The module seeks firstly, to develop advanced understanding of the sustainability challenges that climate change presents to organisations, businesses, and communities, secondly provides the opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills to suggest an appropriate response to a specified challenge to enhance climate resilience, and thirdly to develop employability, or soft, skills appropriate for Level 6 students. Students will work collaboratively in small groups over a constrained time period to identify a solution to a climate-change related sustainability challenge set by a business, organisation or community group that will enhance their climate resilience (e.g., the Local Council, the University, the local hospital, a local business). On the final day of the challenge, students will present their ideas to a panel including representatives from the organisation that set the challenge and tutors from across the Climate Change and Society course. The ideas generated and presented by students may have an impact on policy development in the organisation that set the challenge thus increasing students understanding of the applicability, beyond the classroom, of the knowledge and skills that they are acquiring as an undergraduate student. As well as further developing an understanding of the ways in which organisations and businesses can increase their resilience to climate change, participating in this challenge will enable students to further develop their research, problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking skills alongside interpersonal and transferable skills such as people management, collaborating with others, active listening, negotiation and working to short deadlines.

1. Work in small groups to suggest an appropriate response to a sustainability or climate related issue that is affecting a local business, organisation, or community group. Your group will then present your suggested response to the issue in the form of a 20-minute presentation to a panel that includes both representatives from the organisation and your course tutors (Learning Outcomes 1 – 3).

2. Produce a 1500-word report that reflects on the knowledge and skills that you have developed through completing the first module assessment and how they relate to your personal and professional development (Learning Outcome 4).

Formative Assessment: Structured class activities will allow students to discuss issues and ideas introduced during the module and provide them with the opportunity to self-evaluate their understanding of the module materials and assessments as the module progresses. There will also be opportunities to discuss ideas for the presentation and report assignments with the module tutors.

Materials and resources that introduce the main themes and key concepts covered in the module, as well as supporting the development of the key skills required to complete the assessment will be made available via the VLE. These may be in the form of pre-recorded lectures, a set of directed readings, links to videos, web-resources or appropriate micro-certification packages, or a mixture.

During the earlier part of this module the emphasis will be on exploring the variety of different approaches that organisations, businesses, and community groups can use to enhance their sustainability and climate resilience. In parallel with this, students will also be encouraged to review their employability and transferable skills development, guidance will be provided on reflective thinking and writing, and students will be introduced to the organisation setting the challenge. This will be followed by an intense period of work during which the challenge will be presented, and students will then work collaboratively as part of a small group to identify a potential solution to the challenge and present their proposal to the panel. Use will be made of collaborative tools such as MS Teams or Blackboard Collaborate to facilitate the collaborative elements of this module and maximise opportunities for students to meet to discuss ideas for their response to the climate change or sustainability challenge they have been presented with.

For the remainder of the module, students will reflect on the experience of participating in the challenge activity and identify what knowledge and skills they have developed, both subject specific and transferable, from the experience.

Module Learning Outcome
1. Critically appraise approaches or strategies that businesses, organisations or community groups could use to respond to the sustainability issues presented by climate change and enhance their resilience to climate change.

University Learning Outcome
Knowledge and Understanding

Module Learning Outcome
2. Apply knowledge and skills acquired across all three levels of the course to address a specified sustainability challenge or issue associated with climate change, devise an appropriate solution to it and be able to justify your decisions.

University Learning Outcome
Application Enquiry Problem Solving

Module Learning Outcome
3. Communicate and analyse information effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences through the development and delivery of a presentation of a proposal to manage the specified challenge.

University Learning Outcome
Learning Communication

Module Learning Outcome
4. Critically review how personal and professional development has been enhanced through participation in the challenge activity.

University Learning Outcome
Reflection

VLE with virtual classroom facilities for accessing on-line learning and resources.
High quality teaching space for face-to-face class sessions, where appropriate, with usual audio-visual facilities.
Library resources, both online and physical, to support module learning activities and research for assignments.

Bassot, B. (2020) The Reflective Journal Diary (3rd edition). Red Globe.

Berners-Lee, M. (2021) There is no Planet B (Revised edition). Cambridge University Press.

Bolton, G. & Delderfield, R. (2018) Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. Sage Publications.

Hartley, P. & Dawson, M. (2010) Success in Group Work. Pocket Study Skills, Palgrave Macmillan.

Williams, K. (2020) Reflective Writing (2nd edition). Red Globe Press.

None

To further develop an understanding of the ways in which businesses and organisations can increase their resilience to climate change students will work in small groups to apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired across all three levels of their course to identify and present a potential solution to an actual climate change related sustainability challenge set by a business, organisation, or community group. This module also enhances academic and critical thinking skills as well as range of employability skills.