What is now generally defined as “development” has not come without a cost. The industrial model standing at the roots of our current standards of living has been based on a linear system of production, where natural resources are extracted from the Earth; processed in manufacturing plants, used by consumers around the world; and finally get either incinerated or discarded as waste in landfills or in Nature. The current system, which relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy, is coming up against constraints on the availability of resources, and our capacity to manage its huge amounts of waste. Resource constraints, as well as increasing volumes of waste and pollution compounded by the rising demand from the world’s growing and increasingly affluent population, are likely to impose mounting threats to welfare and wellbeing. All the key indicators confirm that the problems of a linear economy are grounded in the global economy.
The ‘circular economy’ is an industrial system that is restorative by intention and design. The idea is that rather than discarding products before the value is fully utilized; products should be designed for ease of reuse, disassembly, recycling, and remanufacturing. The transition towards a circular economy offers an opportunity to reduce our ecological footprint by lowering raw material consumption and minimizing waste generation. This, no doubt, is a major prerequisite to stay within the Planetary Boundaries.
This course includes an introduction to the Circular Economy concept. It provides an array of case examples, a solid framework, and guiding principles for implementing it. Ultimately, the Circular Economy is about the optimization of entire processes and systems rather than single components. The transition towards a circular economy is one of the biggest challenges we face in order to create a more sustainable society. This transition requires an interdisciplinary approach, combining socio-technical, managerial, and environmental considerations.
This course is an introduction to development studies and international cooperation. The course covers the historical origins of development thinking in the post colonial world. It reviews modernization theory and the implications it had for foreign policy during the cold war period. This is contrasted with a critical review of dependency theories and structuralism. The course then uncovers the precepts of the Washington consensus as an introduction to the thinking of Amartya Sen and the world of alternative participatory development, the fields of popular education and participatory learning and action. This review (first week of the course) combines the description of developmental theories and concepts, with a deconstruction of the policies pursued by the man development agencies (World Bank, UN Agencies, BINGOS, CBOs, etc.). The second week of the course introduces students to the sustainable development goals and the concept of multilateralism. The SDGs are presented as a set of indicators that can lead humanity towards collective action for urgent systemic change. The final week of the course explores key current hot topics in development practice Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, Gender Mainstreaming, Disaster Risk Reduction and Multistakeholder Partnerships.
Through a combination of lectures and workshop dynamics students will learn to distinguish between the main concepts, theories and tools of development thinking and practice. The course will allow participants to explore "development" and "International Cooperation" as ideas, professions, institutions and narratives. The course is structured into 14 lessons, each composed of a lecture and two group work activities designed to build skills of students in the use of technical tools commonly used by development practitioners. Classes and lectures are designed to reinforce a sense of urgency and hope for transformative development practice among participants.
In this course we will critically examine research methodology. Our course is designed to take students sequentially through the process of thinking about and designing research. Together, we will explore the basic structure of research and examine the philosophical origins of different research approaches. I will guide students as they learn to link different information-gathering methods to different research approaches. My emphasis will be on qualitative research methodology but we will introduce quantitative data gathering and sampling. To ensure that students gain hands on experience with the process of developing methodologies and implementing different information gathering procedures, I will complement lectures with workshops where students will learn by doing. Furthermore, learning about methods requires analyzing how these methods have worked (or not) in real-world case studies; thus, in class discussions of published research will complement workshops and lectures.
This course has two instructors. Both of them work on applying theories linked to responsible management in practice, but they do so from different angles. Mr. Andre Nijhof is a professor of Sustainable Business and Stewardship at Nyenrode Business University and is involved in many action-oriented projects linked to implementing the SDGs. Ms. Marjolein Baghuis is a consultant at the Terrace. Due to their different backgrounds, they complement each other in the delivery of this course. The content of the different weeks is well aligned so it is designed as an interrelated three-week introduction in Responsible Management. Some lectures will be taught by both of them, while some other lectures will be taught by one of them.
The Agenda 2030 calls for partnership between all actors in society, solidarity and redistribution of resources towards the most needed. Moreover it puts emphasis on the need to review our current economic system and urges to find a balance between economic prosperity and the safeguard of our planet and its resources.
In essence it stresses the need of concerted efforts from all societal stakeholders to find structural solutions and design a new way of ‘doing business’. A radical transformation needs to take place to influence behaviours but also to change the mind set of society in favour of new global economic model which sees social responsibility as a tool to achieve sustainable development.
At the end we all need to take actions and share commitments as well as responsibility in addressing J.Sachs (2008) concern: ‘the world’s current ecological, demographic and economic trajectory is unsustainable, meaning that if we continue ‘business as usual’ we will hit social and ecological crises with calamitous results’.
In line with these considerations, the course aims at leading the students towards a journey of learning and analysis of the most recent theories, approaches and application of social responsibility and sustainability.
It will use the ISO 26,000 guidelines as a theoretical reference and will analyse each of the principles and components of social responsibility with the most recent theories and with practical support of concrete case studies in Costa Rica as well as abroad.
The course is delivered in 3 weeks.
The first week will focus on understanding “Social Responsibility”, its origin and implications within the Global Business Environment and with respect to the current debate on ‘sustainable growth’. In particular, it will introduce the basic concept of stakeholder management to help identifying and managing the key stakeholders in the context of social responsibility. It will share the criteria for allocating responsibilities of all stakeholders along global supply chains.
The Second week the attention is put on the roles and responsibility of all actors in society with specific attention on the business sector. Theoretical and practical approaches to CSR will be shared with the students in class and during field visits.
Finally the third week will challenge the students with enhancing their critical thinking on reviewing and analyzing current and new economic and business models in order to inspire them with new insights on the building of a more peaceful and sustainable world.
The course will be interactive, built on theories and practical experiences, sharing knowledge and lessons learnt from the field, and learning from guest lectures and host organizations.