Welcome to the international world of social and environmental change! You will start your semester by collaborating with 2nd-year International Development Management and Forestry and Nature Conservation students. Together, you will be working on a real-life case with various stakeholders with opposing interests in the use of natural resources affecting both the environment and social relations. You will collaboratively design a transition pathway for a just and sustainable solution. This study unit is supplemented by an International Development Management module of your choice: Just and Sustainable Value Chains or Disaster and Conflict Reduction.

In the second part of the semester, you choose 2 out of 3 study units. What will you go for? Do you want to focus on Environmental Justice, Resilient Communities and Food, or Social Inclusion and diversity? By choosing 2 out of these 3 topics, you can shape your study path to your wishes.

Both of these semesters are supported by a trajectory in personal leadership. You will get trained in non-violent communication and work on your personal goals.

Below you can find some more in-depth information on the different study units

Term 3

VBI230RL | Regenerating Landscapes (6 credits)
You will learn about the interaction between ecosystems and social systems, including governance, ethical challenges and trade-offs in a landscape and how to design transition pathways considering sustainability and social justice. Emphasis will be on interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange.

You will work on regenerating landscapes by looking into both the ecosystem and the social system. You work in interdisciplinary teams composed of students from International Development Management and Forestry and Nature Conservation. You will be working on real-life (inter)national cases where various stakeholders have differing, and at times opposing, interests in the use of natural resources, affecting both the environment and social relations. In your team, you will exchange and use your disciplinary knowledge to analyse the issue at stake and arrive at sustainable and just solutions by designing a transition pathway.

VID230VC | Just and Sustainable Value Chains (6 credits)
This module focuses on complex value chains of any kind (both food/agriculture chains as well as non-agricultural commodities). It specifically focuses on “identifying (un)just & (un)sustainable practices in specific value chains”. This module challenges students to come up with advice and define improved practices to achieve more sustainable and just VC’s, by identifying competing claims, governance + power structures, and root causes, taking the different levels of a value chain into account, related to the specific chain.

VID230DC | Disaster and Conflict Reduction (6 credits)
As representative of an NGO or UN organization the student will learn to design a professional action plan to address the disasters and conflicts of today and tomorrow. The study unit addresses both natural/climate induced disasters such as more intense flooding in Africa and Asia as well as other disasters such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The student will build expertise in the following areas: 1) humanitarian response and recovery and especially on prevention of disasters by increasing resilience 2) community-based disaster risk management, localization and accountability 3) vulnerabilities and capacities related to disasters and conflicts 3) climate adaptation, migration/refugees. 4) Conflict theories and peacebuilding 5) how to address the needs of the most vulnerable through social inclusion.

Term 4

VID240EJ | Environmental Justice (6 credits)
The student gains first-hand experience of addressing environmental injustices through contributing to the development and implementation of a grassroots campaign to challenge unsustainable development and increase environmental and community health. Students will work with a commissioner to deliver (part of) an existing campaign strategy, gaining experience of community engagement and advocacy strategies related to both local and transnational efforts to achieve environmental and social justice.

VID240RC | Resilient Communities and Food (6 credits)
'Resilient Communities and Food' focuses on food insecurity situations in the world, its causes, and potential pathways to address these causes.

During lectures various models and frameworks will be used to unpack real-life food insecurity cases. Individual students research a recent food insecurity case, using these models and frameworks, and interview a resource person/ expert familiar with the case.

Developing a podcast is the last step in the process, using the findings of desk research and interviews. To strengthen students' podcast development skills, some workshops are planned.

VID240SI | Social Inclusion and Diversity (6 credits)
In this study unit students dive deeper into the theory around gender equality, diversity and empowerment and the understanding of the human rights approach. Further, students are equipped to recognize patterns and mechanisms of exclusion and marginalization. Students are also encouraged to explore and recognize their own values and biases. The knowledge and tools acquired are used to conduct a situation analysis and develop a proposal for a selected commissioner.

Terms 3 and 4

VID251LP| Languages and Personal Leadership (6 credits)
Languages (2 credits). In Term 3, minor students will choose between attending the Spanish course offered at level A2.2 and passing the oral exam at level A2 or completing a replacement assignment. To participate in the Spanish course, the minimum proficiency level of A1+ in Spanish is required. Approval from the IDM language coordinator is needed.

