Online courses directory (1728)

Brought to you by the US Department of State and Arizona State University, this course is designed for internationally-minded faculty, staff, and administrators working in US higher education institutions who would like to increase rates of study abroad participation. This course is also for people who aspire to work in international education and would like an orientation to the field.

Want to increase your educational institution’s study abroad efforts? Whether you work for a community college, a large, small, public or private university, or any other type of higher education institution in the US, this course will help you form partnerships, develop policies and procedures, advise students, promote scholarships, deliver orientations, and market your programs. You will learn recommended practices for ensuring the health and safety of students while abroad, and case studies will show you how the study abroad experience can be integrated into your school’s curriculum and can internationalize your campus. By the end of the course, you will have developed a long-term strategy for your institution that prioritizes reaching diverse students.

An engineer's road map to professional and personal success.

Congratulations! You're an engineer, and now you're ready to take the corporate world by storm. But in order to succeed in your career, you'll need more than just great technical skills. You'll need to be able to promote your ideas, share them with others, and work with a wide variety of people. Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School is designed to give engineers entering the corporate world the soft skills they'll need to succeed -- in business, and in life. Based on the instructor’s popular leadership seminars and book, this easy-to-digest guide to success will help even the most inhibited engineer to comfortably deal with the difficult people, processes, and meetings of today's competitive business world.

Filled with insightful, practical advice addressing vital skill areas and helpful tips you can apply immediately to any situation, Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School will help you take charge of your career and achieve the success for which you've worked so hard.

Nuestro clima está cambiando rápidamente, y ahora más que nunca, necesitamos estar listos para actuar y preparar la próxima generación para cuidar de nuestro planeta.

Este curso explora la ciencia básica que hay detrás del cambio climático y presenta herramientas para su enseñanza de una manera positiva, atractiva y participativa. También introduce algunas de las cuestiones éticas y sociales relacionadas al cambio climático.

Este es un curso práctico en donde se utilizan videos, planes de clase y juegos en línea con ejemplos de América Latina y el Caribe, desarrollados por la iniciativa “Súbete: educación sobre el cambio climático” del BID. El curso dirigido para maestros o estudiantes para maestros de escuelas primarias y secundarias, pretende prepararlos para enseñar educación sobre el cambio climático y promover acciones de mitigación y adaptación contra el cambio climático en su escuela y comunidad.

Super-Earths And Life is a course about alien life, how we search for it, and what this teaches us about our place in the universe.

In the past decade astronomers have made incredible advances in the discovery of planets outside our solar system. Thirty years ago, we knew only of the planets in our own solar system. Now we know of thousands circling nearby stars.

Meanwhile, biologists have gained a strong understanding of how life evolved on our own planet, all the way back to the earliest cells. We can describe how simple molecules can assemble themselves into the building blocks of life, and how those building blocks might have become the cells that make up our bodies today.

Super-Earths And Life is all about how these two fields together - astronomy and biology - can answer one of our most powerful and primal questions: are we alone in the universe?

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code: https://www.edx.org/edx-terms-service. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

HarvardX pursues the science of learning. By registering as an online learner in an HX course, you will also participate in research about learning. Read our research statement: http://harvardx.harvard.edu/research-statement to learn more.

Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form: https://www.edx.org/contact-us.

Supply chains are complex systems involving multiple businesses and organizations with different goals and objectives. Many different analytical methods and techniques are used by researchers and practitioners alike to better design and manage their supply chains. This business and management course introduces the primary methods and tools that you will encounter in your study and practice of supply chains. We focus on the application of these methods, not necessarily the theoretical underpinnings.

We will begin with an overview of introductory probability and decision analysis to ensure that students understand how uncertainty can be modeled. Next, we will move into basic statistics and regression. Finally, we will introduce optimization modeling from unconstrained to linear, non-linear, and mixed integer linear programming.

This is a hands-on course. Students will use spreadsheets extensively to apply these techniques and approaches in case studies drawn from actual supply chains.

MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management

The MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management is specifically designed and administered by MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting and growing field. In addition to being a standalone certificate demonstrating expertise in the field, students who complete all of the required courses and the final proctored exam will be qualified to apply to gain credit at MIT for the blended graduate master's degree program. In order to qualify for the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management you need to earn a Verified Certificate in all of the required courses. When you register for a Verified Certificate you will also be granted access to additional practice problems, supplemental readings, and opportunities for increased interaction with the faculty and teaching staff.

To learn more about the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, please visit http://scm.mit.edu/micromasters

MITx requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. MITx will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the MITx course; revocation of any certificates received for the MITx course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has restricted access of these courses to any learners living in Cuba or Iran. The only exception is that learners in Iran may take SC0x, but no other classes. This is not a ruling that MITx, edX, or the course staff may overrule or change.

The MITx MicroMasters credential in Supply Chain Management is a standalone certification program offered by MITx that is designed and administered by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL); supported by the MIT Office of Digital Learning (ODL); and delivered on edx.org. The MITx MicroMasters credential consists of five intensive on-line courses covering all aspects of logistics and supply chain management along with a proctored comprehensive final exam (CFx). To take the CFx, you must pass all five courses of the MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management as a verified student.

The CFx consists of two 120-minute exams, Exam I and Exam II. The exam must be broken into two exams for proctoring logistics. The exams will be a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions with the first exam covering more of the fundamentals of supply chain management and the second covering advanced and special topics. Students who have selected virtual proctoring will have from May 19th 1500 UTC to May 22nd 1500 UTC to take the exam. Once a student begins Exam I, they must complete both exams within 12 hours. Students cannot start Exam II without completing Exam I. Each exam will be timed, but students need to finish both exams within the 12 hour time period or they will not pass (there will be no secondary timer to regulate the 12 hour guideline). Virtual test takers will use the Software Secure proctoring software to be virtually proctored.  If you have not passed all five courses as a verified student in advance of the exam - you will not be allowed to take the CFx. 

If you pre-registered and are planning to take this exam in-person at an MIT SCALE center, per course team communications, please DO NOT enroll through this course instance. You will be pre-enrolled in the correct in-person proctored CFx and will be notified of course enrollment through the edX platform.

This Supply Chain Design course is part of the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, offered by #1 ranked SCM Master's program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CTL.SC2x Supply Chain Design covers all aspects involved in the design of supply chains for companies and organizations anywhere in the world. The course is divided into four main topic areas: Physical flow design, Supply chain finance, Information flow design, and Organization/Process design. In the design of physical flows, we show how to formulate and solve Transportation, Transshipment, Facility Location, and Network Design Problems. For financial flows we show how to translate supply chain concepts and actions into the language of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a company. We cover Activity Based Costing, Working Capital, the Cash-to-Cash cycle and Discounted Cash Flow Analysis. The design of the information flow section describes how firms communicate with suppliers (procurement, risk contracts), internal resources (production planning, bills of materials, material requirements planning), and customers (Sales & Operations Planning and other collaboration based processes). In the last section, we introduce performance metric design and organizational design within the supply chain organization focusing mainly on the centralize/decentralize decision.

The main topic areas we will focus on in this course are:

• Supply Chain Network Design
• Supply Chain Finance
• Supplier Management
• Production and Demand Planning
• Process and Organizational Design

This course is indispensable if you’re considering a supply chain management career and, specifically, the positions of Supply Chain Analyst, Operations Manager, or Logistics Coordinator.

MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management

The MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management is specifically designed and administered by MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting and growing field. In addition to being a standalone certificate demonstrating expertise in the field, students who complete all of the required courses and the final proctored exam will be qualified to apply to gain credit at MIT for the blended graduate master's degree program. In order to qualify for the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management you need to earn a Verified Certificate in all of the required courses. When you register for a Verified Certificate you will also be granted access to additional practice problems, supplemental readings, and opportunities for increased interaction with the faculty and teaching staff.

To learn more about the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, please visit http://scm.mit.edu/micromasters

MITx requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. MITx will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the MITx course; revocation of any certificates received for the MITx course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations.

Supply Chains are complex systems involving multiple firms and organizations with different goals and objectives. Additionally, there are external forces and trends that can impact (positively or negatively) a supply chain’s efficiency and effectiveness. Understanding the dynamics and risks within supply chains, both large and small, is key to being a successful supply chain professional. 

This course builds on the fundamental models introduced in SC1x and the design trade-offs covered in SC2x. It is essentially a capstone in understanding how to successfully model, design, and manage a supply chain in any industry. We will divide the course into three sections. 

First, we will introduce the field of System Dynamics. Developed at MIT, system dynamics is an approach that examines and models complex systems that feature interacting, non-linear, and dynamic elements. The objective is to better understand the underlying features of a complex system and to recommend policies and other actions to improve overall performance. 

Second, we will explore the concepts of supply chain risk. Supply chains are subject to a wide number of potential disruptions – from both within and outside of the supply chain.  Students will understand how supply chains can be better designed and managed to not only mitigate the downside of supply chain disruption but also to leverage and capture any upside. 

