Admission requirements
This course is a specialisation module of the MSc Industrial Ecology (joint degree TU Delft and Leiden University).
MSc IE students should have attended and successfully completed the course Methods: Analysing Physical Processes (4413MAPPT).
Description
This course teaches students the fundamental methods of material flow analysis (MFA). Students learn the basic principles of three major types of MFA – static, dynamic, and economy-wide. The learning is reinforced by readings and exercises on the different approaches, and a group case study using static MFA. Students that take this course are highly encouraged to continue to the course MFA 2 that focuses on dynamic MFA in greater depth, and/or to the course “Spatial analysis in Urban Regions” that focuses on material stocks with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Together these courses provide a comprehensive up-to-date knowledge of Material Flow Analysis.
Course objectives
After completing the course, the student is able to:
Comprehend the fundamental principles of different types of MFA (economy-wide, static, and dynamic).
Demonstrate advanced knowledge of MFA terminology and concepts.
Collect, interpret and use data for MFA studies.
Design MFA research questions, apply MFA in a case study to answer these and transparently report the findings.
Identify which type of MFA is applicable to research different sustainability questions.
Understand links between material flows, service provision and environmental impacts.
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
Weekly lectures, discussions, and in-class exercises.
Weekly self-study through individual and group assignments.
Tutoring sessions regarding the individual and group work.
Students are expected to attend all lectures and tutoring sessions.
Assessment method
Assessment
Several smaller individual assignments throughout the course.
Individual assignment; critical reading and interpretation of an MFA study.
Group assignment; conducting a static MFA case study.
Weighing
The final course grade is established by the weighted average of the individual assignments (50%) and the groups assignment (50%).
Final course grades are expressed by means of a figure between 1 and 10, rounded to the nearest half. The grade 5,5 cannot be granted. Grades between 5,01 and 5,49 are rounded to 5,0 and grades between 5,50 and 5,99 are rounded to 6,0. The rounding process is done, only at the end, for the final calculation. The partial grades (of individual and group assignments) will keep two digits after the decimal point. The minimum pass grade is 5.50 for both the individual critical reading assignment and the group assignment.
Resit
A retake is possible for the individual critical reading assignment and the group assignment, but not for the smaller individual assignments. The maximum grade to be obtained for the retake is 6.
Inspection and feedback
An inspection and feedback session is offered on the student’s request.
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
Coördinator: Dr. Peter Berrill and dr. Ingeborg Kluts.
Other teachers involved: Tomer Fishman and guest lecturers
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.