Foundations of Strategic

Sustainable Development
SL2539 7,5credits

Course information
Welcome to SL2539 Foundations for Strategic Sustainable Development!

Thank you for your participation in this course, and especially for your demonstrated
interest in playing a role in moving towards a sustainable society.

We believe that society as a whole is in need of a clear view of the sustainability

challenge, and a clear direction in which to head with the help of informed and
empowered leaders. In this course, participants will engage with a big-picture
understanding of sustainability and a framework for planning in complex systems
applied in a sustainable development context.

The course will be delivered in distance format through a combination of learning

tools, including live online sessions (‘webinars’), pre-recorded lectures, readings, one
live student oral presentation, weekly tests and reflections, written discussion threads,
a group assignment, and one written final essay.

The course is learner-centered and there will be opportunities to explore concepts of

interest to you with like-minded colleagues. There are some minimum requirements
to receive a ‘pass’ on the course, however, beyond these requirements your
experience will depend on what you are willing and able to put into it. All of the
details on the course assignments are given in the course overview document
available in our Canvas course.

There are over 200 participants in the course this term from a variety of different
countries and backgrounds, thus presenting an excellent opportunity for international
and peer-to-peer learning! Online learning also presents many other opportunities and
advantages that traditional on-campus environments do not, including the ability to
view material from home and work at times that suit you. One challenge, however, is
that we are not able to physically meet to discuss and share ideas, so we must do our
best to engage with one another in the online environment.

You can expect to put in approximately 20 hours of work a week. 5-10% of those
hours will be online in our webinar. There is one webinar every week (with some
bonus webinars on some weeks). Feedback is given throughout the course through
multiple methods for example direct feedback from weekly quizzes, personalized
immediate feedback from staff and peers in your individual presentation, ongoing
dialogues in the discussion forums, live Q&A in weekly webinars and written
feedback to each assignment. It will also be important to engage your peers to discuss
required readings and to give and receive feedback on ideas and works-in-progress.

The first webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25th. This is a pre-course webinar
so that everyone is all set up on our technology platforms and ready to start the
course the week after. The theme will be ‘Technology Check and Introductions’. This
webinar is intended to help everyone get comfortable with ZOOM as well as begin to
introduce ourselves to one another. ZOOM is integrated into our e-learning platform
CANVAS so we are still setting the final pieces up. We will be in touch the week
before this webinar with all the technical set up and logins required.

Information on how to get to BTH and maps can be found here:

https://www.bth.se/eng/about-bth/maps-and-premises-2/

Stay updated on how the COVID-19 epidemic might affect your studies at BTH:
https://www.bth.se/eng/emergency/corona/

Literature
You are required to purchase the Sustainability Handbook which is the textbook we
will be using throughout the course. Please order it as soon as possible. You can find
it online on Amazon (paperback only), on Bokus.com or Studentlitteratur.se
(paperback and e-book format). If you decide to buy it via Bokus.com here is a
manual for how to purchase it as the website is only available in Swedish.
 All the other required readings will be available on Canvas.

Student account
To register, you need a student account at BTH and internet access.

Your student account is available when you receive an email with information how to
get the account in the Student Portal. We recommend that you wait since registration
and information about the course is available a few weeks before the course starts.

If you have not received information about your student account by August 18th
2020, please contact ithelpdesk@bth.se.

In the Student Portal you can see what services at BTH you can access with your
student account.

Registration
To be admitted to a course means that you have been offered a study place on the
course. In order to keep your study place, you must register. You must be registered
to participate in the lessons and examination.

Register at www.bth.se/studentportalen, choose “in English”, “My studies” then

“Registration” and log in with your student account. The registration opens 3 weeks
before the course starts on 11th August 2020. If you, for some reason, cannot carry
out the registration yourself, contact, studentreception@bth.se.

The registration is also the basis for CSN’s decision regarding your eligibility to
receive financial aid. You can apply for up to one academic year at a time.

Learning Management System

Canvas is an online learning management system that is used by all programs and
courses on campus and online at BTH. In Canvas you will find all information about
regarding courses including recorded lectures, lecture notes, assignments, discussion
forums, and quizzes.

As a student at BTH, you have access to the e-meeting service Zoom. Under the
prevailing COVID-19 outbreak, when all teaching is digital, we consider Zoom to be an
important tool for you to give you the possibility to meet and engage in collaborations
at a time when you cannot meet physically. You can find more detail information about
Canvas and installation instructions for Zoom here:
https://bth.instructure.com/courses/2651.

You can log in to Canvas via https://www.bth.se/canvas or from the Student Portal or
when you have received your student account.

Getting started
There are a few things that we will need you to do as soon as possible.

The following points outline some key information and considerations related to the
course, and are followed by a brief ‘Next Steps’ checklist:

1. Pre-Course Survey
To help us prepare for the course, better understand your requirements, and
have a sense of the diversity of the group, please complete the pre-course
survey (10 minutes completion time) by Sunday, August 23rd . Paste this link
into your browser to access the online survey: http://bit.ly/2Rg4hl2.

2. Course Overview and key dates

We will post the Course Overview in Canvas. In it, you will also find key dates
for the course including webinars, group work time, the individual oral
presentation, assignment due dates and exams.
Please note: We recognize that many of you may have a challenge to join our
Webinar each week. We have chosen to have our one-hour weekly webinars
over lunch from 12:00 to13:15 on Tuesdays. Please go ahead and mark those
times in your diary already. Please note that the times for all webinars are
listed in Stockholm time. Remember to check your time difference in relation
to Stockholm time zone. Check here with your own time zone:
www.worldtimeserver.com/meeting-planner.aspx.

