University College London

With increasing rates of urbanization and high population growth rates in the developing world there is a need for robust engineering solutions that address societal, economic and environmental issues through partnerships with local stakeholders and institutions. This course will provide engineers with an overview of the challenges and complexities of working internationally, focusing on low- and middle-income countries where mainstream development paradigms often fail to bridge the gap in basic infrastructure and housing needs.

This course is designed to develop and/or enhance students' skills in experimental design and data handling in a context appropriate for biological sciences. The course covers data collection and processing and is illustrated with a range of real world biological examples and data sets from work in the department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment. In addition to lectures, students attend computer workshops and problem-based tutorials. In the workshops, students learn to use the software researchers use and have the opportunity to apply the statistical techniques that you have covered in the lectures. Students learn how to interpret and present these findings in a professional format.

The study of climatic and environmental changes that have occurred over the past few million years is one of the most exciting branches of Physical Geography. This course examines spatial and temporal patterns of climatic and environmental changes during the late Cenozoic and their potential causes. It also assesses the contribution of palaeoclimatology to our understanding of present and future climate.  The course stresses the multi-disciplinary nature of research into past environments.  On completion of the course students will have knowledge of major global patterns of climate change and environmental response on tectonic, orbital and millennial timescales and their regional expression e.g. northern vs southern hemisphere, low vs mid vs high latitude, an understanding of the different climate forcing variables and an appreciation of how climate scientists have used palaeoclimatic data to support projections of future climate.

The course provides a broad knowledge of the requirements of both conventional and renewable energy systems and an advanced understanding of the fundamental principles that underpin select key stationary and portable energy conversion and storage technologies. Students develop skills in the design of energy systems with an emphasis on sustainability, improving efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.

This course explores contemporary metaethics, a discipline which asks philosophical questions about ethics. The four questions at the center of the course are: Are there truths about ethics – about what is good, bad, right, wrong, and so on? Are these truths objective? Are these truths part of the natural world? How does our ethical thought and language work? Students investigate these questions by learning about the major theories defended in contemporary metaethics, and as part of this they learn about various specific problems and questions investigated by contemporary philosophers in this area.