BB530: A Sustainable Future (5 ECTS)

STADS: 04011201

Level
Bachelor course

Teaching period
The course is offered in the spring semester.

Teacher responsible
Email: saege@biology.sdu.dk

Additional teachers
wiegand@biology.sdu.dk
atreusch@biology.sdu.dk

Timetable
Show entire timetable
Show personal time table for this course.

Prerequisites:
None

Academic preconditions:
The content from the first year of the Biology study is expected to be known

Course introduction
The content of this course comprises innovation, networking, and project work in cooperation with the industry, furthermore field trips (excursions) and a Science Innovation Camp to find solutions for the most challenging socio-environmental topics.

There is an urgent need of innovative ideas for both, the society and the environment. Especially to solve the grand challenges for society, like e.g. environmental issues and sustainability, applied research and innovation is needed. In this course the students will tackle environmental challenges concerning biological issues through innovative processes.

The course consists of an introduction to selected challenges such as handling and treatment of increased precipitation due to changes in climate, assessment of toxicity, recovery of plant nutrients, microbial enhanced oil recovery and other topics where innovative solutions are needed to ensure a sustainable future. The introduction phase is combined with excursions to companies and institutions working with these topics. Simultaneously, the innovation part starts by a one day intensive introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship. This is followed by a Science Innovation Camp (2 days), where the students are working in groups with an innovation project of the student’s choice within one of the topics. The project will, wherever possible, be performed in cooperation with an external partner. The Camp is followed by one day of business training. Finally, all ideas and concepts are presented at a one day innovation seminar, where the ideas are reviewed by an evaluation panel that includes external partners and fellow students.

Qualifications

• Ability for an innovative and applied use of the theoretical subjects in the study
• Competences useful for participating in innovation and entrepreneurship competitions as e.g. Venture Cup and iGEM
• Cooperation and networking with public and private partners
• Hands-on understanding of connections between innovation and environment/biology
• Entrepreneurial experiences through a specific innovation project

Expected learning outcome

• Understanding of environmental/technological challenges within the course topics
• Theoretical knowledge of the introduced subjects • Possibilities for applying theoretical knowledge
• Knowledge about innovation, entrepreneurship, market and business skills
• Ability to cooperate with the industry on actual topics and tasks
• Presentation and evaluation
• Capability to think innovative and create ideas, see possibilities and convert ideas to new concepts

Subject overview
The topics of the course can include but are not limited to:

• Methods to handle and treat urban runoff related to climate changes
• Technologies to reduce eutrophication in aquatic environments • Recovery of phosphorus as a resource
• Phytoremediation
• Toxicity assessment (in case of environmental hazards, for new chemicals, or as routine)
• Development of novel test methods to reduce animal testing
• Microbial enhanced oil recovery
• Isolation of enzymes with potential for biotechnological applications from nature
• Geo-engineering
• Microbial monitoring
• Biotechnological exploitation of hyperthermophilic microorganisms

The topics will/can vary from year to year dependent on the actual grand challenges for the environmental area.

Literature

• udvalgt relevant litteratur indenfor kursets emner.

Website
This course uses e-learn (blackboard).

Prerequisites for participating in the exam

1. Innovation project.

2. Active participation in innovation seminar including a presentation of a project.

Assessment and marking:
Written report, internal examiner, pass/fail

Reexamination in the same exam period or immediately thereafter.

Expected working hours
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
Intro phase: 15 hours
Skills training phase: 35 hours, hereof:
 - Tutorials: 20 hours
 - Excursion: 15 hours
 - Other: 40 hours

Educational activities
The course will start with an introduction to the course topics followed by a number of excursions to collaborators in the industry. This part is followed by a total of 5 days of innovation course, where the students are working in groups with one of the introduced topics. There will be professional discussion and supervision, both for the innovation part and the scientific part of the topic. The study phase will naturally be connected to the introduction and training phase.

Language
This course is taught in Danish or English, depending on the lecturer.

Remarks
The exam consists of a written report based on the innovation project. Further, the active participation in the innovation seminar including the presentation of the project (pitch) and the review by the evaluation panel, which includes the external partners, will be part of the exam.

Course enrollment
See deadline of enrolment.

Tuition fees for single courses
See fees for single courses.