Postgraduate Course: A Systemic Approach to Sustainability (Online) (EFIE11541)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Nothing in this world exists in isolation and everything is connected to something else. Everything is affected by something, and everything potentially affects something else.
The advantage of understanding organisations, people and societies as a system is that one can begin to understand and predict their emergent behaviour under given conditions. Without systems thinking and accompanying tools and techniques it would be near impossible to predict the behaviour of complex systems, particularly human activity systems.
The objective of this course is to introduce the participants to the theories and principles behind systems thinking, modelling and analysis. The course will also introduce the participants to the methods, tools and techniques for modelling, analysing, improving and designing technical and social systems in a variety of sustainability contexts. |
| Course description |
This course introduces the theories and principles behind systems thinking, modelling and analysis. The course will also introduce the participants to the methods, tools and techniques for modelling, analysing, improving and designing technical and social systems in the context of sustainability. The participants will explore a variety of approaches to help them to engage with complexity in systems and start thinking about how to introduce change in such systems.
Complex situations shaped by multiple perspectives and goals of different actors. How can cities reconcile their physical growth with resource conservation, or how can rural areas achieve mobility and opportunity in a sustainable way? Such systems are also characterised by non-linear dynamics and interdependencies that are not always obvious. Introducing a change in one part of a system might create unintended consequences in other parts of the system. How do you anticipate such consequences, and how a complex system might behave in the future?
Students bring their own experiences of and ambitions for sustainable development in their own home environments, with opportunities for the course as a whole to learn from a diversity of approaches and challenges. By sharing a methodological approach, students are able to learn together how systems thinking can bring about beneficial change in a variety of environments.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - Online Hybrid Course Delivery Information:
The Edinburgh Futures Institute will teach this course in a way that enables online and on-campus students to study together. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities. Students should note that their interactions may be recorded and live-streamed (see the Lecture Recording and Virtual Classroom policies for more details). There will, however, be options to control whether or not your video and audio are enabled.
You will need access to a personal computing device for this course. Most activities will take place in a web browser, unless otherwise stated. We recommend using a device with a screen, a physical keyboard, and internet access.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by means of the following components:
1) 2,000 Word Individual Report (50%)
Focuses on the results of the investigated problem - it explores the sustainability issue as a system, explores its complexity and analyses the issue using different approaches covered in the course. It then proposes potential interventions that might create a change in the system.
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 1, 2, 3, 5
2) 1,500 Word Group Report (40%)
Group Report (1,500 words): focuses on analysing signals and identifying trends in a system 10 years into the future, based on the inputs of all the students to an alternate reality game played over 5 weeks.
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 4, 5
3) Group Activity Miro Board Contributions (10%)
Contributions to the alternate reality game (10 contributions) that invites students to imagine how a selected system will change in the future.
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 4 |
| Feedback |
Feedback on any formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The Course Organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment(s) will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Formative Feedback Opportunity:
Formative feedback is ongoing feedback which monitors learning and is intended to improve performance in the same course, in future courses, and also beyond study.
Formative feedback through online peer discussion groups and online drop-in clinics will be provided to assist students in selecting their challenge scenario prior to the intensive.
Students will receive formative feedback based on the draft assessment items. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Show critical understanding and knowledge of hard and soft approaches and how they can be used to deal with complexity and system behaviour in a sustainability context.
- Critically evaluate the most appropriate methodology to model, analyse a complex system across a range of environmental, societal and economic issues.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to model a system and to develop a pathway to solving a complex systemic issue.
- Develop awareness of and ability to imagine and engage with systems of the future.
- Demonstrate an ability engage with and analyse complex and messy data about a complex system or systems that do not exist yet.
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Reading List
Essential Reading:
Bititci, U.S. & Spanellis, A. (2023). Systems thinking for Business and Management. London: Kogan Page.
Bryson, J. M., Ackermann, F., Eden, C., & Finn, C. B. (2004). Visible thinking: Unlocking causal mapping for practical business results. John Wiley & Sons.
Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking, systems practice. John Wiley & Sons, ltd.
Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Recommended Reading:
Eden, C. (2004). Analyzing cognitive maps to help structure issues or problems. European Journal of Operational Research, 159(3), 673-686.
Er Kara, M., Ghadge, A., & Bititci, U. S. (2021). Modelling the impact of climate change risk on supply chain performance. International Journal of Production Research, 59(24), 7317-7335.
Forrester, J. W. (1994). System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR. System Dynamics Review, 10(2-3), 245-256.
Monat, J. P., & Gannon, T. F. (2015). What is Systems Thinking? A Review of Selected Literature Plus Recommendations. American Journal of Systems Science, 4(1), 11-26.
Nguyen, N. C., & Bosch, O. J. H. (2013). A Systems Thinking Approach to identify Leverage Points for Sustainability: A Case Study in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(2), 104-115.
Shaw, D., Smith, C. M., & Scully, J. (2017). Why did Brexit happen? Using causal mapping to analyse secondary, longitudinal data. European Journal of Operational Research, 263(3), 1019-1032.
Wilkinson, A., & Kupers, R. (2013). Living in the futures. Harvard Business Review, 91(5), 118-127. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Complex Problem Solving,Sustainable Development,Systems Thinking,EFI,Level 11,PG,Sustainability |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Agnessa Spanellis
Tel:
Email: aspanell@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Yasmine Lewis
Tel:
Email: yasmine.lewis@ed.ac.uk |
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