2024 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Undergraduate major in Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
Introduction to Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Yoshie Sakamoto / Naoya Abe
- Class Format
- Exercise (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Wed
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- TSE.C201
- Number of credits
- 010
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 17, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course aims to provide the overall goal and curriculum structure of the Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering undergraduate major and then to carry out group work among the registered students in order to understand the significance of the transdisciplinary approach, as well as acquire the basic skills to engage in transdisciplinary approach.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand and explain the principle of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering Department in both education and research
2) Acquire the basic skills to design and implement projects applying the transdisciplinary approach to tackle today's complicated social issues.
3) Obtain the skills for group-work with others
4) Explain the basics of research ethics to others.
Keywords
Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Transdiscilinary approach, SDGs,
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This course will consist of lectures, group work and discussions, and group-presentations.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction to this course by main instructor/coordinator (Prof. Abe) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 2 | Introduction to the research activities by TSE faculty members (＃1) Profs. Takahashi (Kunio), Katabuchi, Otomo, in Japanese) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 3 | Introduction to the research activities by TSE faculty members (＃2) Profs. Takada (Dean of SES), Cross, Kasai (in English) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 4 | Introduction to the research activities by TSE faculty members (＃3) Profs. Wakeyama, Takagi, Zhu (in Japanese) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 5 | Introduction to the research activities by TSE faculty members (＃4) Profs. Hanaoka, Nishikizawa, Inaba (in English.) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 6 | Introduction to the research activities by TSE faculty members (＃5) Profs. Nakase, Matsumoto, Ohashi (in Japanese.) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
| Class 7 | Lecture on research ethics (Prof. Abe) | Brief reflection report for the session is required at the end of this course |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None
Reference books, course materials, etc.
The following books are not required for this course but suggested references.
FACTFULLNESS, Hans Rosling with Ola ROsling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund, SCEPTRE, 2018
Livirer L. De Weck, Daniel Roos, Christopher L. Magee, Engineering Systems Meeting Human Needs in a Complex Technological World, MIT Press
Evaluation methods and criteria
Individual reflection reports for each lecture/session (100%)
Related courses
- TSE.C202 ： System Design Project
- TSE.C203 ： Transdisciplinary Design Project
- TSE.C303 ： Project Management
Prerequisites
None
Other
This course will be taught in either Japanese or English per session.