3. Pre-course familiarization online webinars

A pre-course ‘Tech Check’ webinar will be held via ZOOM at the following
time: ‘Tech Check’ Webinars (Webinar 0): Tuesday, August 25 th at 12:00 to
13:15. All of the access details for this webinar will be sent out to you in due
course.
The purpose of the session is to familiarize participants with CANVAS and
ZOOM to ensure smooth running of the subsequent course sessions. This is
 very important, as sometimes there are incompatibilities with particular web
cameras and headsets. We expect students to have working webcams and
headsets.

4. Technical requirements
To participate in the course there are minimum technical requirements and
certain settings must be enabled (e.g. allow ‘pop-ups’). These can be found in
Appendix I of the Course Overview. As a minimum you will need a broadband
internet connection, current hardware and a compatible operating system (e.g.
Windows XP), a headset (or speakers and microphone), and a web camera
(webcam).

5. Login details and technical enquiries

Student ID and password details that allow you to access the online learning
platforms must be generated (see info above). For technical support please to
contact the studentreception@bth.se or the ithelpdesk@bth.se. You may need
support from your IT department if you are attempting to join the webinar from
work, as there may be firewalls.

6. Introductions
Please create ONE (1) slide in PDF format to introduce yourself to the class.
Include a photo, and 4 bullet points:
(i) Your name, location, and time zone (ex: Dana
Bergman, Sweden, UTC +2)
(ii) Your current job title and organization (if applicable), or your area of
expertise / interest
(iii) A sustainability challenge in your city / town (no more than 5-10 words)
(iv) A sustainability-related accomplishment you are proud to have been
involved with

These slides are useful for discovering others in the course that might have
similar experiences or interests, so please consider what you’d like others to
know about you, and keep it succinct! Please be ready to introduce yourself at
the Tech Check Webinar on Tuesday, August 25th in 30 seconds or less! E-mail
the slide (in pdf format) to Dana Bergman at SSDfoundations@bth.se by
Sunday, August 23rd.
Next steps checklist
To summarize, please address the following next steps:

o Complete the Pre-Course Survey by Sunday, August 23rd.

o E-mail one PowerPoint slide in PDF format to Dana Bergman by Sunday,
August 23rd.
o Order a textbook: by August 31st either via Amazon, Bokus or Studentlitteratur
o Enter key dates below into your calendar
o Ensure you have the required hardware
o Upload a photo to your profile on Canvas (as soon as possible)
o Post your personal biography and introduce yourself to other course
participants in more detail on the Introductions Discussion Thread on Canvas
o Change your settings on Canvas to alert you to any new announcements and
assignments posted by the instructional team

We wish you a very warm welcome to our course and BTH, and look forward to a
‘learningful’ experience over the next few months.

Welcome to BTH!

Dana Bergman
Course Manager
SSDfoundations@bth.se
The following calendar summarizes the DRAFT key assignment dates and provides a general structure for
the course. More information will be given on CANVAS All times are expressed in Stockholm time zone.

Week 35 Week 36 Week 37 Week 38 Week 39

August 24- 30 Aug 31 – Sep 6 Sep 7 - 13 Sep 14 - 20 Sep 21 - 27
PREPARATION COURSE START -LP1 Webinar 2 – Core Webinar 3 – Ecological Webinar 4 – Social Sust
Webinar 1 – Concepts of SSD Sust – systems systems understanding
Webinar 0 – tech check Sustainability understanding
Challenge
Sign up for your
individual ABCD group work
Presentation time slot started
First online quiz due
Friday at 22:00
Weekly reflection &
Weekly reflection due Weekly reflection due online quiz due Weekly reflection &
Sunday at 22:00 Sunday at 22:00 Sunday at 22:00 online quiz due
Sunday at 22:00

Week 40 Week 41 Week 42 Week 43 Week 44

Sep 28 – Oct 4 Oct 5 - 11 Oct 12 - 18 Oct 19 - 25 Oct 26 – Nov 1
Individual Individual Individual presentation ABCD Group work due
presentation options presentation options options Sunday at 22:00
Webinar 9 – Other sust
Webinar 5a – Webinar 6a – Being Webinar 7 – Economics Webinar 8– FSSD as
tools and methods
Ecological SPs Strategic (Tuesday) and sustainability tool selection
(Tuesday)
Webinar 6b – with
Webinar 5b – Social Karl-Henrik Robèrt Final Exam Begins:
SPs (Thursday) (Thursday) Thursday, October 29,
08:00
Final Exam Due:
Sunday, November 1,
Weekly reflection & Weekly reflection & Weekly reflection & Weekly reflection &
22:00
online quiz due online quiz due online quiz due Sunday online quiz due
Sunday at 22:00 Sunday at 22:00 at 22:00 Sunday at 22:00 Course end

Week 45 Note: *Stockholm times change on October 25th from Central European Summer
Time (CEST) to Central European Time (CET). To translate the Stockholm time
Nov 2 – 8 into your time zone, go to www.worldtimeserver.com/meeting-planner.aspx

Possible bonus All webinars are set at 12:00 to 13:15 on Tuesdays unless
webinar close and there two that week then the second will be on Thursday
congrats 12:00 to 13:15.