Sustainability in my research
ENG-650 / 2 crédits
Enseignant(s): Garin Adélie Eliane, Mélo Michka Sylvain, Studer Melanie Roselyne, Various lecturers
Langue: Anglais
Remark: Participants who want to enroll should provide a one-page (max) motivation letter by August 24th, 2025 to adelie.garin@epfl.ch AND michka.melo@epfl.ch
Frequency
Every year
Summary
This course is designed to develop the necessary transversal skills to foster sustainability integration in the present and future research of the PhD students
Content
In the current era of socio-ecological crisis, research must step up and play a role to shape a future sustainable and just society. Sustainability must be integrated in research activities and research activities should find paths to contribute to sustainability. This challenge cannot only be interpreted as a disciplinary or even as an interdisciplinary problem; it requires first and foremost a preliminary effort to develop specific transversal skills.
This class aims to offer PhD student an introduction to key sustainability concepts as well as a space for students to reflect on how they could contribute further to sustainability, by acting on their research questions, as well as on their research practices.
The course is hands-on, and it includes a serious-game workshop to introduce complex system dynamics, a journal-club on landmark sustainability papers, an individual project tailored to the specific research of each enrolled PhD student as well as methodological and, when possible thematic, coaching for the individual project.
Note
Because of many teaching formats based on experiential learning and live discussion, in-person attendance to sessions is key and expected.
4 in-person slots:
- September 9th 2025, 12:00-17:00
- September 29th 2025, 9:00-17:00
- September 30th 2025, 9:00-17:00
- Final presentation: November 11th 2025, 9:00-17:00
For more information, the detailed syllabus (still subject to slight change) is available here: go.epfl.ch/ENG-650-syllabus
Do not hesitate to contact adelie.garin@epfl.ch or michka.melo@epfl.ch for questions.
Keywords
sustainability, system thinking, leadership, effective communication, socio-environmental responsibility, planetary boundaries
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
Interest for sustainability topics
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Develop leadership skills to act effectively on sustainability-related challenges
- Explain key sustainability concepts to a heterogeneous audience
- Apply research practices to sustainability by: a) Formulating a research question/project to respond to a sustainability-related issue / b) (and/or) Identifying and prioritizing actions to make research practices more sustainable
Dans les plans d'études
- Nombre de places: 12
- Forme de l'examen: Exposé (session libre)
- Matière examinée: Sustainability in my research
- Cours: 4 Heure(s)
- Projet: 44 Heure(s)
- TP: 16 Heure(s)
- Type: optionnel