diversity.

Understanding what drives inequalities in economic outcomes is a key aspect of modern economic thinking. Many of the drivers of such inequalities are cross-cutting, covering a range of economic issues from changes in economic policy through to the overall macroeconomic environment and the changing nature of our modern labour market. This class is designed to:

1. raise the awareness of the different roles for economic analysis in the formulation of effective policies aimed at tackling inequality and reducing poverty
2. develop policy-relevant understanding of current issues inclusive growth enabling students to effectively contribute as an applied economist

The module will encourage students to explore the intersections between these inequalities, in terms of patterns, causes and policy responses (actual and potential). The opening session will introduce students to intersectionality as a core social science idea, providing foundations for the remainder of the module where students will explore four exemplar inequalities that have attracted research and policy concern in the UK.

This class provides an overview of the ever-expanding field of qualitative methods in social science. This includes the examination of a wide variety of approaches, including case studies, small-N comparisons, ethnographies, historical research, and discourse analysis.
It also includes the study of a range of data collection and data analysis techniques such as observation, document analysis, elite interviews, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).

This module focuses the role of international institutions and the international economic order in conflict and cooperation. It explores the politics of international trade, money, and finance both in developing and developed economies.

This class looks at how the interplay between economic and politics shapes societies. It familiarises students with models of capitalism and the diversity of political economy traditions amongst states. It also explores the interface between domestic and supranational political economies - the competitive struggle between member states to shape EU economic policy, and the constraints that EU policy places on the governance of the domestic economy.

This class aims to provide you with the ability to:

• recognise the issues relating to overall global water policy and its interactions with other global issues
• discuss the impact of climate change and economic development on water resources and availability
• explore the different implementation issues based on regional case studies
• explore the role of stakeholders on the acceptance and achievement of policy objectives

To develop an understanding of the physical, chemical and biological parameters within surface water and how these relate to water quality, water quality objectives and pollution control strategy. To provide knowledge on the design and process involved with the control of water and wastewater treatment.

Students will acquire familiarity with, and practice of, research techniques, and examine different ways of, and gain experience in, presenting research results.
The class discusses the key principles, and practical exercises, on both quantitative and qualitative research methods, including survey methods, interviewing techniques, use of census data and statistical methods. The class also includes discussion of ethical issues. Finally, there is dissertation-related teaching on choosing a research question and a research method, and writing a research proposal. This is a semester 1 and 2 class but meetings do not happen every week.

This class, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, develops students’ understanding of public and environmental health, and the multidisciplinary approach in preventative and proactive action to safeguarding public health.
A diverse range of subjects are covered ranging from the risk assessment approach taken with respect to protecting the public from private water supplies, to the role of environmental health professionals in the prevention of the spread of infectious disease.
The class also provides students with fundamental knowledge regarding Health Improvement/Promotion and Health Protection, including the different methods used and the variety of agencies involved.

In this class, you'll develop in-depth knowledge and skills regarding the science, engineering and management of environmental pollution control approaches to protect public health. You'll benefit from research-led teaching at the interface between public health and environmental engineering, with a particular focus on risk-centred methods. Lecture sessions are complemented by industrial and government case studies in contemporary air quality management practice. 

This class will examine the key systems and infrastructure on which urban centres depend and promote critical reflection on how the design, management and monitoring of these systems impact on the social, environmental and economic sustainability of cities. The use of case studies will allow students to engage with real-world situations, challenges and opportunities and consider multiple infrastructure and technology options for sustainable city strategies. 

The course and thus this introductory module is aimed at graduates who've not previously studied statistics at university level. The module will provide the foundation elements of probability and statistics that are required for the more advanced classes studied later on.
This will include:

• an introduction to probability distributions
• introductory hypothesis testing
• non-parametric hypothesis testing
• linear regression
• introductory power and sample size calculations

This module will introduce the R computing environment and enable you to import data and perform statistical tests. The module will then focus on the understanding of the least squares multiple regression model, general linear model, transformations and variable selection procedures.
You can expect to cover concepts such as:

• use of functions and packages in R
• use of the tidyverse for data manipulation
• data visualisation using both base R and ggplot2
• multiple linear regression
• using variable selection techniques to cope with large data sets
• more general model comparison

This course will explore the evolving nature and distinctive components of the international legal framework on climate change.

This module will discuss the international legal frameworks applicable to deal with transboundary and international environmental problems, looking at the effectiveness of international litigation in dealing with global environmental challenges and analysing the relationship between legal rules and governance structures related to non-environmental fields (eg international trade and investment).
Climate change will be used as a key case study, but other global environmental problems, such as loss of biodiversity, fish stocks depletion, transboundary water pollution and over-exploitation (both surface and groundwater) will also be looked at.

Every two days, we generate as much data as the data generated in all human history up to 2003. From online data on every click of the mouse on the internet through the huge upsurge in manufacturing companies’ use of sensors to sports organisations collecting in-game data. With these increased quantities of data comes an increased need for tools to make sense of the main messages coming from these data.
The module will build on the fundamental multivariate statistics by developing both visualisation and advanced analysis techniques relevant in the area of big data. The focus will be on application and interpretation of techniques and there will be an investigation of what makes good data. The module will develop both new theoretical knowledge in the form of analytics techniques as well as new software skills in relevant analytics software.

On this module students will learn to:

• develop an understanding of models and theories of human information behaviour
• develop an understanding of the factors influencing human information behaviour
• develop an understanding of information need in context
• develop an understanding of appropriate research approaches and methodologies

This class provides a thorough introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
GIS are spatial databases which can handle spatial information in a far greater variety of ways than was previously possible with paper maps. By capturing, manipulating, integrating and displaying digital spatial data, a wide range of different analyses can be carried out and questions addressed.
The class covers the key theoretical principles of GIS, provides practical hands-on exercises using current state-of-the-art GIS systems, including raster (IDRISI Andes) and vector (ArcGIS) based software, and demonstrates how GIS can be used for spatial query and analysis.

This class is designed to provide students with an understanding on available satellite datasets, their characteristics, processing and visualisation methods and tools, descriptive analytics methods. The class is designed to provide theoretical foundations, as well as hands on exercises.