E-Learning Course //Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems: The Nexus between Water, Energy and Food
The “Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems: The Nexus between Water, Energy and Food” is being offered free of charge by the Coursera online platform and is offered from June 1st through August 3rd, 2020. Participants will learn to see their community or country as a complex socio-ecological system and to describe its water, energy and food metabolism in the form of a pattern, as well as to map the categories of social actors.
The course will provide the tools to measure the Nexus elements and analyze them coherently across differing scales and dimensions to improve informed decision-making, detect and quantify dependence on non-renewable resources, and evaluate externalization of environmental problems to other societies and ecosystems. Practical case studies, from both developed and developing countries, will help to evaluate the state-of-play of a given community or country, as well as possible solutions. In addition, pressing socio-ecological issues, such as energy poverty, water scarcity and inequality will be explored from a radically different perspective.
The course is taught by Dr. Mario Giampietro, ICREA Research Professor from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, along with Dr. Andrea Satelli and Tarik Serrano, both from ICTA as well. You can find Dr. Giampietro’s interview by the Nexus program at this link, while details on the course are available at Coursera, at the following link: https://www.coursera.org/learn/sustainability-social-ecological-systems.
Further information for potential participants:
- Level: Intermediate
- Commitment: 4-6 hours/week
- Language of Instruction: English
- Pass all graded assignments to complete the course
Enrollment and Dates
The course is offered at 8-weekly intervals. To enroll, please visit the Coursera website.
Upcoming start dates:
- 1 June 2020 (enrollment closing 6 June)
- 27 July 2020 (enrollment closing 1 August 2020)
Intended participants
The course is directed toward upper-division undergraduate and graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines (environmental sciences, engineering, agricultural sciences, social sciences) as well as professionals (NGOs, think tanks) and policy makers concerned with sustainable development in both developed and developing countries.
Instructors
Mario Giampietro, ICREA Research Professor
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA)
Andrea Saltelli, Guest researcher
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA)
Tarik Serrano, Post-Doc Researcher
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA)
Creator
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is a public university located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. International in its outlook, it is fully consolidated within its local surroundings, and offers quality education in close association with research activity, the transfer of scientific, technological, cultural and educational knowledge, the promotion of its human potential and the responsible management of available resources. The UAB currently offers 81 degrees, 130 official Master Programmes and 183 UAB-specific Masters Degrees. In addition, it offers 174 lifelong learning programmes and 65 PhD Programmes, 27 of which have been distinguished through Quality Awards. The UAB has a total of over 3,500 teaching and research staff, over 2,000 administrative staff and over 40,000 students.