MAPD4100 Sustainable Design Approaches Course description

The world is facing serious environmental challenges caused by the way our economy, industry and societies work. The design of products, services and systems is in many cases the key to a sustainable development. In this module you will learn about some of the environmental challenges the world is facing and how to design solutions that minimizes or eliminates these challenges. 

Admission to the Master's programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have an overview and understanding of the most important environmental challenges the world is facing today and how design can contribute to solving them. Working on this complex topic, knowledge, skills and general competence on advanced level is needed. 

Knowledge 

The student 

• understands how products can be interconnected in systems and mutually affecting each other 
• has a good understanding of how to use information about the environmental impact of the product system, to make informed decisions about how the product system should be designed to minimize this impact
• understands the concept of a circular economy and how design can contribute to achieving this
• has knowledge about how the behaviour of the user may affect the environmental impact caused by the product, and how the design may affect this behaviour
• has knowledge about the global challenges of production and consumption as well as how design may contribute to a sustainable development and fulfilment of the UN sustainability goals. 

Skills 

The student 

• can identify the main environmental impacts caused by a product system throughout its lifecycle. 
• can make rough estimates of these impacts 
• can create designs and concepts that are simultaneously beneficial for people, planet and profit 
• can make informed decisions about appropriate lifetime for a product and how a product should be designed to accommodate for this 
• make design decisions to enable for additional lifecycles 
• is able to reflect on the consequences of values and strategies chosen by the designer and company 

General competence 

The student 

• understands the importance of considering sustainability aspects in a design process, and can identify and apply appropriate tools or methods to minimize the negative environmental impact 

• Design for a circular economy (Cradle to Cradle) 
• Life cycle understanding and estimation ("LCA light") 
• UN sustainable development goals 
• Tripple bottom line 
• Systems thinking 
• Design for sustainable behaviour 
• Harmful substances in products 

The most important teaching and learning methods for this course are lectures, group work, peer group presentations, excursions and individual project work. 

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam: 

• Group assignments. Weekly assignments first half of the course, new randomized groups each week. 
  • These assignments are expected to require one work day per student each week they run.
• Project presentation. Oral presentation of the individual project.
• Excursions 
  • The course will include at least two excursions

Individual written home examination, which consists of: 

• One written project report. Describing the individually chosen topic, research and analyses, and proposed solution.
• The report may vary according to the project and chosen format/layout, but between 10 and 40 pages are expected. 

The examination result can be appealed. 

No restrictions on examination resources

A grading scale of A (highest) to F (lowest) where A to E is a pass grade and F is a fail grade.

Two internal. External examiner is used periodically.