Climate and Sustainability for the Future - Online Workshop Series
Starts:
Finishes:
Venue:
Online
Course timetable and cost
The course will span four weeks, taking place twice a week from 18:00 - 20:00 each Monday and Thursday, online. The full course cost is £320.00. The course is starting on 26th of June, with one hour introduction with Aideen Foley and finishing on 28th of July, with a closing circle discussion.
Participants can sign up for the full course or curate a tailored programme to address their professional needs. Participants joining for the full course are also invited to an opening session where they will meet their peers and discuss goals for the coming weeks, and a closing session for reflection and charting next steps.
We offer a 20% discount to those who are members of Birkbeck's alumni, student and staff community, as well as members of the OSUN network (staff and students). Please contact us if you are eligible to activate these discounts so that we can process your booking. If your organisation is sponsoring your course and require payment by invoice, please also contact us.
Course description
There is an increasing recognition of the importance of the environment in everything we do. A healthy environment is essential for human health, secure livelihoods, safe communities, and much more. ‘Green jobs’, commonly understood as roles that either produce or provide environmentally friendly products and services, or adapt work processes to become more sustainable and use fewer natural resources, are growing; the PwC green jobs barometer tracked a 9.2% increase in green job adverts in 2024. Crucially, these ‘green jobs’ are not confined to a specific niche; rather, sustainability and climate change impact all careers.
Birkbeck’s ‘Climate and Sustainability for the Future’ online workshops offer an engaging and accessible introduction to climate change and sustainability, for any professionals with an interest in these issues who would like to expand their knowledge and become more fluent in key debates. Over the course of the sessions, we move from an exploration of the science of climate change to a focus on human behaviour and feelings, and potential solutions, paradigm-shifting frameworks, and tools for engagement.
Why should I take this course?
With workshops led by academics from across Birkbeck’s three faculties, the summer school highlights the interdisciplinarity of the climate change challenge, and the role we all have to play in addressing it. All attendees will receive a certificate of participation.
How will I learn?
For each workshop, materials like short articles and videos will be hosted on Padlet for participants to read and explore ahead of the session. Participants will meet across a series of two hour interactive online sessions with a Birkbeck expert, hosted on Microsoft Teams.
Schedule
- Opening circle (only for participants in ALL workshops) - Thursday June 26, 6-7pm, with Dr Aideen Foley, School of Social Sciences
- Meet other students, and find out about how the summer school programme is structured and how you will learn.
- Meet other students, and find out about how the summer school programme is structured and how you will learn.
Week 1: Grounding - understanding the science of climate change and nature-inspired solutions
- Why is our climate changing? Introduction to climate science - Monday June 30, 6-8pm with Dr Phil Hopley, School of Natural Sciences
- Learn about the environmental processes giving rise to climate change in the (geological) past and present, and how our climate has changed and continues to change as a result of human actions.
- Participants will consider the key features of the Earth's climate system, explore examples of past climate and biodiversity change, and discuss the importance of the scientific understanding of future climate change. They will also explore the pros and cons of geoengineering.
- Nature-based solutions for climate change - Thursday July 3, 6-8pm with Dr Alanna Bodo, School of Social Sciences
- Learn how protecting, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems can help address climate change while providing benefits for people and planet.
- Participants will discuss the concept of nature-based solutions (NbS) and their potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation, reviewing their co-benefits and trade-offs. Real-world case studies will be leveraged to understand examples of NbS and their impact, and consider addressing barriers through policy and community engagement.
Week 2: Activating - getting deeper into how we think and feel about climate change
- The neuroscience of climate change - Monday July 7, 6-8pm with Prof Micheal Thomas, School of Psychological Sciences
- Explore how the brain processes messages about climate change, and how understanding how we process feelings about environmental issues can help us design policies that activate pro-environmental behaviours.
- Participants will gain and understanding of the factors that drive human behaviour around sustainability, and investigate the effectiveness of behavioural change methods for encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. With these insights, they will explore the shaping of policy recommendations for sustainability to reflect neuroscience principles.
- Writing climate futures: Reflective tools for environmental understanding - Thursday July 10, 6-8pm with Dr Steve Willey, School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
- Develop the emotional and imaginative clarity needed to approach climate action as an ongoing process of learning, care, and ethical judgment.
- Participants can experiment with using creative writing, including ecological flash ficton, as a tool for self-reflection on the environment and climate themes. Guided writing exercises will focus on self-exploration of concepts such as responsibility, hope, fear, scale, and time.
Week 3: Innovating - highlighting the creative solutions both business and legal institutions must implement to drive sustainability
- No more ‘business as usual’? Triple Bottom Line co-creation by responsible business - Monday July 14, 6-8pm with Prof. Muthu De Silva, Birkbeck Business School
- Critically explore the possibilities of sustainable business models, to understand what drives businesses to become more responsible.
- This session will delve into the various ways that businesses can act responsibly, and critically evaluate the extent to which co-creation offers innovative mechanisms for businesses to act responsibly. They will look into Triple Bottom Line co-creation by responsible businesses, and leave with actionable insights to make businesses more responsible.
- Sustainable development in international environmental law and policymaking - Thursday July 17, 6-8pm, with Dr Olivia Hamlyn, Birkbeck Law School
- Develop an understanding of sustainability development and its policy applications, discovering synergies and trade-offs for environmental protection and climate action.
- Understand the evolution of the concept of sustainable development and its influence on international environmental law and policymaking and critically evaluate the concept of sustainable development and different perspectives on it. Participants will analyse the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Week 4: Connecting - exploring the interconnectedness of people and planet and fostering our sense of place
- Planetary health and social justice Monday July 21, 6-8pm with Prof Jasmine Gideon, School of Social Science
- Explore links between anthropogenic environmental changes and human health, and how policies that are good for the planet can deliver co-benefits for people, and vice versa.
- Understand the evolution of the concept of planetary health and consider how it might contribute to promoting social justice and reflect on the application of planetary health approaches within global health discourses and practice.
- You are here: Creative perspectives on mapping climate change - Thursday July 24, 6-8pm, with Dr Aideen Foley, School of Social Sciences
- Explore how maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to not only visualise climate change, but as part of creative and participatory methodologies to engage communities.
- Evaluate what makes an effective map for communicating climate data, through the analysis of case studies, and in doing so build awareness of mapping tools and technologies for research and community outreach.
- Closing circle (only for participants in ALL workshops) - Monday July 28, 6-7pm with Dr Aideen Foley
- Reflect on learning and chart next steps on your climate action journey.
Contact name:
Innovation Support Unit