University of Copenhagen

This course introduces mindfulness as a psychological construct, presenting and discussing ways to understand and describe the concept. It presents theoretical perspectives that seek to illuminate the origin, development, potential, and limitations of mindfulness. The course examines clinical and cognitive empirical studies that demonstrate various operationalizations and effects of mindfulness interventions. It also contains a smaller practical part where select mindfulness exercises are exemplified to provide a practice-based understanding of the concept of mindfulness. Assessment is based on an individual or group written assignment of 8-14 pages. 

The course discusses how different forest management practices and intensities influence biodiversity. It presents methods on how to assess and evaluate impact of forest management actions on flora and fauna diversity and discusses possible trade-offs between forest wood production and biodiversity.

This course introduces students to quantitative text analysis, reviews selected methods falling within this category of approaches, and illustrates their implementation in the statistical programming language R. It covers the origins of quantitative approaches to studying text and how they complement traditional, qualitative methodologies. Using recent peer-reviewed publications, the course explores how these methodological approaches can be used to answer sociological questions and, in hands-on lab session, students implement selected techniques in R.

This course offers a study of genome and cell biology. Topics covered include gene regulation, structure of genomes and their content of information, use of databases and experimental techniques for genome analysis, gene control, genome function, gene and genome techniques, membrane structure, membrane transport, intracellular compartments and the sorting of proteins, signal transduction, cell division, cell cycle control, programmed cell death, and autophagy. The course consists of lectures, group work, and student presentations. The course highly recommends but does not require that students have completed a bachelor level course in cell biology as a prerequisite.

This course develops an understanding of key concepts and theories related to climate issues, sustainability, and environmental governance in Africa. It debates climate adaptation and mitigation, sustainable development, and governing the environment, and discusses specific African cases related to climate-smart interventions, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and governance initiatives related to biodiversity conservation and rural development. The course examines key actors in Africa's development and the roles they play in responding to the climate crisis, in sustainability, and in governing natural resources. It discusses relevant questions concerning the relationship between climate, scarcity, and abundance; internationally-driven, climate-smart initiatives in Africa related to the role of state, market, and civil society; and the impacts and coping strategies related to implementing the SDGs in Africa. The course consists of a combination of lectures and workshop-like activities with active student participation and presentations by a number of external lecturers, including guests from the private sector, NGOs, and researchers. This version of the course is worth 6 quarter UC units and assessment consists of a written paper on a topic of the student's own choosing comprising 24,000-28,800 characters.