In Term 4, students will attend the English course at level C1 (2 credits). During this term, students -as a professional user- are working towards being to express themselves fluently and spontaneously almost effortlessly and having a good command of a broad lexical repertoire allowing gaps to be readily overcome with circumlocutions.  

Personal Leadership (2 credits). Through individual mentor meetings, training and using your PO credits you develop yourself further as a professional. You get immersive training in non-violent communication. You make a personal development plan and visit exhibitions, companies etc. to build your network and figure out your future pathway.

Added Value:
Students can choose between different study units; hence they can carve their own pathway in the international field of Social and Environmental Change. Furthermore, in Regenerating Landscapes students work together with forestry students to analyse an issue to arrive at sustainable and just solutions by designing a transition pathway. This experience in interdisciplinary working will benefit their further career.

JSC:

• You make a systematic analysis of a change process in a specific complicated situation in the professional field and argue what change outcomes are just and unjust for particular target groups and the environment. You apply relevant thematic knowledge and using relevant theories, frameworks and tools analysing root causes and impacts to understand change.
• You apply project management principles in a specific (complicated) context for a commissioner/organisation taking into account the interrelationship between social and ecological systems. You argue which actions/strategies/ToC are feasible to arrive at the desired change, develop indicators/progress markers to monitor progress, and explain why change outcomes are just and sustainable.
• You are able to analyse and discuss unequal power relations. You know how to contribute to change and identify together with the target group an appropriate strategy to challenge injustices and reduce inequality. You are able to analyse power dynamics among stakeholders in a complicated context, and can apply appropriate theories, tools and frameworks.
• You participate and partly facilitate a multi-stakeholder meeting/workshop insuring different perspectives and views are included. You select and apply methods to achieve mutual understanding.
• You analyse how organisations contribute to change. You formulate recommendations for how an organisation/movement/network in a dynamic context could adapt its internal systems and external relations to effectively contribute to a desired change.

R&I:

• You analyse the problem provided by a commissioner, considering different perspectives of stakeholders involved and translate this into a research question.
• You have an inquisitive attitude and practice the code of conduct and applied ethics for research.

CC:

• You communicate your ideas and results by choosing appropriate media/language for the (intercultural) audience.
• You collaboratively work across and within diverse group contexts and structures to achieve a common aim.
• You motivate team members by expressing confidence to accomplish the task and sharing relevant feedback.

DPL:

• You are aware of how you deal with unexpected circumstances.
• You reflect on your own and others' experiences, norms and values, considering ethical principles, drawing lessons for future orientation.

None

Will be announced

Lectures, Coaching, Excursions, Peer to Peer, Workshops, guest lectures

VBI230RL (Term 3 | 6 ECTS)
Lectures: 30 hours
Coaching 20 hours Group work: 80 hours
Self-study: 38 hours

VID230DC (Term 3 | 6 ECTS – choice 1/2)
Lectures: 64 hours
Coaching: 6 hours
Excursion: 8 hours Group work: 24 hours Self-Study: 66 hours

VID230VC (Term 3 |6 ECTS – choice 2/2)
Lectures: 36 hours
Workshops: 13 hours
Coaching: 6 hours
Excursion: 8 hours Peer to Peer: 10 hours Self-Study: 95 hours

VID2240EJ (Term 4 | 6 ECTS – choice 1/3)
Lectures: 60 hours
Coaching: 20 hours
Excursion: 16 hours
Self-Study: 72 hours

VID240RC (Term 4 | 6 ECTS – choice 2/3)
Lectures: 60 hours
Coaching: 20 hours
Self-Study: 88 hours

VID240SI (Term 4 | 6 ECTS – choice 3/3)
Lectures: 39 hours
Coaching: 9 hours Group work: 70 hours Self-Study: 50 hours

VID250LP (Terms 3 and 4 | 6 ECTS)
Spanish and English
Lectures: 21 hours
Self-Study: 35 hours
Assignment
Self-Study: 56 hours
PLD
Mentoring: 2 hours 
Self-Study: 54 hours

Individual assignments;
written exam;
making a podcast;
oral exam.