GREENING THE ECONOMY: LESSONS FROM SCANDINAVIA

How can we work with nature to design and build our cities? This course explores urban nature and nature-based solutions in cities in Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. We discuss how to assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities. We examine how innovation is taking place in cities in relation to nature. And we analyse the potential of nature-based solutions to help respond to climate change and sustainability challenges. This course was launched in January 2020, and it was updated in September 2021 with new podcasts, films and publications. The course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with partners from Naturvation – a collaborative project on finding synergies between cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. The course features researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from a range organisations.   

How can we shape our urban development towards sustainable and prosperous futures? This course explores sustainable cities as engines for greening the economy in Europe and around the world. We place cities in the context of sustainable urban transformation and climate change. We connect the key trends of urbanization, decarbonisation and sustainability. We examine how visions, experiments and innovations can transform urban areas. And we look at practices (what is happening in cities at present) and opportunities (what are the possibilities for cities going forwards into the future). This course was launched in January 2016, and it was updated in September 2021 with new podcasts, films and publications. The course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with WWF and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability who work with creating sustainable cities. The course features researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from a range organisations.

How can we govern consumption and the sharing economy in our cities? This course explores cities, consumption and the sharing economy in Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of the sharing economy, cities, governance, consumption and urban sustainability. We explore how the sharing economy can contribute to increasing social, environmental and economic sustainability. And we argue that it is imperative that the sharing economy is shaped and designed to advance urban sustainability. This course was launched in May 2020, and it was updated in September 2021 with new podcasts, films and publications. This course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with partners from Sharing Cities Sweden – a national program for the sharing economy in cities with a focus on governance and sustainability. It features researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from a range organisations.

  About the courseRenewable hydrogen stands out as a highly promising solution to decarbonize heavy industries and transportation sector, helping to achieve the climate goals of Sweden- reaching net zero emissions by 2045. The terms renewable hydrogen, clean hydrogen or green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from renewable energy or raw material. The utilization of renewable hydrogen for industrial applications necessitates the development of the entire value chain, from generation and storage to transport and final applications. Unlocking the potential of hydrogen economy in Sweden involves not only technological advancements and infrastructure development but also a skilled workforce. This course offers an introduction of renewable hydrogen as a pivotal component for industrial applications, focusing on its generation, storage, transport, and utilization within industrial contexts. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of renewable hydrogen technologies, such as electrolysis, fuel cell, and hydrogen storage and distribution solutions, preparing them with essential knowledge and foundational insights for advancing the decarbonization of industrial processes through the adoption of hydrogen-based energy solutions. Aim and Learning OutcomesThe goal of this course is to develop a basic understanding of renewable hydrogen as a pivotal component for industrial applications, focusing on its generation, storage, transport, and utilization within industrial contexts.The learning outcomes of the course are to be able to: Explain the fundamental knowledge and theories behind electrolysis and fuel cell technologies. Compare and describe the differences of existing renewable hydrogen generation technologies (PEM, AE, AEM, SOE, etc.), and existing fuel cell technologies (PEMFC, MSFC, SOFC, etc.. Describe the principles of hydrogen storage, including gas phase, liquid phase, and material-based storage and thermal management of storage systems. Identify the challenges of hydrogen transportation and be able to describe relevant solutions. Examples of professional roles that will benefit from this course are energy and chemical engineers, renewable and energy transition specialists, policy makers and energy analysts. This course will also support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries, such as metallurgical industry and oil refinery industry, by using renewable hydrogen. This course is given by Mälardalen university in cooperation with Luleå University of Technology. Scheduled online seminars April 22nd, 2025May 19th, 2025 Study effort: 80 hours  

The course High-performance Computer Vision in the Cloud provides participants with the necessary tools and skills to navigate large-scale computing infrastructures, emphasizing scalability and performance optimization. Large computing infrastructures can be the key to driving the industry’s green transition. The course recognizes the instrumental role of large computing infrastructures in facilitating a green industry transition, enabling industrial actors to reduce environmental impact and optimize resource utilization, aiming to minimize energy consumption. The course covers concepts such as enabling technologies (e.g., CUDA), distributed computing, multi-core architectures, hardware versus software acceleration, container solutions(e.g., Docker and Kubernetes), as well as metrics and tools for monitoring performance and memory management, providing participants with a comprehensive skill set to lead environmentally responsible solutions in the digital era.  Scheduled online seminars  January 27th, 14:00-15:30 February 7th, 14:00-15:30 February 17th, 14:00-15:30 February 28th, 14:00-16:00 Entry requirements At least 180 credits including 15 credits programming as well as qualifications corresponding to the course "English 5"/"English A" from the Swedish Upper Secondary School.    

The course Leadership for Societal Change 1: Building Change Mindsets and Reflective Competencies is a course for you who want to actively participate in the industrial and societal change towards sustainability. The course aims to develop your reflective competence, make you aware of the learning that exists in your experiences, and master your further personal development as a transformative agent and leader. The course is structured around six delimited assignments that are completed separately. The tasks are taken from an assignment bank where you choose which tasks you do and in what order. The course ends with a summarizing assignment where you capture what you have learned through the six assignments completed. All courses within the Leadership for Sustainable Change course package are designed to be flexible and assume that it may be difficult to leave work and come to campus at specific dates and times. As a student, you can therefore complete the course assignments in your own order and at your own pace using a digital platform. This course is given by Mälardalen university in cooperation with Luleå University of Technology. Study effort: 80 hours