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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 (please contact your host department for further details).
To apply for a place on one of these courses please register your interest with Naomi Banks (nrb8@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 non-credit bearing but is an approved part of the Interdisciplinary Science degree programme in the Faculty of Science. The Centre is offering a limited number of places on the course free to students in the Faculties of Science and 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 is equivalent to a 10 credit module.
Topics covered in the 2008/2009 academic year:
- Project management
- Marketing
- Leadership
- Influencing people
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).
Mathematical Modelling
The course is intended for undergraduate students of science with an interest in extending their knowledge of the applicationsof mathematical modelling to a range of scientific problems. The course is suitable for students with mathematics at A-level or equivalent. The course is non-credit bearing but is an approved part of the Interdisciplinary Science degree programme in the Faculty of Science. The Centre is offering a limited number of places on the course free to students in the Faculties of Science and 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 is equivalent to a 10 credit module.
Topics covered in the 2009/2010 academic year:
- Follow a star (Learning outcomes: trigonometry; coordinate
systems and transformations; use of Maple to plot graphs.) - Einstein’s relation (Learning outcomes: random numbers,
mean free paths, fluctuations, random walks.) - Other fish in the sea? (Learning outcomes: phase portraits,
dynamics, systems of differential equations.) - Secret Agents (Learning outcomes: agent based modelling;
the prisoner’s dilemma and other games; flocking behaviour
and similar interactions.)
The course is based around case studies, discussion and interactive workshops and is taken alongside students on the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Science programme.
Science Communication
The course is intended for undergraduate students of science with an interest in presenting science to the general public. The course is non-credit bearing but is an approved part of the Interdisciplinary Science degree programme in the Faculty of Science. The Centre is offering a limited number of places on the course are 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, two three-hour workshops, and a written task. All units must be attended to complete the course. The workload is equivalent to a 10 credit module.
Topics covered in the 2009/2010 academic year:
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Writing for the print media
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Visual communication technology
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Audio communication technology
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Public presentations
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 in collaboration with Prof. Averil MacDonald (Prof. of Science Communication, University of Reading).
Sustainable Futures
The five units of this module explore the responsibilities of the individual within a global community and investigate the contributionsthat differing disciplines provide in seeking sustainable solutions to global problems. In particular, it examines 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 non-credit bearing but is an approved part of the Interdisciplinary Science (I-Science) degree programme in the Faculty of Science. It is taught by lecturers from across the University. The Centre is offering a limited number of places on the course are 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, two three-hour workshops, and a written task. All units must be attended to complete the course. The workload is equivalent to a 10 credit module.
Topics covered in the 2009/2010 academic year:
- The Complex World
- People and Planet - Social Relations and Consequences
- Lives and Livelihoods - How ecology underpins sustainable resource use; a tropical case study
- Skills and Society
- Earth and Environment
The course is based around case studies, discussion and interactive workshops and is taken alongside students on the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Science programme.
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.
