UVA in Sweden: Global Sustainability Consulting

Transcription

1 UVA in Sweden: Global Sustainability Consulting SYS 2054/3054 Systems Case Studies (3 cr.) May Term 2016: May 16, 2016 June 4, 2016 Director: Reid Bailey Senior Teaching Fellow: Matt Burkett I. Course Description The course rests at the intersection of systems engineering, environmental management, business and entrepreneurship. The primary focus is on systems-level environmental strategy, management, and policy in industry. A core area of emphasis will be developing deeper intercultural competence through the real world projects with Swedish In addition, students will gain experience and skills with identifying system goals, formulating requirements and performance metrics, creating and evaluating alternative solutions, and presenting recommendations to 1

2 II. Goals and Learning Objectives Students shall gain a fuller understanding of the cultural differences inherent to working within an international context, while expanding their knowledge of environmental management and systems engineering concepts through a project with a client in Lund, Sweden. Appreciation for cultural differences. By taking the course, students should: 1. Develop an understanding and appreciation of cultural differences between Sweden and the U.S. 2. Be able to explain differences between U.S. and Swedish cultures with personal examples resulting from their seeking out opportunities for engagement with Swedish culture in business and social settings. 3. Demonstrate an ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations in both business and social settings.. Client Deliverables Demonstrated via: Interactions with Clients Reflection (blog and discussions) Ability to work in an international professional setting. By taking the course, students should: 4. Explain the importance of sustainability solutions for business and society. 5. Identify needs of international clients and stakeholders through a variety of methods such as interviews, observations, and root cause analysis, and formulate those needs into system goals and metrics 6. Explain sustainability challenges encountered by clients, generate alternative solutions to the challenges, evaluate those solutions, and formulate a recommendation. 7. Deliver effective oral presentations to foreign 8. Write effective executive summaries for foreign Client Deliverables Demonstrated via: Interactions with Clients Reflection (blog and discussions) 2

3 III. Relevance of Location This program seeks to educate students how to integrate the principles and values of sustainable development in engineering and business in real life conditions. Hence, interactions between students and employees at the Swedish organizations (also referred as clients ) are of primary importance for the success of the program. It is through these interactions that the students are expected to gain value that they otherwise cannot gain in a classroom on grounds at UVa. Even though the time in Sweden is brief, ample opportunities exist in Lund and surrounding areas to seek out engagement with Swedish culture; opportunities include direct interactions with clients, study visits as well as cultural excursions, shopping at grocery stores, going to the laundry mat, going out with friends to have dinner or for dancing, and many more. Particularly important is that students will be directly engaged in the activities supporting corporate environmental management and development of sustainability business models in Sweden. Environmental issues are intertwined tightly with culture in Sweden and Scandinavia. Working with clients on such a culturally relevant topic provides unique access and opportunities for the students. IV. Teaching Methods PRACTICUM! Once in Sweden, the primary teaching tool for this course will be a client-based project the focus is on doing. Practica, closely related to Problem-Based Learning, are learning experiences that involve the supervised application of previously studied concepts and theory. The projects will focus on an actual problem and will provide a rich opportunity for students to meet all of the learning objectives. Practica give you the chance to be both creative and concrete. The role of practicum faculty is also different. Rather than lecturing, practicum faculty will coach. Their main role is to supervise progress, offer high-level guidance, and to help teams overcome obstacles. To be able to execute the projects, students will need to have a basic understanding of core topics on sustainability, environmental management and policy. As such, the faculty will lead a classroom experience during the first week on these topics. The idea is to learn topics that provide context and direct relevance to the client projects students will be acquiring background knowledge needed them for their projects. As such, students will also be tasked with learning about a topic related to their project, developing a level of expertise and presenting a lecture to the group. V. Pre-Departure Meetings A total of roughly six hours will be committed to pre-departure meetings. Topics to be discussed include logistics, current events in Sweden and readings on Swedish culture, business analysis and system engineering methodologies, the formation of teams, and preparation for project. These meetings will also provide the opportunity for the students to get to know each other. They will also give the program directors the chance to assess the abilities of the individuals that will help in developing teams. 3

4 VI. Tentative Itinerary The following schedule outlines a tentative schedule for the program. Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat May Depart US Arrive Lund Week 1: Each team meets their clients and has initial meeting where they can ask questions Teams also will have some time to work on their projects. Begin work on research for lecture to present to group Group Excursion to Samsø. Week 2: Some sustainability topics/speakers, but weighted towards earlier in the week Includes guided field trip to SYSAV, Malmö and group dinner in Malmø Teams have lots of time to work on projects at IIIEE/to schedule meetings with their clients as needed Students will be presenting lecture to group. Outline due on Wednesday. Group bicycle excursion to windmills, play traditional Swedish games June Free Day Week 3: Client/Report Final Report Due by end Client (leaving All project work, with Prep of day by 9 am. Presentations in weekend teams being able to the morning open for schedule meetings Presentation Prep students to with clients as needed go to Draft Report Due on Practice Presentations in Copenhagen Tuesday the afternoon A. Course Evaluation and Assignments Bosjökloster Castle and Dinner in the afternoon/evening Assignments Due Weight Responsibility Pre-departure meetings, attendance and preparedness Participation and engagement in the project and discussions Blog contribution Related Topic Presentation -- 5% Individual -- 40% Individual on the day assigned on the day assigned Presentation of solution to client June 3 Executive summary of solution to client Outline: May 25 Draft: May 31 Final: June 2 5% Individual 5% Team 40% Team Completing of all course evaluations Early June 5% Individual Group Excursion Depart afternoon for Kalundborg Free Day (leaving weekend open for students to go to Copenhage n) Depart Lund/Arrive U.S. 4

5 B. Readings For pre-departure meetings students will be given a list of selected articles on various aspects of life and culture in Sweden. During the pre-departure meetings, students will be discussing the articles to develop a better sense of what to expect once they arrive in Lund. In addition, we may assign readings related to sustainability to be completed prior to arrival in Lund. C. Daily Reflections Several times each week, we will spend 30-ish minutes discussing your experiences. It could be something that confuses you, something that frustrates you, or something that you feel really highlights something unique about Swedish culture. Most days will be open-ended, but some days we may ask you to prepare something related to a specific topic. D. Online Blog We will keep an online blog for the course. Each student will be responsible for writing the blog entry for at least one day of the term. The blog contains (1) a concise but also complete summary of what happened during that day (100 words-ish), (2) at least one or two pictures, and, (3) most importantly, your personal reflections on your experiences described in the blog. The blog will be public and is intended to not only be a means for you to reflect and learn, but also for family and friends to stay connected. E. Student Lecture Each group will be responsible for conducting research on an aspect of sustainability, preparing a presentation on the topic, and presenting the findings to the group. The topic will be related to each team s specific project and some of the research will be part of the preliminary research that each team needs to do in order to get up to speed on the projects. F. Client Deliverables Each team is required to deliver a final report and a final presentation to their client. Expectations for these documents are outlined in a separate document. G. Locations Housing for students will be in dorm rooms at Lund. Work sessions and the classroom will be in rooms around Lund University. VII. Honor The University of Virginia relies upon and cherishes its community of trust. We endorse and uphold the University s Honor principle that students will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor shall they tolerate those who do. We recognize that even one honor infraction can destroy an exemplary reputation that took years to build. Acting in a manner consistent with the principles of honor benefits every member of the UVA community.. 5