Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development
We’re excited you’re here! This course, “Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development,” is the first course in the Sustainability and Development MasterTrack® Certificate, but you can also take this course as a stand-alone learning opportunity. Sustainability and development pose unprecedented challenges as human societies grow and seek to ensure future wellbeing and prosperity.
Monthly Subscription Starting at AED 99 + VAT
- Level Foundation
- المدة 9 ساعات hours
- الطبع بواسطة University of Michigan
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Offered by
عن
We’re excited you’re here! This course, “Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development,” is the first course in the Sustainability and Development MasterTrack® Certificate, but you can also take this course as a stand-alone learning opportunity. Sustainability and development pose unprecedented challenges as human societies grow and seek to ensure future wellbeing and prosperity. In this course, we’ll focus on addressing the twin challenges of sustainability and development with actionable knowledge for innovating solutions to the world’s most pressing problems like climate change, poverty and inequality, and biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Rather than sustainability being a qualifier for development (e.g. sustainable development), we conceptualize Sustainability and Development as co-equal fields of inquiry and action that seek to build bridges between the natural, social and applied sciences and the humanities. When sustainability and development are placed on an equal footing, it requires us to think more explicitly about the trade-offs, co-benefits and synergies between them, which we will be exploring in depth in each week. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to the theoretical currents in Sustainability and Development, and will garner an in-depth understanding of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will also consider the methods and skills necessary for designing innovative solutions to sustainability and development problems through the emerging field of Sustainability Science. In this course, we will explore three of the most pressing challenges undergirding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including climate change, poverty and inequality, and ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, with case studies to guide and challenge our thinking. In the final week of the course, we will discuss the trade-offs, co-benefits and synergies between these challenges, especially as they relate to designing innovative solutions for achieving our sustainability and development goals. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Understand and explain the world’s most pressing problems with a specific focus on poverty & inequality, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, and climate change. 2. Critically analyze the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their relationship to the world’s most pressing problems. 3. Use frameworks and evidence necessary to develop solutions. 4. Assess relevant solutions that would help realize the SDGs and at the same time solve the pressing problems. 5. Apply skills learned to implement solutions.الوحدات
Introductions
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5
Videos
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3
Readings
5
Videos
- Introduction to the Course
- Created in the time of COVID-19
- Why Sustainability AND Development?
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this Course
- Background and Scope for Achieving the SDGs
3
Readings
- Recommended resources from Achieving the SDGs lecture
- Course Syllabus
- Help us learn more about you!
Week 1 Assessments
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Week 1: Introductions
Welcome to Week 2 - Climate Change
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2
Videos
2
Videos
- An Introduction to SDG 13: Climate Action
- Climate Vulnerability & Adaptive Capacity in NE Brazil
Week 2 Assessments
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2
Readings
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1
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Week 2: Climate Change
1
Discussions
- Climate and Development Case Questions
2
Readings
- Introduction to Michigan Sustainability Cases and Gala Platform
- Case: Climate and Development
Welcome to Week 3 - Poverty and Inequality
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21
Videos
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3
Readings
21
Videos
- Poverty, Inequality and Strategies to Address Them: Introduction
- Definitions of Poverty
- Introduction to 'What is Poverty?' and 'How is Poverty Measured?'
- Measures of Poverty
- Introduction to 'Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes'
- Capacity to Reduce Poverty
- Causes and Effects of Poverty and Inequality
- Mechanisms to Address Poverty and Inequality
- Attempts to Address Poverty and Inequality
- Social Assistance Programs
- Effectiveness of Social Assistance Programs in Poverty Reduction
- Income Generation Programs
- Logic of Income Generation Programs: Graduation Programs
- Different Forms of Capitals
- Unemployment Benefit Programs
- Drivers of Unemployment Benefits
- Ecotourism and Payment for Ecosystem Services
- Payments for Ecosystem Services: Continued
- Examples of Payment for Ecosystem Services
- Comparing Environment Vs. Economic Programs for Effects on Poverty
- Future Trends that will Influence Poverty and Inequality
3
Readings
- Additional Resources
- 'The Poverty Trap'
- 'Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)'
Week 3 Assessments
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1
Readings
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1
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Week 3: Poverty and Inequality
1
Discussions
- Poverty, Environment, and Inequality Case Questions
1
Readings
- Case: Poverty, Environment, and Inequality
Welcome to Week 4 - Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Degradation
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4
Videos
4
Videos
- An Introduction to Ecosystem Degradation & Biodiversity Loss
- What is driving change and what are the impacts?
- What can we do to ameliorate these changes?
- Opportunities to dive deeper and learn more
Week 4 Assessments
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1
Readings
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1
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Week 4: Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Degradation
1
Discussions
- Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Degradation Questions
1
Readings
- Case: Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Degradation
Welcome to Week 5 - Trade Offs and Synergy
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9
Videos
9
Videos
- An Introduction to Sustainability Science
- Implications for Sustainability and Development
- Trade-Offs, Co-Benefits, and Transitions
- Five Transitions of Human Societies: Demographic and Energy
- Five Transitions of Human Societies: Forest, Agricultural, and Nutrition
- How can past transitions guide sustainability transitions?
- What can trade-offs and co-benefits look like?
- Five programmatic examples demonstrating trade-offs and co-benefits
- Improving Sustainability Solutions
Week 5 Assessments
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Week 5: Trade Offs and Synergy
Conclusion
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1
Readings
1
Readings
- Share Course Feedback!
Auto Summary
This engaging course, “Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development,” offered by Coursera, delves into the intertwined fields of sustainability and development. Led by expert instructors, learners will explore critical global challenges like climate change, poverty, and biodiversity loss. The course provides actionable knowledge and skills for designing innovative solutions. With a foundation-level approach, it spans 540 minutes and is available through Starter and Professional subscriptions, making it ideal for individuals passionate about personal development and global sustainability.
Arun Agrawal
Maria Carmen Lemos
Bilal Butt
Pamela Jagger