Open Courses
The following courses are run by the Centre for Interdisciplinary and are open to any students currently studying in the College of Science and Engineering. Courses are offered free of charge and most can count towards your yearly total of academic credits if this is allowed by your host Department (please contact your Department for further details).
To apply for a place on one of these courses please register your interest with Merry Coates (mc323@le.ac.uk).
Management for Science Students
The course is intended for undergraduate students of science with an interest in developing an awareness of management,something that is highly prized by employers. The course is an approved option in the Natural Sciences degree programmeDelivered by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science. The Centre offers a limited number of places on the course free to students in the College of Science and Engineering adn the Department of Biological Sciences. Students will receive a certificate on the successful completion of the course.
Each unit consists of some preparatory study, two three-hour workshops, and a written task. All units must be attended to complete the course. The workload for each of courses A and B is equivalent to a 5 credit module.
Topics covered are:
Management A
- Project management
- Marketing
- Leadership
- Influencing people
- An Introduction to Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneur
- Financial Management
- Problem-Solving and Decision Making
- Managing Change
The course is based around case studies, discussion and interactive workshops and is taken alongside students on the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Science programme. It is taught by Colin Salter (Management Consultant and Lecturer). Workshops for Course A run from 12.00 noon to 2.00pm on alternate Fridays in semester 1 followed by Course B workshops from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
Science Communication
The courses are intended for undergraduate students of science with an interest in presenting science to the general public. The courses are approved options in the Natural Sciences degree programme delivered by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science. The Centre is offering a limited number of places on the course free to students in the College of Science and Engineering. Students will receive a certificate on the successful completion of the course.
Each unit consists of some preparatory study and a three-hour workshop, and each course has a final group deliverable. All four units must be attended to complete each course. The workload for each of courses A and B is equivalent to a 5 credit module.
Science Communication A
- Print Design
- Writing for an audience (Prof. Averil MacDonald, Prof. of Science Communication, University of Reading by video link)
- Writing Science(Professor George Fraser, Director, Space Centre)
- Desktop publishing
Deliverable: an individual learning log and a group Science e-Zine
Science Communication B
- Planning your VidCast
- Copyright, Creative Commons and Video (Dr Alun Salt)
- Recording and Editing Essentials (Peter Symons, McMaster University, by video link)
- Video Critique and Effective Media Presence (Paul Abel, Contributor to BBC Sky at Night)
Deliverable: an individual learning log and a short vidcast
The courses are taken alongside students on the undergraduate Natural Sciences programme.
Workshops for Course A run from 12.00 noon to 2.00pm on alternate Fridays in semester 2 followed by Course B workshops from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
Sustainable Futures
Sustainable Futures comprises four modules each of which is equivalent to 5 credits workload and each of which contains four units. These units are delivered largely by external experts so may vary from year to year depending on availability, but overall explore the responsibilities of the individual within a global community and investigate the contributions that differing disciplines provide in seeking sustainable solutions to global problems. In particular, the modules examine how the integration of diverse disciplines and alternative knowledge offer insights and practical suggestions for collaborative actions towards sustainable development. Students will reflect upon communicative competencies aimed at generating and promoting new knowledge within the complex global context.
The course is an approved part of the Natural Sciences degree programme delivered by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science in the College of Science and Engineering. The Centre offers a limited number of places on the course free to undergraduate students in the University. Students will receive a certificate on the successful completion of the course.
Each unit consists of some preparatory study, a two-hour workshop, a multi-choice test and a written task. All four units in a module must be attended to complete the module. The workload for each module is equivalent to 5 credits.
- The Complex World
- Earth Summit
- Building Sustainable Societies from Human Experience
- Corporate Sustainability
- Carbon Accounting
- Sustainable Material Processing
- Ecological Economics
- Role of Technology in Sustainable Development
- Education for Sustainable Development (Ruth Godfrey, Botanic Gardens)
- Sustainable Use of Natural Resources (Emma Tebbs)
- People and Planet (Emma Fieldhouse, University Estates)
- Politics
- Sustainable Energy
- Globalisation: A case study of roses
- Delivering Sustainable Change
- The Sustainable University
Workshops for Course A run from 12.00 noon to 2.00pm on alternate Fridays in semester 1 followed by Course B workshops from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Workshops for course C and D run at corresponding times in semester 2.
These modules were shortlisted for a Green Gown award
Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa
A field course in Kenya’s Rift Valley working with the local community to help them find solutions to every-day problems and achieve sustainable development.
This course is non-credit bearing (equivalent to 10-credits), but is an approved part of the Interdisciplinary Science degree programme in the Faculty of Science and is also being considered as appropriate for the “Leicester Award” recognising extra-curricular training that assists your future employability prospects.
It is led and taught by Drs David Harper, Dept Biology & Sean Avery, Hon Fellow, Dept Geography. The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science is offering a limited number of places on this course to undergraduate students of any degree course in the University. Students will receive a certificate on the successful completion of the course.
The unit consists of preparatory reading, three discussion meetings in January. In Kenya you must keep a diary analysing activities, prepare a presentation for the community you have worked, delivered on the final day, outlining how your work benefits them with and complete a 1-page review after your return, reflecting on the way the course has improved your employment prospects.
Costs: £750 per person, inclusive of food/accomodation/travel in Kenya (excludes air fare, social relaxation, day-off costs).
Logistical Details: The course is run in a full safari camp, under canvas at the entrance to Lake Bogoria National Reserve, near Marigat, Kenya. The communities with whom we work are Tugen, who were former pastoralists, now settled. The course was run for the first time in 2008, when six sustainability projects were investigated - rainwater harvesting, honey production & marketing, fish farming, livestock & overgrazing, soil erosion, and arid land rehabilitation. You choose from about a dozen issues including these a day-off in the middle (additional cost) to Nakuru National Park, with rhino, giraffe, lion, leopard, buffalo, waterbuck.