Finally, the students will engage in a series of more extended case studies and simulations that demonstrate these complex relationships. Actual case studies and examples from companies will be used to help students better prepare for actual situations.

MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management

The MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management is specifically designed and administered by MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting and growing field. In addition to being a standalone certificate demonstrating expertise in the field, students who complete all of the required courses and the final proctored exam will be qualified to apply to gain credit at MIT for the blended graduate master's degree program. In order to qualify for the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management you need to earn a Verified Certificate in all of the required courses. When you register for a Verified Certificate you will also be granted access to additional practice problems, supplemental readings, and opportunities for increased interaction with the faculty and teaching staff.

To learn more about the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, please visit http://scm.mit.edu/micromasters

MITx requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. MITx will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the MITx course; revocation of any certificates received for the MITx course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations.

This Supply Chain Fundamentals course is part of the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, offered by #1 ranked SCM Master's program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The CTL.SC1x Supply Chain Fundamentals course provides the foundational skills for supply chain management and logistics. You will learn how to develop and apply analytic tools, approaches, and techniques used in the design and operation of logistics systems and integrated supply chains. The material is taught from a managerial perspective, with an emphasis on where and how specific tools can be used to improve the overall performance and reduce the total cost of a supply chain. We place a strong emphasis on the development and use of fundamental mathematical models to illustrate the underlying concepts involved in both intra- and inter-company logistics operations.

The main topic areas we will focus on this course are:

• Demand Forecasting, Planning, and Management
• Inventory Planning, Management, and Control
• Transportation Planning, Management, and Execution

While our main objective is to develop and use models to help us analyze these situations, we will make heavy use of examples from industry to provide illustrations of the concepts in practice. This is neither a purely theoretical nor a case study course, but rather an applied analytical course that addresses real problems found in practice.

MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management

The MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management is specifically designed and administered by MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting and growing field. In addition to being a standalone certificate demonstrating expertise in the field, students who complete all of the required courses and the final proctored exam will be qualified to apply to gain credit at MIT for the blended graduate master's degree program. In order to qualify for the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management you need to earn a Verified Certificate in all of the required courses. When you register for a Verified Certificate you will also be granted access to additional practice problems, supplemental readings, and opportunities for increased interaction with the faculty and teaching staff.

To learn more about the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, please visit http://scm.mit.edu/micromasters

MITx requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. MITx will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the MITx course; revocation of any certificates received for the MITx course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations.

In this business and management course, you’ll learn how make effective supply chain decisions that take into consideration all aspects of your business.

The course will take a helicopter view for decision-making. The helicopter view is built upon:

• Key questions to decide on: manufacturing organization, late differentiation, location, distribution networks, …
• Objectives relevant to your business: cost, speed, flexibility, reliability, …

We will work through questions such as:

• Should you locate a process in a given country? This decision has an obvious impact on your HR costs, but it also affects your working capital and your ability to react to the market needs.
• Should you centralize your distribution? This decision leads to economies of scale and a better product availability, but it also impacts your carbon emission.

By the end of this course, you will have built a framework that allows you to make better decisions.

There are underlying fundamental principles and concepts that apply to all supply chains, which can be expressed in relatively straightforward models. However, to actually implement them across a real supply chain requires the use of technology across multiple systems. Supply chains have a long history of using technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The shear scale and scope of most supply chains require many distinct systems to interact with each other.

Unfortunately, technology is a moving target. It is constantly evolving and improving so that today’s technology is outdated within a few years or months. Rather than focusing on a specific software system, this business and management course will focus on three aspects: fundamental concepts, core systems, and data analysis.

We will start with the introduction of fundamental concepts that are used in all software tools. We will cover IT fundamentals, including project management and software processes, data modeling, UML, relational databases and SQL. We will also introduce Internet technologies, such as XML, web services, and service-oriented architectures. No prior programming experience required.

We will then provide an overview of the main types of supply chain software including ERP, WMS, and TMS systems. We will describe their main functionality, how they work, how they are used, their architecture, data flows, and how they are organized into modules. We will also cover the software selection process and how software upgrade and implementation projects should be organized and managed.

Finally, we will dive into data analysis that is core to all large supply chains. We will introduce visualization and big data analysis techniques that are used in practice today.

MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management

The MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management is specifically designed and administered by MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting and growing field. In addition to being a standalone certificate demonstrating expertise in the field, students who complete all of the required courses and the final proctored exam will be qualified to apply to gain credit at MIT for the blended graduate master's degree program. In order to qualify for the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management you need to earn a Verified Certificate in all of the required courses. When you register for a Verified Certificate you will also be granted access to additional practice problems, supplemental readings, and opportunities for increased interaction with the faculty and teaching staff.

To learn more about the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management, please visit http://scm.mit.edu/micromasters

MITx requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. MITx will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the MITx course; revocation of any certificates received for the MITx course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations.

There is a vast variety of contemporary surface analysis methods that you can use for your research. If you are not sure which one is right for you, or if you want to obtain the right information about different surface analysis techniques, then this course is for you!

This course describes the most widely used analysis methods in contemporary surface science. It presents the strengths and weaknesses of each method so that you can choose the one that provides you with the information you need. It also reviews what each method cannot give to you, as well as how to interpret the results obtained from each method.

This course is filled with examples to help you become familiar with the graphs and figures obtained from common surface analysis methods.

Each method is described in a similar way: basic principle, apparatus scheme, example results, special features, and actual device examples.

Daily headlines warn of new chemical dangers, species on the edge of extinction, global warming-- framing our planet as “at risk.”

Some people stop listening, others get alarmed, while some others want to learn more in hopes of making a difference in the world. 

Do you want to live a more sustainable life? In this environmental studies course, you will learn how to make more informed choices about your ecological footprint and gain a better understanding of how your choices impact on our world.

This course is organized into five key themes: chemicals, globalization, climate change, food and energy. These five themes represent challenges that people face day-to-day managing choices relating to sustainability.

In the final task of this course, you will demonstrate how you have acquired the skills and knowledge to organize your everyday life sustainably. 

Sustainability is indispensable for the future of humankind. Sustainability science has emerged as an effort to tackle the complex problems the world is facing today. Lecturers from different disciplines provide a holistic overview of key issues in sustainability including industrial pollution, an aging society, human-nature connection, urban planning, resilience, environmental governance, and education for sustainable development. 

In this course, you will learn about historical and current sustainability issues that have emerged around the world, as well as some of the approaches that have been used to solve them. You will be exposed to industrial and water pollution control issues, in addition to challenges caused by an aging and shrinking population.

You will also learn about the human-nature connection and initiatives that aim to create sustainable societies in harmony with nature, based on the concept of Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS). You will explore how ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) approaches can be used to reestablish the human-nature connection through re-naturalization of damaged environments.

This course will also consider an urban planning point of view by exploring the value of an urban-rural land use mixture to create new sustainable societies and resilient megacities.

Finally, you will learn about environmental governance, a crucial element for progress towards a sustainable future. You will be introduced to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a learning method for sustainable development and discuss international debates on ESD.

Japanese perspectives are emphasized throughout the course in the hopes of providing concrete value to solving contemporary sustainability issues.

What is sustainability, and how are we active participants in it? How does our individual ‘ecological footprint’ matter among the billions of humans’ footprints on earth? How are we alike and different in our impacts, depending on where we live; and how does civic and governmental attitude impact sustainability and resilience in the future? These questions will be explored on a global, local and personal level in this introductory course. Students will compare and contrast case studies from suburban Seattle to rural, mountainous China and consider their own significant impacts on ecology.

Together, we will go over the concepts of sustainability and resilience, and analyze your impact on our environment. For a global perspective, we will go over a case study of societal impacts. Our emphasis will be on translating theory to individual impact and comprehension.

No previous knowledge is needed. We welcome your voice and look forward to your participation!

ANTH 378x is the first five weeks of the full course offered by the University of Washington online Integrated Social Science bachelor’s completion degree. 

A transition to sustainable energy is needed for our climate and welfare. In this engineering course, you will learn how to assess the potential for energy reduction and the potential of renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass. You’ll learn how to integrate these sources in an energy system, like an electricity network and take an engineering approach to look for solutions and design a 100% sustainable energy system.

This course is an introduction to the Master Programme Sustainable Energy Technology at TU Delft and is aimed at Bachelor students from science and engineering disciplines.

LICENSE

The course materials of this course are Copyright Delft University of Technology and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International License.

Crop production: learn about agriculture and food production for the future

How much food will be available for humankind in the future? Feeding nine billion people in 2050 without exhausting the planetary reserves is perhaps the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.

