Sustainability summer short course
Sustainability is a topic that gets to the heart of how we rebuild our world for the future. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this course will look at both the research and actions that can be taken as it explores the greatest challenge facing our world.
Showcasing the world-leading teaching, research and strategy on sustainability that St Andrews has to offer, this course will be of particular interest to people involved in sustainability. Allowing you to hear from leading academics and practitioners through lectures and conversations in a way not often publicly available, this course will challenge you to think beyond the traditional topics of sustainability.
Speakers
Professor Sir Ian Boyd
School of Biology
An internationally recognised marine and polar scientist, and recently elected Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Sir Ian Boyd is leading the move to sustainability at St Andrews.
Professor Ali Watson OBE
School of International Relations
Originally trained as a macroeconomist at the University of Dundee, during her time at St Andrews, Professor Ali Watson's focus in teaching and research has increasingly been based around an examination of the rights of marginalised actors and communities.
Professor Doug Benn
School of Geography and Sustainable Development
A renowned expert in glaciology and climate change, Professor Doug Benn has been studying glaciers and climate since he was a teenager. A professor of glaciology at the University Centre in Svalbard, Doug has studied aspects of glacier science both in the lab and all across the globe.
Dr Mette High
Social Anthropology
Dr Mette M. High is the Director of the Centre for Energy Ethics, leading a large multi-disciplinary research team. Focusing on natural resources such as metals and fossil fuels, her research explores how global economic processes intersect with intimate moral views.
Liter of Light Brazil
Vitor Belota, co-founder and former president of Litro de Luz Brasil
Vitor Belota Gomes is a cofounder and former president of Litro de Luz Brasil, the 2016 St Andrews Prize for the Environment Winner. Since 2014 Vitor has worked in several organizations in the social impact sector, such as Yunus Social Business, accelerator of the Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Yunus. Currently Vitor works as the Impact and Sustainability Manager at Group Splice, a holding company in São Paulo Brazil.
Course information
The sustainability summer short course will explore the concept of 'sustainability' across five interactive lectures, allowing you to explore the topic from different perspectives. These will include biology, earth sciences, people, policy, economics and ethics. Through the course, you will develop a deep and critical understanding of the factors associated with creating a sustainable future.
This course will challenge you to think beyond the traditional concepts of sustainability and to critically reflect on how your individual practices and collective actions contribute to the challenge and the solutions.
Five online lectures will be delivered throughout July and August 2021, immediately followed by the opportunity to ask questions of our world-leading speakers. The first four lectures will be delivered by University of St Andrews academics, selected from an array of disciplines, who will provide a holistic perspective on sustainability-related challenges and solutions. Our fifth and final speaker will be a recipient of the prestigious St Andrews Prize for the Environment, who will provide a personal and motivational example of how sustainability can bring real change to communities.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- appreciate the significance of the theme to global, local and personal communities, and how actions to address the theme can offer maximum societal benefit
- discuss the theme from a range of different perspectives and share these perspectives with your communities
- reflect on how the themes of the course have influenced your working practices and employment
- contribute to academic discussions on the theme and place your individual perspective within the need for collective action.
Contact us
For any enquiries about this programme, please contact the Global Office by emailing globaloffice@st-andrews.ac.uk.