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 the flows of materials and energy—ranging from the extraction of raw materials and their transformation into goods and services, to the release of waste, emissions, and the conversion and use of energy. This metabolism is shaped by a society’s modes of production (economy), technological infrastructure, and cultural lifestyles.
This course introduces students to methods for assessing the impacts of societal metabolism on the Earth's physical and biological systems. Key themes include the Anthropocene, the Economics of the Anthropocene, the environmental and social consequences of metabolic processes, resource and energy scenarios, water systems, and the global food system.
Each session combines in-depth discussions of assigned readings, lectures by course instructors or guest speakers, and interactive components such as class exercises and student presentations.
The course also includes compulsory workshops based on the principles of Blue Engineering, fostering creative, interdisciplinary learning. These workshops provide an open learning environment for students to explore various dimensions of society–nature relationships while critically reflecting on their own ecological and social responsibilities.
Course objectives
After completing this course, students are able to…
Describe the concept of society’s metabolism and the environmental pressures it generates.
Explain the linkages between the drivers and impacts of major global sustainability challenges.
Design and apply methods to assess and analyze interactions between society’s metabolism and environmental systems.
Analyze key sustainability challenges related to societal metabolism and** critically evaluate** metrics and frameworks used to measure them.
Collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary and international teams to formulate relevant research questions within the field of Industrial Ecology.
Reflect on the ethical dimensions of social and ecological responsibilities in relation to society–nature interactions.
Collect, synthesize, and communicate data and knowledge on society’s metabolism for both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
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. Compulsory workshops complement the lectures. The workshops are based on the principles of Blue Engineering and facilitate creative and interdisciplinary learning. Students will discuss different aspects of society-nature relations in an open learning environment and add to their knowledge from the lectures by scrutinizing their own social and ecological responsibilities. A group project is developed together with facilitators during the workshops. At the end of the course, students will present the results of their groupwork in a closing event with compulsory attendance.
Assessment method
50% individual final exam on the materials covered in the lectures series
50% group project on the activities related to the compulsory workshops
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by the average of the mark of the individual exam (50%) and that of the group 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 Leiden. Other students need to contact the study advisors of the programme via studyadvisor-ie@cml.leidenuniv.nl to check for availability.
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.