Industrial Ecology, Project

The industrial ecology project is a research-oriented project course at the Industrial Ecology Programme. You will apply systems analysis of environmental issues for production-consumption systems on technical, organizational or spatial scale. The research involves one or several analysis methods from the field of industrial ecology, such as life-cycle assessment, input-output analysis, systems engineering, material flow analysis, cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, geographical information systems, or related techniques. The project may be conducted in connection with a company or institution, or with ongoing research activity.

TEP5100 includes a mandatory methods training component as part of the specialization project. The methods training is fully integrated into the study plan and covers literature review, research design, data collection, analysis, reproducibility, and research ethics.

Knowledge

The student shall acquire knowledge of:

• Theoretical and methodological foundations of industrial ecology and environmental systems analysis.
• A selected topic, including relevant background needed to describe it from an industrial ecology perspective.

Skills

The student shall be able to:

• Approach new topics through literature review and research planning.
• Formulate and discuss research questions and appropriate methods.
• Apply industrial ecology or related methods for environmental systems analysis.
• Manage, interpret, and communicate research data and uncertainty.
• Present and discuss their work, both orally and in writing, within the context of industrial ecology and sustainability transitions.

General competence

The student shall develop general competence in industrial ecology methods and research processes, enabling them to initiate their own research project in collaboration with a research partner.

Supervised independent project. Supervision will be provided in English.

Participation in group activity connected with parts of the learning outcome is required.