This is an interdisciplinary and multi-university project-based course focused on positively impacting the complex sustainability challenges faced by real-world communities around the world.

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Throughout this course, students work in small (three to five person) interdisciplinary and multi-university teams in order to (1) identify and understand a well-defined sustainability (social and/or environmental) problem faced by a real-world community, and then (2) devise, design and propose an implementable idea for positively impacting that problem.

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During the course, teams are introduced to and guided through a variety of interdisciplinary methods for identifying and interrogating the diverse social, economic, environmental and technological dimensions of both their chosen sustainability problem and their proposed solution. Each student is also provided with guidance and support for understanding how the skills and knowledge of the discipline(s) they are studying can be applied to tackling complex sustainability challenges.

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During the course, students are provided with multiple facilitated and structured opportunities to:

• engage directly with community representatives from the real-world community their team is focused on;

• receive mentorship from a global network of experienced sustainability and innovation experts; and

• collaborate with a diverse array of students from other disciplines and institutions working on similar sustainability problems with other communities around the world.

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The course is delivered primarily through:

• Synchronous course sessions (three hours per week) that are highly-interactive and team-based, and that include:

  • workshops that guide teams through the application of interdisciplinary methods and tools to their context;

  • direct engagement with community representatives, and with global sustainability and innovation experts;

  • check-in meetings with members of the teaching team; and

  • interactive small-group seminar discussions and exercises led by teaching team members.

• Supporting asynchronous multimedia materials that provide preparation for workshops and seminars, as well as guidance and assistance for teams and individuals with their project work and deliverables.

• The course deliverables themselves, which include the following:

  • four individual deliverables (three assignments, and one report) incorporating disciplinary knowledge and reflections;

  • two major team deliverables, accompanied by regular team self assessments covering project progress and learning; and

  • a final showcase of the team deliverables, incorporating interviews with external judges and peer-to-peer assessment of final deliverables.

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Students should expect to spend an average of between seven to eight (7-8) hours per week on this course across the term (including synchronous course sessions).