Master of Sciences ‘MSc’ in Resource Efficiency for Sustainable Cities

Program Description

Many cities of the global south suffer from pressing key challenges such as continuous population growth, severe energy crisis, water poverty issues, inadequate urban mobility, inefficient waste management, social disparity and inequality, and increasing levels of pollution. Education and research respond to such challenges mostly by disciplinary approaches seeking technical or socio-economic solutions, but often lack a deliberate and integrated approach to the city as a system. Therefore, the ‘M.Sc.’ in Resource Efficiency for Sustainable Cities targets these challenges from an integrated view of engineering, social sciences, economics, and governance. Here, resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production patterns are key aspects – tackling energy, water, transportation systems, food supply, urban design, resilience, and much more. The program is designed to enable graduates to contribute in interdisciplinary teams to the planning and management of cities towards efficiency, resilience, and social inclusion.

Program Competences

The holder of Master of Sciences ‘M.Sc.’ in Resource Efficiency for Sustainable Cities must be able to:

1.Recognize cities as socio-ecological systems, their non-linear and non-deterministic behaviour and their metabolism, and the required spatial considerations for sustainable cities.

2.Distinguish the complex relationships between different systems/sectors in cities (e.g. building construction and energy, water supply, waste and wastewater management), their governance, and manage resources efficiently.

3.Analyse the product chains and material cycles and resources - demand cycles (i.e. water, energy, mobility systems, food supply, urban design,…), and assess the local natural resources production potentials within the city system.

4.Conduct research, correlate disciplinary knowledge, use smart technology and modelling techniques, and develop interdisciplinary alternatives for responding to urban environment challenges.

5.Communicate and share ideas with specialists and non-specialists in both written and oral manners.

Degree Holders’ Attributes

The Holders of Master of Sciences ‘M.Sc.’ in Resource Efficiency for Sustainable Cities:

•Recognize the role of urban resource efficiency for social equity, environmental protection, and the overall sustainability of the city system.

•Use the required knowledge and skills to deal with pressing challenges in cities from a deliberate and integrated approach to the city as a system.

•Utilize and manage cities’ resource efficiency to balance environmental and social challenges with future demands.

•Value the patterns of user demands and behaviour and how they affect the technology-environment interaction in the energy, water, food, waste, traffic, and building sectors and thus the urban metabolism at large.

•Identify cross-sectoral efficiencies in the expanded nexus debate over energy, water, food, waste, and other sectors.

•Support the local production potentials for natural resources.

•Distinguish simulation and modelling techniques as well as information technologies.

•Effectively communicate and are able to lead interdisciplinary work teams.

•Develop oneself academically and being able to learn continuously.

Program Tracks

The Elective courses are grouped into 3 main tracks, in addition to the pool of ‘Methods and Tools’ courses, as follows:

Track 1: City Infrastructure

Track 2: Integrated Planning and Building Design

Track 3: Management and Governance

Required Courses

In order to get a Master of Sciences ‘M.Sc.’ in Resource Efficiency for Sustainable Cities, and to satisfy the Program Competences, the following set of courses need to be completed considering that Elective (1) & (2) can be selected from any of the 3 Tracks of courses. Students can register course(s) out of the listed in these bylaws as elective(s), however, the advisor has to verify the course(s) learning outcomes with program competences.