NCHU Course Outline

Course Name	(中) 永續發展與實踐專題(6078)
	(Eng.) Seminar on Sustainability and Practice
Offering Dept	International Master Program in Asia and China Studies
Course Type	Elective	Credits	3	Teacher	Theodorus Arnoldus Maria Richard
Department	International Master Program in Asia and China Studies/Graduate	Language	English	Semester	2026-SPRING
Course Description	This course provides students a flipped classroom and PBL (Project Based Learning) - approach of the study of sustainability and its practice in daily life, especially on campus. This course contains four major aspects: (1) responding to social change trends and issues to integrate into learning and future work; develop communication, teamwork, problem solving, and a willingness to continue professional growth through practice and reflection on sustainability; (2) exploring the connotation and case studies of the 17 United Nations SDGs; (3) actually participating in the university’s green campus development; and (4) self-examination and team review of change capabilities and achievements. The class will be discussion oriented on the basis of prior material reading, which the students are expected to complete before class time. Students are asked to take an active initiative to reflect upon and take action for change in the modern global environment. Students will be asked to actively participate in the activities and share their findings in the class. The course is divided in two parts: BEFORE and AFTER Midterm. Before midterm, the issues will be discussed based on guidance by the teacher. After Mid-term, the subjects and materials will be discussed in class through Project Based Learning (PBL), active problem solving group work and group presentations. The key to a good presentation is to realize that simply summarizing and presenting in-formation, is not enough. Gathering information and organizing it in a PPT is just the be-ginning of the exploration of truly knowing and understanding. What is important is to ask yourself: what is the essence of this information; what does this information possibly mean to me and the class; and how can this information be used to reach conclusions that will support the debate and the deep understanding of the subject? Each presentation if assigned, will last around 40 minutes. The presenters will prepare 4 to 5 questions on the material which will be discussed in class. For this purpose, the students will be asked to form groups of 2 to 3 students (depending on the total class number). The subjects and documents mentioned in the syllabus are only indicative and can be changed pursuant to the teacher’s ideas on the progress of the class. This syllabus provides basic reading only. The students are encouraged to explore further reading and present it to the class. Please allow the teacher to check in advance whether additional reading that you wish to present, is appropriate. All materials are expected to be read and/or viewed by the students before class. All required home-works are to be submitted on the relevant dates to the teacher, without late acceptance. Submission of papers is on paper, and of PPT and posters is digital. NOTE: NCHU has a University Regulation that under its article 26, prescribes that students are not allowed to miss classes by one-third or more. This includes classes that are missed with approval in advance. On a 16 week schedule, that would mean missing 6 classes or more deserves a fail. The text in Chinese is as follows: 第二十六條: 學生各科目缺課時數達該全學期上課時數三分之一者，不得參加該科目之學期考試，該科目學期成績以零分計。總缺課時數累計達全學期所修各科目上課總時數三分之一者，應辦理休學。 The PDF file is linked here: https://share.google/XPrROckWDyPAASnw5.
Prerequisites				self-directed learning in the course	Y

Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%)			Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives	Competency Indicators	Ratio(%)	Teaching Methods	Assessment Methods
1. To provide a critical understanding of key issues of sustainability , the SDGs and active change. 2. To explore how sustainability affects every day life. 3. To gain an understanding of the role of values in engagement with business as usual structures and the conflicts that arise between values in practice. 4. To develop critical thinking on sustainability issues in discussion, team work and in writing.			topic Discussion/Production Networking/Distance Education Exercises Discussion Lecturing	Written Presentation Attendance Oral Presentation Assignment
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content Week 1 Course Introduction Overview, Syllabus and Class Rules presentation, and initial topic exploration. General Discussion. Week 2 What is Sustainability and Sustainable Development? [https://sdgs.un.org/goals] Week 3 The roles and tasks of organizations like universities in times of climate change. General Discussion. [Findler, F. et al, 2019] Week 4 Humanistic Care, the social-ecological responsibility of citizens in the 21st century. The Care Manifesto. Students will form groups to enter PBL. Week 5 Work Ready Plus, Practice and Reflection: Communication, Teamwork, Problem Solving, and Shared Professional Growth. [Scott, G.] Campus orientation and green campus survey. Week 6 United Nations SDGs topic discussion, climate change cases and project implementation (including group topic reports). Week 7 United Nations SDGs topic discussion, green university campus model learning and project implementation (including group topic reports). Week 8 Midterm. The midterm test will be a 10 page PPT on the subject of the proposed project to help solve problems on campus. On midterm day, each group will do a (online) presentation presenting their project and suggested solutions. Week 9 Discussion on UN SDGs issues, study of domestic and foreign examples and project im-plementation (including group issue reports). Week 10 Seminar on Social Responsibility Practice related examples (including group topic re-ports): taking domestic NPOs or NGOs as an example. Week 11 Discussion on relevant examples of Social Responsibility Practice (including group topic reports): Taking foreign universities as an example. Week 12 Seminar on Social Responsibility Practice related examples (including group topic re-ports): Taking foreign NPOs or NGOs as examples. Week 13 Experts share their experiences or campus issues exploration. Week 14 Community Field Practice on campus. Week 15 Discussion on progress of the group projects. Week 16 Endterm week. This week, we will summarize and evaluate our learning and discuss the learning experiences in the class. Endterm test will be a 10 page PPT with (online) group class presentation, and an A0 poster in PDF format on the results of their campus project. Students will submit the drafts for these submission in class of week 15 for approval by the teacher. self-directed learning    02.Viewing multimedia materials related to industry and academia. View 5 (five) related short videos of approximately 15 - 20 minutes each on the subject of the class on YouTube.
Evaluation
Evaluation is based on the teacher’s impression of level of participation and overall performance in the class by the students. Grades are calculated on the following basis: 40% Class participation through attendance, (group) presentations, assignments, active class work and discussions 30% Midterm presentation. 30% Endterm presentation and digital poster.
Textbook & other References
Materials are multi-disciplinary. Mandatory exploration of the following websites and resources: https://sdgs.un.org/goals https://www.unsdsn.org/ Findler, F., Schönherr, N., Lozano, R., Reider, D. & Martinuzzi, A. The impacts of higher education institutions on sustainable development: A review and conceptualization. Int. J. Sustain. Higher Educ. 20, 23–38 (2019). The Care Manifesto https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.uhn.ca/Research/Research_Institutes/The_Institute_for_Education_Research/Events/Documents/Care-Manifesto-Readings.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi2qJ6LyJmSAxVqbfUHHQzrFycQFnoECEwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1GQcdFbAEaDg8iqujtaZYg Scott, G. Work Ready Plus. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=http://ieec.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Professor-Geoff-Scott-Western-Sydney-University.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjwpvrMyJmSAxWGVPUHHT6zLLYQFnoECB0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw38q6f1KySwihVcKmJbZo-e Further readings depend on the selection of subjects and will be given by the teacher during the course of the class.
Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website
TBA
Office Hours
TBA
Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL)
04.Quality Education   06.Clean Water and Sanitation   07.Affordable and Clean Energy   11.Sustainable Cities and Communities   13.Climate Action   16.Peace and Justice   17.Partnerships for the Goals include experience courses：N

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Update Date, year/month/day：2026/01/20 15:18:49	Printed Date, year/month/day：2026 / 3 / 10
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