SCI501 Geospatial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (3credits)
The United Nations has recognised the use of geospatial data and earth observation in advancing and achieving the SDGs. The aim of the course is to learn about the geographic foundations of GIS, location intelligence and remote sensing. It covers how GIS and earth observation facilitate geospatial data analysis and communication to address complex geographic concepts or problems. Understanding how geospatial analytics, combined with AI and IoT technology could support professionals to analyse geospatial data from multiple sources to monitor the progress of the SDGs and, empower understanding, insight, intelligent decision-making and prediction. Cutting-edge topics and applications of sustainable development will be introduced. The ethical, legal, and societal issues in the field will also be reviewed and addressed. The course combines classroom teaching and hands-on tutorials to learn GIS analytical and remote sensing skills through practice.
SCI502 Climate Change Literacy and Science (3credits)
This course provides an overview of issues related to climate change. The course comprises a series of 3-hour lecture and discussion sessions, as well as field trips. Lectures will cover topics such as causes and consequences of climate change, responses and actions of climate change, the controversial issues and climate solutions, and the needs of sustainable development.
SCI503 Sustainability and Environmental Communication(3credits)
This course will introduce students to environmental communication, an interdisciplinary field that considers the communication of information to encourage the establishment of best practices related to environmental issues and sustainable development.
The course comprises a series of 3-hour lecture and discussion sessions. Lectures will cover topics under the framework of UNSDGs and analyse scientific arguments related to environment and sustainability issues, drawing upon issues and examples on sustainable coastal development. It will also train students basic theory and techniques of environmental communication, and to communicate effectively about the issues with a variety of stakeholders in a variety of circumstances.
SCI504Urban Ecology and Sustainable Planning (3credits)
This course examines how urban ecology, the science that examines the interactions between organisms and the urban environment, can help identify strategies to achieve a balance between human needs and the natural environment and encourage sustainable development. The course will focus on environmental and sustainability issues, particularly on the interactions between wildlife and humans in an urban environment. The course comprises a series of 3-hour lecture and discussion sessions, as well as field trips. Lectures will cover topics such as human-wildlife interactions in urban environments, the controversial issues, critical environmental challenges, urban sustainability, sustainable communities design and urban planning.
SCI505Introduction to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Planning (3credits)
This course provides an overview of the global trend in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting and sustainability performance in commercial sectors under the framework of UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The course comprises a series of 3-hour seminars and discussion sessions, as well as field trips. Guest speakers and industrial practitioners of related fields, such as ESG partners, sustainability managers, and risk advisory will be invited to share ESG trends and practice. Small group field trips will also be arranged. Other learning activities include case studies, media reviews and data analyses.
SCI507Data Analysis and Modelling in the R Statistical Environment for Environmental Issues(3credits)
Data has been likened to oil. While they are valuable in almost all facets of modern life, data cannot be used unrefined. This course aims to equip students with the ability and tools to analyse quantitative data on the R statistical environment, a versatile and powerful free software widely used by researchers globally. Lectures will comprise of 1.5 hours of theory, followed by 1.5 hours of practical learning using simulated datasets related to environmental issues, sustainability and/or SDGs. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable with gaining meaningful insights from raw/unrefined data through independent analyses of statistical trends and patterns. This will better prepare students for their research projects and eventual career that requires proficient data analytical skill.
SCI508Practical & Research Training: Topics in Environment, Society, and Sustainable Future (3credits)
This course introduces students with practical and research techniques in various fields of environmental science, focusing primarily on ecological surveys and environmental monitoring. The course will adopt a blended, experiential approach by combing lectures and field trips to enhance students’ practical skills in both the field and laboratory setting, as well as application of survey designs. Lectures will cover basic sampling designs, descriptive statistics, species identification and report writing, which would be practised through conducting field-based surveys and sampling in various ecosystems in Hong Kong.
SCI509Green Energy and Sustainability (3credits)
The course introduces students to the fundamental principles of environmental engineering, and clean and renewable energy. Students will gain comprehensive knowledge regarding the production, distribution, challenges, and future prospects of renewable energy within the framework of a smart and sustainable society. The course will also examine the economic, sociological, and environmental aspects of renewable energy, allowing students to develop a deep awareness of its multifaceted nature.
The course comprises a series of 3-hour lecture and discussion sessions. Lectures will address topics related to green energy and various renewable energy technologies under the framework of UN SDGs. There will be a presentation of practical international case studies for each technology. The human behaviour and socio-economic consequences during the sustainable energy transitions will be discussed and evaluated.
Elective Cluster Courses
HTI503 Rural Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) (3 credits)
Understanding how three critical factors to the viability of the Human species, namely Food, Energy and Water affect each other, is going to be critical in solving challenges in the 21st century. The course will explore the link between the Food, Energy and Water systems (FEWs). Poverty and the causes that lead to poverty in a community is invariably linked to the availability and the efficient functioning of FEWs. From the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) all set out to try to mitigate the challenges created by vulnerabilities in FEWs. Climate change, rapid urbanization and industrial agriculture are major factors which have destabilized the dynamic system of food-water-energy nexus.
The limitation of these resources and the complexity of accounting for the production, utilization and conservation will be the focus of this course. The course will explore the validity of data which are used at a global scale and encourage students to embrace the complexities in them. This will lay the foundation for the students to build enough knowledge to take a deep dive into the available data for any given community or ecosystem with an appreciation of the scale and context in each of them.
MCG503 History, Heritage and Regional Perspectives (3 credits)
The course History, Heritage and Regional Perspectives provides an overview of key theoretical, practical and policy debates within the field of heritage management. The focus is on the history and heritage of the Greater Bay Area, but also brings in a comparative perspective by incorporating international case studies and policy issues from other parts of Asia and the world. The concept of heritage will be explored from an inter-disciplinary approach to cover heritage practices including the identification, assessment, research, preservation, interpretation, and promotion of various forms of cultural heritage. Students will also be introduced to international, national and regional cultural heritage regulations and policies.
CDS521 Foundation of Artificial Intelligence (3 credits)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new technical science that studies and develops theories, methods, techniques, and application systems for simulating and extending human intelligence. AI techniques and models have been widely employed in various domain-specific applications due to their promising performance compared to conventional methods. This course focuses on fundamental concepts, techniques, and potential business applications of artificial intelligence. The course provides an overview of waves of AI, intelligent agents, problem-solving, planning, reasoning, learning. It includes topics about search, logic, genetic algorithms, computational learning methods, and some potential business applications like expert systems, news analysis, and so on.
HAM503 Principles of Data Analytics (3 credits)
With the large volume of data in various domain-specific applications in recent years, it is crucial to interpret and understand data in a scientific way. Data analytics, an essential method for identifying the hidden patterns and critical information from data, have been widely employed due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence and big data analytic techniques in recent years. In this course, students will explore the foundation, principle, methods, and potential applications of data analytics in healthcare. Specifically, the course will contain four modules, including data models in real life, analytical tools, data extraction, and data visualisation.
