Governments, privates and non-profit organizations, whether they are small or large, acknowledge that action is needed to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and recognize the need to aim at systemic change towards a post-2030 agenda. This action-based minor involves students in real, existing challenges that organizations face to address Sustainable Development Goals in the Netherlands and the province of South Holland in particular.
The joint Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minors are multidisciplinary and open to all students of Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Students will learn about the SDGs' role, importance, and complexities in a global and local context, how to identify and diagnose challenges from a systems thinking perspective, engage with and mobilize relevant societal stakeholders to articulate deeper problems and translate them into actionable solutions. Students will apply user-evidenced-based design methods and apply entrepreneurial and lean thinking to develop and suggest new (inter-) organizational business models from Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) perspectives, that can contribute to solving the real existing SDG challenges based on long-term thinking and value based approaches. Active participation and co-creation with regional and local actors are central in this minor. The end result is a validated transformational SDG action plan for partner organizations based on an analysis of an SDG challenge and the creation and evaluation of an implementation strategy at the organizational level.
Reasons to choose a Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minor:
1. Joint education by three top-class universities.
2. Important societal challenges and new solutions.
3. Educators and students from different academic fields.
4. Cases by companies, governments and NGOs.
5. Expand your network in Leiden, Den Haag, Delft and Rotterdam.
More Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minors
- Admission requirements: This Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minor is open to all students of Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam. A small number also require prior knowledge or involve a selection process.
- Number of places: 100 students can participate (see the link below for numbers for each minor). A number of places are reserved for each university in order to ensure a balanced distribution from the different programmes.
- Language: All Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minors are taught in English.
- Credits: All minors have a coherent program of 30 EC. It is possible to only follow the first block of 15 EC. Attending the full length of this minor (30 ECTS) is recommended.
- Location: The lectures and seminars are held in one or more of the following cities: Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam.
- Applications: You apply for a Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minor via eduXchange.
- Selection: Not a selection minor.
Lecturers about this minor:
Camilo Benitez Avila is one of the teachers in this minor. From TU Delft's Faculty of Technology, Governance and Management, he worked with colleagues from Rotterdam and Leiden during the past few years to shape the minor. Benitez Avila: ‘Students have to think for themselves which SDGs are relevant to the case they are working on. Is it about democracy, climate, education, health, prosperity? Practices such as transparent reporting according to ESG (environmental, social, governance data) are also taught. We focus on South Holland because we find it important that students can relate what they learn to their daily life and environment. It also contributes to an understanding of their own role in society. I especially hope to produce engaged citizens who want to work together to make their environment better.' Read full interview
