Environmental Studies

This course is for students interested in the policies and management of the natural environment and its resources. The transferable nature of the skills elements involved may make this course attractive to other students wishing to pursue a career in government agencies or consultancy. The course provides students with a toolkit of quantitative and qualitative techniques used in resource planning and analysis, together with case studies with which to gain experience of their application.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The aim of this course is to develop cultural, scientific, and technical aspects for the enhancement and sustainable use and recycling of both raw materials and primary-secondary resources. Moreover, this course develops the design aspects and feasibility of Appropriate Technologies for the developing countries, particularly with regard to water supply, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management. The course is deepened on principles of Circular Economy (dry waste for recycling and organic waste for composting), on the circularity as tool for saving raw material, water, and natural resources and to reduce waste production. Course content includes (but is not limited to): Principles of circular economy and sustainability, climate change and transition engineering, sustainable development and sustainable use of resources, and the integrated management of municipal waste collection and treatment. 

This course introduces the concept of climate justice through the world-leading sustainability research being done at the University of Sussex. Climate justice brings a focus on social equity and historical responsibility to understandings of climate change. It recognizes that climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and has a disproportionately high impact on those who are least responsible for causing the problem. In this course, explore questions of extractivism, climate responsibility, finance and funding, ecosystem uncertainty and activism through a series of lectures, case studies, seminars and workshops. Learn about the colonial roots of contemporary environmental justice conflicts and the range of responses proposed to the climate crisis, while working in groups to discuss, design and propose alternatives. The course is both solutions-focused and interactive, students have the chance to work in groups throughout as you reflect collectively on how they would address particular challenges. Teaching is conducted both inside and outside of the classroom, with workshops taking place in the landscape of the Brighton & Lewes Downs Biosphere Reserve and South Downs National Park. Assessments encourage students to engage proactively in practical examples of climate justice and develop their public communication skills.  Students work on a short group-produced presentation, podcast or video to explore a debate or an example of local activism, and the final assessment will be a blog designed to enhance public understanding of climate justice. 

This course provides fundamental information on climate dynamical processes and how we study them - currently and in the past. The course examines both strengths and limitations of terrestrial and marine proxy climate records used to study past climate of the late Holocene and Quaternary as well as introducing students to the fundamentals of modelling the climate system.

This course considers how scientists, journalists, and film makers communicate about climate change; what measures are used by activists, social media users, and "green influencers" to convey urgency and persuade others to engage; and how the challenges and solutions of the climate crisis can be visualized using stories, short videos, memes, news, infographics, and other media. It introduces people whose job it is to communicate about climate change and discuss issues such as trust, greenwashing, attention, engagement, mobilization, urgency, and apathy. The course is built on active participation: students collect and analyze a variety of climate change communication and team up with others to create a media product as part of their exam.

This course introduces students to the diversity of major groups of living organisms, and the importance of maintaining diversity in natural ecosystems. With emphasis on the need for conservation of biodiversity to maintain a balance of nature, the course highlights the biodiversity in the major habitats and vegetation types in and around Singapore.

This is a problem and knowledge based course that offers a unique insight in the linkages between peoples’ recreational use of nature and the sustainable management and planning of nature areas in the Anthropocene. The course deals with practical and theoretical aspects of planning, management, and governance of outdoor recreation with strong focus on balancing use and protection of nature. From a management point of view, it discusses how to deal with visitors and users of nature areas. The course has an international set-up and includes examples and cases from Denmark and other countries. Outdoor recreation is an integrated part of multiple policies, e.g. forest and afforestation policy, public health policy, municipal landscape planning, urban green space planning, agricultural policy, rural development, nature policy, and protected area management. These different policies, planning, and management fields form the basis of the course. Hence, a multitude of recreation environments are in focus, including urban green space recreation, forest recreation, countryside recreation, protected area visitation, wilderness recreation, and coastal and marine recreation. The following themes are included: visitors’ values, norms, attitudes, experiences and behaviors; conflicts between user groups; monitoring of visitor flows; accessibility and availability; children and nature; pro-environmental behaviors; and nature-based integration.  The planning and management focus includes: novel and traditional visitor monitoring; strategies and tactics in management of visitor flows; use and protection of nature; protected area management; volunteering; zoning and multifunctional approaches. In a sustainable development perspective, outdoor recreation connects people and nature, and thereby offers insight into social-ecological interactions and dynamics that are central to sustainability science. The course relates to Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being), 10 (reduced inequalities), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 14 (life below water), and 15 (life on land).  

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the world of insects and addresses common misconceptions. Through a combination of classroom lectures and hands-on field trips, the course explores the fascinating world of these six-legged creatures. Field trips include visits to the NTU campus, the NTU Insectarium, the Taiwan Insect Museum, Fuyang Ecological Park, and Zhinan Temple. These excursions aid the observation and identification of insects in their natural environments, using field guides and direct observation. 

Lectures cover a range of subjects, including insect morphology, systematics, diversity, ecology, and behavior. Additionally, guest lectures from faculty at NCHU/NCU and industry experts provide valuable insights and broaden students' perspectives.   

This course examines environmental history. It covers specific examples of past environmental change in relation to human society. 

This comprehensive course provides a balanced and stimulating overview of marine ecology. It introduces the fundamental processes and systems that shape the marine environment and addresses the pertinent issues and challenges associated with its future conservation.

The course covers the following topics: 

• Patterns in the Marine Environment
• Primary Production
• Microbial Production and Decomposition
• Secondary Production
• Estuaries
• Salt Marsh Mangrove Seagrass
• Rocky and Sandy Shore
• Coral Reef
• Pelagic Ecosystems
• Continental shelf seabed
• The deep sea
• Polar ecosystems