Location:

Shanghai, China

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Center for Sustainability is an effort pulled together by industry professionals and scholars with the mission of educating international students on the latest trend of sustainable development taking place in China. The Center specializes in offering students, industry professionals and scholars the opportunity to engage in dialogue, share ideas, skills and perspectives in reference to the common goal, sustainability. We understand that solutions will not come from environmentalists, architects, engineers, economists and law makers alone but from collaboration between all industries pulling together in one direction. This is the reason the Center for Sustainability is committed to maintaining a multi- disciplinary collaboration to push for significant sustainable change.

Topics: 1. Sustainability in China: This course gives an introduction into various aspects of sustainability in China from an international point of view, taking into consideration several aspects of sustainability, including areas such as Clean Tech, Policy Making, Urban Development, Transportations systems and how they comply with China’s 12th 5 year plan. 2. Environmental Policy: This course exposes how any deliberate action taken in order to manage human activity for the purpose of protecting the environment and natural resources can be considered environmental policy. This course will also study the challenges of implementing policy at the local, national and international levels. 3. Environmental Economics: In this course, students will have the opportunity to look at economics from a different point of view in which we recognize that the markets are not the only mechanism of allocation but rather that sustainable allocation is the result of the combined efforts of Markets, Scale and Distribution. 4. Environmental Ethics: This course is designed with the goal of bringing a new perspective to the boundaries of human ethics, and extending them to the natural world and its protection. Through this course students will exercise their critical thinking skills and engage in discussions involving current issues 5. Fundraising for Sustainable Projects: This lecture presents the various aspects of raising funds for sustainability related projects, including the challenges and opportunities that we face in China. 6. Sustainable Buildings: Energy usage in buildings accounts for 40% of all energy consumption, so how we design buildings, manage energy and resources, has an enormous effect on our environment. This course will show how technology can be used to simulate environmental conditions therefore optimizing architectural design and detailing to promote a more energy efficient and environmentally sensitive design. 7. Green Building Certifications: This lecture is designed to draw a one-to-one comparison between western design certifications, such as LEED, BREAM and HQE and Chinese design certifications such as Green star and China Star and to discuss how they differ in concept and enforcement. 8. Social Entrepreneurship: This course focuses on engaging critical thinking for the creation of socially responsible enterprises. It teaches students how to engage in an entrepreneurial venture that takes into consideration multiple aspects of sustainability. 9. Strategic Environmental Assessment: During this course student will have a complete overview of what a Strategic Environmental Assessment is used for, its importance for sustainable development and the processes and stakeholder who take part in the completion of an assessment. 10. Informal solid waste management: This course will show case a 5-year research project on the “Informal solid management” activities taking place in China. Thought this lecture participant will develop a new understanding in how an organic recycle system has emerged from high levels of immigration from the country side to urban areas in China. 11. Wastewater treatment: This course will showcase one of UNEP – Tongji University Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) major areas of research “Wastewater Treatment”. During the lecture students will be introduced to IESD, will cover the main strategies utilized for wastewater treatment in China and how they are transferring this knowledge to developing areas such as Africa. 12. Specialized Technical Chinese for Sustainable Development: This module has been design to introduce participants to key concepts of sustainable development in Chinese language, with the purpose to introduce the importance of Chinese skills when entering this fast paced economy.

USD 3500

Setting Description:

• 27th December, 2012 – 11th January, 2013 • 3rd June, 2013 – 21st June, 2013 • 1st July, 2013 – 19th July, 2013 • 5th August, 2013 – 23rd August, 2013

Cost:

USD 3500