Teaching
As an applied, practitioner-oriented programme, this course is designed to support personal and professional development.
The course will introduce students to methods through which design teams can address these challenges through the projects they are involved in, such as:
Sustainable and resilient design
Innovation and Technology
Interdisciplinary practice and team-working skills
Design thinking
Research skills
It will be delivered through two intensive residential weeks and three written assignments. The first week will set out the challenges and frame the opportunity via the context. Students will also be introduced to the methods and skills available to bring about change. In the second week, the students will apply those methods to a ‘spotlight’ element of the built environment. The spotlight theme serves both as a deep dive into the particular topic, but also acts as a lens through which the key challenges, contexts, and methods are examined. In the afternoon of the second week, the students undertake a studio design project in small interdisciplinary teams which allows them to apply their learning, as well as to enhance and refine their skills
The programme comprises a blended approach to learning, with two residential workshops in Cambridge and remote learning coordinated through a virtual learning environment. In addition to attending the workshops, it is estimated that participants need to undertake the equivalent of 1 day per week (8 hours) on directed learning, independent study, reading, accessing one-to-one support, and completing work for assessment to complete the programme successfully.
The following are key features that underpin CISL’s distinctive approach to learning:
Flexible: Programmes are designed for professionals working full time; hence the intensive workshops are blended with remote working on assignments and other course-related activities.
Thought leadership: The speakers, lecturers and facilitators are leading experts and practitioners from academia, business, government and civil society.
Practical relevance: Business case studies and hearing from leading industry figures are an integral part of the taught content, and assignments are focused on real contexts; thereby developing skills needed to translate cutting-edge insights into practice.
Topical: The content includes developing a robust ‘business case’ for sustainability, a focus on sustainability leadership aims and responses, and covering both established and emergent experiences.
Interactive: The learning approach is highly interactive, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and designed to encourage reflection and debate.
Diversity of perspectives: Students come from a wide range of functions, disciplines, and geographies; hence provide a wide spectrum of insights and opportunities to benchmark against how other organisations are responding to sustainability.
Peer-learning: Shared learning and networking between peers, and the extensive range of contributors, together provide a rich co-learning environment.
Support and mentorship: A dedicated CISL team and expert supervisors support the learning journey, including providing feedback on assignments that are focused on real-world challenges and opportunities.
Personal application: Students are encouraged to identify personal opportunities for leadership and engage in reflective practice throughout the programme, supported by peers and supervisors.
The primary approaches to teaching and learning are:
taught plenary and small group sessions by academics and practitioners, who are thought leaders or case study contributors;
group work, involving dialogue, debate and presentations throughout the taught modules;
experiential techniques including role plays, simulations, debates and field trips;
individual work, involving structured reading and reflection, research, and written presentation of findings on selected topics;
support and facilitation by a CISL-led team of faculty, tutors and supervisors from within the University; and an E-learning component, including an online module, and structured reading and preparation.
| One to one supervision |
6 hours during the ten month programme. Supervisions take place at the face-to-face residential workshops and virtually when students are away from Cambridge. |
|---|---|
| Seminars & classes |
6 hours during the ten month programme. |
| Lectures |
12 hours across the ten month programme. Lectures are provided by academic and industry experts. |
| Practicals |
20 hours across the ten month programme. |
| Small group teaching |
Six hours during the ten month programme. |
| Literature Reviews |
The Literature Review Essay and Group Research Project involve Literature Reviews. |
| Posters and Presentations |
Group Presentation of Studio Project during workshop 2. |
| Taught/Research Balance |
Predominantly Taught
|
Feedback
Students submit one draft copy of each of their assignments to their assigned supervisor. The supervisor will then provide verbal or written feedback on the draft with the intention of allowing the student to improve their paper before final submission.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
N/A
Essays
The reflective case study (4,000 words) is the opportunity for the student to reflect on and to critically analyse a recent project on which he or she has worked in practice. Students are expected to account for the successes and difficulties encountered, provide commentary on the effectiveness of the team and offer conclusions of relevance to other practitioners.
The literature review essay (3,000 words) develops research skills in searching, analysing and writing a critique of the academic literature. There are no prescribed titles; however the focus must be built environment related. Students are encouraged to venture beyond the boundaries of their home disciplines.
The group research project (5,000 – 7,000 words) is produced collaboratively by members of a group of 5-7 students. It represents the outcomes of an original piece of research undertaken collectively. It is up to the group – guided by a tutor – to choose a topic for the research.
Other
The collaborative studio design work is also graded but this assessment forms a relatively minor element in the overall assessment of the student’s output.