Admission requirements
This course is obligatory for students of the MSc Industrial Ecology (joint degree TU Delft and Leiden University).
Description
Society’s metabolism refers to the interactions between society and nature, characterized by material and energy flows. These include the input of raw materials, processing into manufactured products and services, and the release of waste and emissions, encompassing energy conversion and usage. This metabolism is shaped by society's modes of production (economy), technology, and lifestyle (culture).
This course introduces students to the evaluation of the impacts that society’s metabolism has on the functioning of the Earth’s physical and biological systems. The main themes addressed are:
The Anthropocene
Economics of the Anthropocene
Environmental and social impacts of society’s metabolism
Resources and energy scenarios
Water systems
The food system
Each lecture session consists of:
Analysis of readings facilitated by course lecturers
Content lectures given by course coordinators or invited speakers
Class exercises and student presentations
Workshops and interactive tutorials complement the lectures, supporting students in structuring their group projects. Course coordinators occasionally facilitate hands-on tutorials to deepen students' understanding of specific topics. Preparation before class and active participation during class are fundamental to the success of the course. To foster a collaborative learning environment, we encourage discussions where students can share their experiences, values, and opinions with their peers.
Course objectives
After completing this course, students are able to…
Describe society’s metabolism and the pressures it exerts on the environment;
Understand the connections between the drivers of demand for energy and natural resources;
Design effective ways to assess and analyse the interactions between society’s metabolism and the environment;
Analyze the water, food and energy systems and understand their contribution to society’s metabolism;
Investigate the extraction and use of natural resources at the global level and examine societal issues related to these;
Discuss economic constructs, theories, and models to establish relationships between economic growth and the environment.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
The course will be given one day a week, with lectures given in the mornings and workshops/tutorials in the afternoons.
Education methods include lectures (including flipped classroom format), presentations, discussions, elaboration of group projects, writing of reports.
Assessment method
50% final exam (Take-home)
50% final project (40% group project report + 5% group project proposal + 5% in-class presentation)
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by the average of the mark of the individual exam (50%) and that of the final project (50%). The final mark of the course is expressed by means of a figure between 1 and 10, rounded to the nearest half. The rounding process is done, only at the end, for the final calculation. The mark 5,5 cannot be granted. Marks between 5,01 and 5,49 are rounded to 5,0 and marks between 5,50 and 5,99 are rounded to 6,0. To succeed the course, the minimum unrounded mark of the written exam and that of the group project should both be 5,50.
Resit
A resit is offerred for the individual final exam.
Reading list
The reading list will be described on Brightspace and in the syllabus of the course
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
- For substantive questions, contact the course coordinator listed in the right information bar.
Remarks
MSc Industrial Ecology students can register for the course and exam via MystudyMap. Other students need to contact the study advisors of the programme via studyadvisor-ie@cml.leidenuniv.nl
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.