In Valuation Methods and Sustainability

Technology, the other core course offered in fall 2007, we led a group project discussing the pros and cons about the use of biofuels. Students learnt engineering ontology as a tool for the knowledge structuring of sustainability through selleck lectures and then they were given a task to apply the tool to the biofuels case as a group project. The use of such a tool and idea (knowledge structuring and engineering ontology) in a group work environment helps students understand the trade-off relationships between energy and food, as well as the significance of life-cycle thinking, and finding different views and ideas about the issue. We also made a field trip to the Hyogo eco-industrial park located in the Kansai region, Japan, see more in the

spring semester of 2008. Before the trip, students learned how the Hyogo eco-industrial park achieves 100% recycling by extracting carbon, gases, oils, and steel wires from waste tires and utilizing all of the materials and energy for their steel production. During the trip, students not only observed the recycling plant but were also able to exchange opinions with the plant officials. Through these activities, students had opportunities to absorb a variety of aspects for sustainability by sharing their viewpoints and tackle a common theme collectively. We click here found that this type of exercise was very effective in bringing students to a better understanding of multi-disciplinary studies. Since the beginning of the RISS in April 2006, we have also organized several special seminars related to sustainability education, aiming at the outreach of sustainability education to faculty members as well as students at Osaka University. In February 2007, we held an international workshop

for sustainability education, inviting prominent researchers and educators in the field, including Dr. R. Mckeown (University of Tennessee), Dr. P. Shi (Beijing Normal University), Dr. T. Mino (University of Tokyo), and Dr. T. Suzuki (Oxford University). In the spring semester of 2008, we invited Dr. Steinfeld (M.I.T.) to hold a series of workshops on sustainability education OSBPL9 and green chemistry. These workshop seminars provided opportunities for the students as well as faculty to learn the current issues in the field of sustainability science and sustainability education. The Advanced Associate Program System The RISS program was built on the Advanced Associate Program System of Osaka University. The Advanced Associate Program is an unique system in higher education that Osaka University launched in April 2008. The establishment of the Advanced Associate Program reflects the current concerns of Osaka University. The recent development of new scientific research fields, such as nanotechnology, indicates the need for a different educational approach.