Environmental Studies

This course explores the reconstruction efforts in coastal Fukushima following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Accident. It emphasizes the roles of local communities and emerging industries. Through field visits to Futaba Town in Fukushima, the class analyzes the impacts of the disaster; understands reconstruction challenges, and develops multidisciplinary problem-solving skills. The course foster empathy, equipping international and domestic students to learn together and addressing town-building challenges from a global perspective.

This course provides the spatial perspective required to address environmental and social challenges through hands-on training in core geospatial analysis methods. The first half of the course covers foundational concepts and technical skills of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), while the second half engages the class in a group project where they conduct planning, data collection, analysis, and a final presentation of their findings.

This course examines related concepts, evolution of theories, core ideas and operating methods and tools of designs for sustainability. 

This course builds an understanding of environmental issues as social issues by focusing on environmental justice. It explores the causes of environmental problems, how problems are understood and experienced by different populations, and how communities work towards fairer environmental futures.

This course provides an introduction to the principles and concepts of behavioral ecology, and to the application of these to case studies in conservation biology in New Zealand.

In this seminar, students learn about the role of cities in positively and negatively influencing global climate and biological systems, and the approaches taken by European cities to mitigate the negative impact while creating healthier, happier, and more productive urban environments. Topics span holistic dimensions of sustainable discourse, emphasizing the relationship and balance of environmental, social, cultural, and economic factors. The course focuses specifically on the northern European context, especially the host city, Berlin, where students regularly visit projects and meet with local practitioners.

The concept of “climate justice” suggests that climate change is not only a problem of science or technology but more fundamentally a problem of political power. This course introduces students to major concepts and debates in a humanist approach to climate change and examines a range of existing solutions to the crisis. 

The first part of the course, “The Politics of Climate Change,” introduces students to major concepts and debates in a critical approach to climate change, considering the origins of climate change and its intersection with economic and social inequality. The second unit of the course, “Climate Justice in Practice,” examines a range of existing solutions to climate change, considering their advantages, drawbacks, and tactics for implementation.
 

As industries worldwide transition toward sustainable practices, this course provides an introduction to the intersection of sustainability and Industry 4.0. It focuses on the design and development of innovative products and services with the tools to link emerging technologies with ecological responsibility. By combining theoretical foundations with hands-on project work, the course equips students to understand how emerging technologies — including digital modeling, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), renewable energy, and advanced materials — can be leveraged to address pressing environmental and societal challenges. The course centers on Sustainable Prototype Challenge, in which students working in teams design a forward-looking product or service concepts. Through intensive assignments and workshops, participants apply principles of sustainable development, user-centered design, and technology-driven workflows to create a coherent final project. Deliverables include both a project prospectus and demonstrative materials (e.g., diagrams, mock-ups, or digital prototypes) that communicate the innovation’s environmental, functional, and social contributions, as well as feasibility. Students reinforce their learning through lectures, group critiques, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The course actively integrates perspectives from engineering, business, and design, preparing students to work across disciplines. In addition to gaining technical and creative skills, participants strengthen critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication abilities that are transferable to professional contexts.

This course offers an in-depth exploration of Spanish identities through the lens of its culinary culture. Students examine how centuries of tradition and local practices define the Spanish culture, from the historical roots of the Mediterranean Diet to regional diversity, and the crucial role of innovation and sustainability in overcoming global environmental challenges. Topics include sustainable agriculture, biodynamic wines, mindful eating practices, and the role of local markets and circular economy in supporting food security and community. Through a series of engaging activities—including expert discussions, guided tastings, and site visits to key locations like local markets and innovative food hubs—students gain firsthand knowledge of Madrid’s dynamic food landscape and explore the extent to which a new generation of entrepreneurial initiatives are driving a more sustainable and conscious approach to eating and producing. 

The course will cover basic concepts and contents on sustainable development (SD), its current state and bottlenecks, and the proposed transition pathways. Students will be guided to first study one SD issue in single locations, then cross-examine their findings against more holistic, comprehensive perspectives. Conflicts and dilemma among various goals will be identified, and the reasons explored by probing into deeper human shared values systems. Synthesizing this knowledge, experience and skills, the students will further move on to more comprehensive, real world problems involving multiple SDGs.