The CLIMASP minor is aimed to provide interested undergraduate students the possibility to acquire knowledge of climate change issues and their effects on policymaking and explore strategic planning to mitigate the consequences of climate change.
In particular, the curriculum of the CLIMASP minor is designed to provide undergraduate students from different majors the flexibility to select courses to enhance their interests in climate change and to enrich their major field of study with professional skills in climate change adaptation policies and planning.
The broad learning outcomes and student attributes are:
To advance all the above stated aims and objectives, students will:
- Play an integrating and leadership role in climate change adaptation in their professional position.
- Demonstrate their understanding of the basic concepts, principles and debates related to climate change adaptation.
- Acquire familiarity with a range of adaptation planning tools and be able to select the appropriate mix of tools in response to particular adaptation scenarios.
- Aware of the ethical framework and shared set of values that govern their everyday actions.
- Develop core adaptation planning competencies/skills; and have an appreciation of climate change requirements associated with a number of sectoral/regional vulnerability themes, including biodiversity, water resources, oceans and coasts, cities, and agriculture.
- Assess what local/national governments do in practice concerning CLIMASP and how this varies over time and between jurisdictions, what they ought to do and ought not to do, and what principles should guide decision making.
- Explore and connect climate change issues with other issues such as poverty, social exclusion, gender equity, food and water security, migration, and human rights.
- Adopt an intergenerational focus when dealing with climate change and sustainability policy issues.
- Build people’s voice in decision-making which affects their lives, social awareness and a sense of social solidarity, capacity to consider risks and consequences of climate change, and role as active citizens.
- Demonstrate high-level capacity for critical enquiry in order to comprehend the complexity of climate change adaptation challenges; and demonstrate familiarity with systems-based approaches to climate change adaptation.
- Integrate diverse bodies of scientific knowledge in climate change and sustainability policy, translate and communicate these to a diverse range of stakeholders.
- Recognize, explain and connect the basic principles, concepts, theories, pertaining to the global climate change debate using appropriate scientific language.
- Develop appropriate problem solving and service learning strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation.