Program Overview

Technology for Sustainable Development MSc

The certificate programme is relevant for students who want to contribute to socially and environmentally sustainable development, whether at home or abroad. Negative impacts from conventional economic modernization strategies are becoming ever more obvious and they require urgent action, by people working in government, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations alike. These organisations are looking increasingly to hire young people with initiative and drive who have the awareness and the skills to work towards achieving a transition towards more sustainable development. There is a special role for technical specialists who are well aware of the methods for integrating sustainability aspects in the research and design processes in their own field of expertise.

Learning Goals

The TSD/MSc certificate shows that you:

• are familiar with, and can reflect on the key environmental and social challenges that are occurring in a variety of socio-economic and cultural contexts, and understand their major causes and impacts
• can identify important environmental and social exclusion problems and major research areas within your own field of expertise concerning sustainable technology
• are aware about common limitations of science & engineering-driven "solutions" for sustainability problems, and know how to avoid such dead ends
• have mastered sound management approaches for working towards the solution of these challenges in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, such as participative stakeholder governance and responsible innovation
• are capable of integrating aspects of environment and social inclusiveness in innovation design processes in your own field of expertise
• recognize the multidisciplinary character of sustainable technology
• are capable of working in multidisciplinary teams

Workload

The workload of the certificate program consists of 20 ECTS. Students have to complete at least 10 ECTS on top of their regular MSc program.

Courses Certificate Program Sustainable Development

Component 1 (10 ECTS)

Choose at least two of the following five courses:

• Course code: 0EM140, Course name: Energy, economy and society
• Course code: 0EM150, Course name: Sustainability transitions and responsible innovation
• Course code: 0EM200, Course name: International development and sustainability
• Course code: 0EM220, Course name: Sustainability assessments for emerging technologies and business models
• Course code: 0EM230, Course name: Globalization, sustainability and justice

Component 2 (5 ECTS)

Other suitable courses are:

• Course code: 0FC05, Course name: Ethics of technology
• Course code: 0LM150, Course name: Entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility
• Course code: 1BM150, Course name: Green and digital transformation: sustainability in the era of AI
• Course code: 1CM170, Course name: Sustainable supply chains
• Course code: 4EM70, Course name: Sustainable energy sources
• Course code: 5ESD0, Course name: Control systems (last examination year)
• Course code: 6EMA63, Course name: Sustainable polymer chemistry and materials
• Course code: 7LS3M0, Course name: Sustainable buildings/physical aspects of building materials
• Course code: 7XC1M0, Course name: Circularity in the built environment
• Course code: 7XC2M0, Course name: Circularity research a/o design project
• Course code: 7XX9M0, Course name: Urban trends and strategies
• Course code: DCM130, Course name: Design for social innovation (maximum number of participants!)
• Any other TU/e MSc course, or MSc course at another Dutch university, with a clear focus on sustainability, subject to approval in advance by the certificate coordinator

Component 3 (5 ECTS)

One of the courses should take the form of a project, which will count for 5 ECTS towards the certificate requirements. The type of project that can be undertaken is flexible, as long as the orientation is clearly on social and/or environmental sustainability. Suitable projects can be an MSc internship or an MSc thesis project. Courses 7XC2M0 Circularity Research a/o Design Project or 1CM170 Sustainable Supply Chains also offer opportunities for a project application.

Enrollment

Complete the registration form and submit it to the Education and Student Affairs Center. Please keep in mind that the enrollment for a certificate program must be renewed every year.

Request Certificate After Completion

The certificate program is successfully completed when the student passes each element of the program with a grade of 6 or higher, or by meeting the specified requirements. When finishing your master, the certificate can be requested at the education administration with proof of the certificate enrollment, proof of having requested your master's degree, and a study progress document.

More Information

The successfully completed certificate will be signed by the Dean of the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences.