Wageningen University and Research Center

This course deals with fundamental as well as applied aspects of insects and focuses on major themes in modern insect biology. Students choose their own trajectory to develop essential knowledge on (1) biological phenomena for which insects are good model systems or on (2) novel methods to apply fundamental knowledge to the management of insects in natural or agricultural environments, temperate zones, or in the tropics. The major aspects covered in this course include chemical and molecular ecology, behavioral and population ecology, functional biodiversity and agroecology, insect reproduction, and pollination ecology along with its application in crop protection, protection of human health, vector control, nature conservation, and insects as food and feed. Two topics are selected for essays written under the supervision of the Laboratory of Entomology.

How did the Maya civilization collapse? Why did the bubonic plague kill over one third of 14th century European population? How long can current rates of global population be continued? This course introduces the fascinating field of environmental history, focusing on the tensions between economic growth, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation in the distant past as well as in present-day societies. The course pays ample attention to the transition from pre-industrial to industrial modes of production and the environmental consequences thereof - the making of the Anthropocene. We draw analogies from the collapse of ancient civilizations to contemporary environmental problems, such as global warming and mineral resource depletion. The course also specifically addresses the various strategies that historical civilizations have developed in order to survive climate change, deforestation, soil erosion or other ecological threats to human livelihood. Finally, the course addresses the emergence of present-day environmental consciousness in the wake of modern urbanization, industrialization and unprecedented demographic growth.

This course is an introduction to environmental systems analysis. The course focuses on its analytical tools to assess climate change impacts and adaptation and apply these tools to a climate change impact problem. This course teaches through an environmental systems approach for analyzing complex environmental problems such as climate change. This approach provides a general framework to consider multiple aspects in exploring alternative solutions for complex environmental problems. Different analytical tools exist that can be used in environmental systems analysis, but the focus is on the tool conceptual model, regression model, and scenario analysis that together can be used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation. The systems approach, climate change impact, and adaptation assessment are taught in lectures, practiced in a practical, and applied in an assignment. In the assignment, students study a selected climate change impact problem linked to the study fields of the environmental systems analysis groups, for example, health, tourism, ecosystem services, biofuels, and nutrients. Datasets are provided and students set up a conceptual model, develop a statistical regression model, apply a scenario analysis, study adaptation options, and communicate results.

This course exposes students to developing innovative and entrepreneurial responses to complex problems. The course reviews recently established theories of entrepreneurship and innovation at individual, organizational, and institutional levels in emerging economy contexts.  Time is spent analyzing local, regional, and global issues facing entrepreneurs and organizations/institutions supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, with a special focus on issues related to food and agricultural sectors. Some prior field experience in emerging economies constitutes an advantage for the students in implementing the course activities.

This course is tailored towards three of the major environmental domains: water, energy, and food systems which are crucial for human subsistence and of major environmental relevance. This course reviews the major transformations (transitions) that are needed within these three intersecting systems to reach sustainability. The core concepts of "Sustainability" and "Transitions" are critically discussed from the perspectives of policy, history, and technology. The multi-disciplinary perspectives on "Sustainability" and "Transitions" are applied to the analysis of past and future transformations in food, water, and energy systems in the domains of production, supply, distribution, and consumption. In this course, the concept of transition as it relates to sustainability is used to analyze systems-based transformation processes in which sectors in society change in a fundamental way over one generation (25 years) or more. The course adopts a historically situated and contextual analysis. It considers major changes these systems have undergone in the past as a crucial prerequisite to discussions on the present and future transitions. The course begins with a foundational week of historical and theoretical lectures on the key concepts of sustainability and transition (management) underpinning the course. Following this foundational week, the course progresses to offer three thematically structured weeks focused on the topics of energy transitions, food transitions, and water transitions. Each of these thematic areas is explored from the angles of environmental history, environmental policy/sociology, and environmental technology. Through this thematic approach, an interdisciplinary perspective of past, present, and future transitions in the intersecting domains of food, water, and energy through which conceptual, historical, and present issues are discussed through Dutch and international cases and examples. The course also includes an excursion to innovative sustainability projects in The Netherlands.