In this course of the XSeries in environmental studies, you will examine the principles of crop production. You will learn about the ‘availability pillar’ of global food security that lies at the heart of food production, applicable to both crops and animal production. This course will discuss why yields in some parts of the world are lagging behind and identify the agro-ecological drivers that shape the broad diversity of production systems. Also, key issues relating to the closing of yield gaps and the difference in visions of sustainability will be explored.

Systems-based approach at Wageningen University

The University of Wageningen offers an excellent combination of conducting research worldwide and educating in the area of ‘healthy food and living environment’. Through its unique systems-based approach to food systems, the institute adds the phase of primary production to the broad context of global food security.

This is why you should sign up

If you want to enrich your views and action perspectives related to global food security and food systems, you can sign up as a:

• international student
• professional with a varied educational background

After successful completion of both practice and graded questions related to this course, you will:

• Understand the basic concept of plant production
• Be able to value central issues related to global food production and consumption
• Understand the influences of water scarcity and water availability on crop production, as well as measures suppressing pests, diseases, and weeds
• Be able to identify processes that cause significant environmental problems and evaluate measures to solve and prevent those problems be able to judge innovations in food crop production on their merits for the rural population in the different geographical regions

A verified edX certificate provides proof for an employer, school, or other institution that you have successfully completed this online course.

Food access: Learn about food supply and food security

Have you ever considered that you’re not the only one who decides what food ends up on your plate? In this environmental studies course, you’ll explore how key actors at household, local, national and international levels negotiate and make choices on access to food. You will understand why the choices you make have been predestined. And you will learn what it takes to provide access to a safe and nutritious food supply every day.

In this course you will learn that food access:

• And food manufacturing has changed during the past century
• Depends on social and economic dynamics at the household level for everyone
• Is shaped at a local level by the interactions between traders, retailers, producers and buyers in the markets
• Is influenced on a national scale by politics and policies by negotiating and aligning goals, instruments, and modes of governance ¥ is impacted by debates and negotiations creating conditions in food trade by international organizations

Wageningen University is specialized

The University of Wageningen offers an excellent combination of conducting research worldwide and educating in the area of ‘healthy food and living environment’. The institute ranks among the top Dutch universities and has scored the third place in the Times Higher Education (THE) World Ranking 2017 for research performance. Learn from professors who have gained decades of experience from both teaching at a specialized university and real life projects about access to food worldwide.

This is why you should sign up

If you want to understand the basics of access to food and food decision-making from a multilevel perspective, you can sign up as a:

• student
• food and nutrition policy maker
• development practitioner and trainer at international, national, household and individual level

A verified edX certificate provides proof for an employer, school, or other institution that you have successfully completed this online course.

Systems thinking and environmental sustainability: solve the Rubik’s cube

Have you ever considered how many aspects of food production affect the natural environment? Every aspect needs to be considered in attaining the future goal to produce enough food for the growing population while at the same time preserving our planet. It’s as difficult as solving a Rubik’s cube; changing one aspect may affect the environment in a major way.

Systems theory, or systems thinking, is a way of understanding and working with the complexity of sustainable food production systems, which requires training in different disciplines and an approach that can address this complexity. This environmental studies course enables participants to apply the principles of a systems approach to food production with a focus on environmental sustainability.

The professors at Wageningen University

The University of Wageningen offers an excellent combination of conducting research worldwide and educating in the area of ‘healthy food and living environment’. For each course, professors from specific fields of expertise are eager to teach and share the University’s mission: “Explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”.

This is why you should sign up

Sign up as a student if you want to acquire knowledge about environmental sustainability and the way systems thinking helps in decision-making in the complexity of food production. After successful completion of both practice and graded assignments related to this course, you will:

• Understand the complexity and diversity of food production systems
• Understand the principles of system analysis and apply it to environmental issues in food production
• Understand evaluation methods for the environmental impact of food production systems in different contexts and levels (e.g. farm, regional and global) Be able to evaluate strong and weak points of different food production systems regarding environmental sustainability
• Be able to contribute to a discussion about environmental sustainability and food production and ask relevant questions

Soil is the earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life. We depend on soil to build our homes and cities, to grow crops for food and raise livestock, to support transportation and enable recreation. Yet we disregard this crucial and precious resource that lies right under our feet.

This introductory environmental studies course will explore the importance of soil to life on earth, the issues, processes and societal challenges underlying soil degradation – and what can be done to ensure sustainable soil management for the future. The threats to our soil span deforestation, erosion, overgrazing, use of agrochemicals, pollution and climate change. Learn what you can do to make a difference in protecting this vital natural resource.