ECTS credits ECTS credits: 3
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 2 Expository Class: 10 Interactive Classroom: 12 Total: 24
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary subject Master’s Degree RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Chemistry Engineering
Areas: Chemical Engineering
Center Higher Technical Engineering School
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
The contents of this subject address the organizations, political tools, laws, procedures and regulations, as well as the financial mechanisms that regulate the processes of environmental protection. It has been structured in 3 blocks. The first is specifically focused on the different areas where environmental governance is structured: international, national and regional, starting from a first general theme and then complemented by three themes focused on environmental compartments of great importance such as water, soil (the waste) and the atmosphere (climate change). The second block is specifically focused on the economic cycle of water, of great importance in all developed societies and where we find a multitude of agents from both the administration and private companies. Finally, the last block deals with ethical aspects in companies and administrations, developing through two themes, one more conceptual on ethical aspects and the second more applied to the implementation of these aspects in administrations and companies.
The contents that are developed in the course are articulated around those indicated in the descriptor of the subject included in the syllabus of the 3rd ed. of the Master in Environmental Engineering:
• Environmental governance: international, national and regional framework
• Public and private agents involved in the economic cycle of water. Application to Spain and Galicia.
• Ethics in companies and administrations: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Principles and benefits of CSR. National and international promotion policies. Study of examples.
The subject program is divided into 3 thematic blocks that are detailed below:
Syllabus
Block I. Introduction (8 h)
Unit 1. Environmental governance: international, national and regional framework (5)
Definition. Areas of action of environmental governance: climate change management, biodiversity, water management, soil degradation. Multilateral environmental conventions and agreements. Actors and stakeholders (international institutions, states, corporations and non-state actors).
Unit 2. Water sector (1)
The water governance model in Spain and Galicia. Problems and opportunities for improvement. Coordination and cooperation between administrations. Strategic decisions. Specific proposals for improvement.
Unit 3. The waste sector and soil degradation (1)
The waste governance model in Spain and Galicia. Problems and opportunities for improvement.
Unit 4. Emissions and challenges derived from the climate change (1)
Causes and effects of climate change. International organisms (IPCC), conferences and agreements. Specific proposals for improvement. Decarbonization policies.
Block II. The economics of water cycle (4 h)
Unit 5. Public and private actors in the economics of water cycle (4)
Macroeconomic data of the economic cycle of water. Public and private agents involved in the water cycle. Technical advice. Importance of the regulatory framework. Examples of application of the regulations to different types of discharges. Cost comparison.
Block III: Ethics in corporations and administrations (10 h)
Topic 6. Introduction to ethics applied to the environment (4 h)
environmental ethics. Brief historical overview. Different conceptions. The consensus on environmental ethics: 3 normative principles and 6 practical questions.
Topic 7. Corporate Social Responsibility in companies and administrations (6 h)
Social Responsibility, ISO 26000 and SGE-21. Benefits and implications of CSR. Principles of socially responsible companies. CSR measurement. Corporate social responsibility in Spain. Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development (FORÉTICA). Analysis of specific examples: Inditex, Ikea, Agbar. Sustainable recruitment.
Basic books
• Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).
Gobernanza Ambiental.
http://sostenibilidadyprogreso.org/files/entradas/gobernanza-ambiental…
• Lecaros Urzúa, Juan Alberto. (2013). La ética medio ambiental: principios y valores para una ciudadanía responsable en la sociedad global. https://scielo.conicyt.cl/pdf/abioeth/v19n2/art02.pdf
Complementary books
• Libro Verde de la Gobernanza del Agua en España. https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/agua/temas/sistema-espaniol-gestion-agua/l…
• UNESCO. Ética ambiental y políticas internacionales. (2010).
https://www.academia.edu/28551638/etica_ambiental_unesco_pdf
• Fundación Étnor. Aplicando la Ética - Étnor (etnor.org)
• FORÉTICA. https://foretica.org/
• FRIDE. La RSC, la cooperación y la internacionalización de la empresa española. http://docplayer.es/11851358-La-rsc-la-cooperacion-y-la-internacionaliz…
• ISO 26000. https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/archive/pdf/en/iso_26…
• Programa de Desarrollo de la ONU. https://www.undp.org/es/sustainable-development-goals
This subject will give to the students a number of general competences, desirable for every universitary study, as well as other more specific ones, more linked to the field of Environmental Engineering. The competences that will be especially developed in this subject are the following:
Basic
• CB6 – to have a knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context
• CB7 - That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their fields of study.
• CB8 - That students will be able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgments based on incomplete or limited information, including reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
• CB9 - That students can communicate their conclusions, knowledge and reasons underpinning to specialists and non-specialists in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CB10 - Students must possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
General
• CG1 - Identify and state environmental problems.
Transversal
• CT 4. Demonstrate critical and self-critical reasoning, analytical and synthesis capacity.
• CT 6. Appreciate the value of quality and continuous improvement, acting with rigor, responsibility and professional ethics within the framework of commitment to sustainable development.
Specific
• CE 3. Develop sufficient autonomy to participate in research projects and scientific or technological collaborations within the thematic field of Environmental Engineering, in interdisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a high component of knowledge transfer.
• CE 8. Address a real Environmental Engineering problem from a scientific-technical perspective, recognizing the importance of searching for and managing existing information and applicable legislation.
Teaching
• Expository and interactive classes: The classes will be carried out combining both the master class (exposition and discussion of topics) and in the form of seminars (exercises) where the teacher will try to emphasize the most outstanding aspects of the state of the art, and where the assimilation of contents by the students will be verified. It is therefore very important that the student work on the material available to promote teacher-student interaction.
• Visit to an industrial facility: A visit to a Wastewater Treatment Plant is contemplated as a necessary complement to the indicated topics whenever possible. It is intended to involve the students in the aforementioned visit by carrying out an evaluation through a questionnaire.
• Group Tutorial: There will be a group tutorial focused on the modeling of biological reactors using the Excel spreadsheet.
Telematic teaching
• Individualized tutorials: they will be carried out at the request of the student face-to-face or eventually through the MS Teams platform.
The “Learning Management System” (LMS) of the USC will be used.
In cases of fraudulent completion of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for evaluating student academic performance and grade review will apply.
In this matter, the CE weighting is 50%, with the remaining 50% corresponding to a final test.
The student's grade is a weighted average between the performance of the same in the parts in which the same is evaluated: exam, performance in the classroom (participation, cooperative work) and technical visit.
Activities included in the Continuous Assessment
Continuous Evaluation includes monitoring of the following activities:
• Follow-up activities in classroom: to be carried out in teamworks.
• The technical visit will be evaluated by means of a questionnaire that will be given to the students on the day of the visit, which they will have to complete during the visit and hand in at the end of the visit. To be done individually.
• With "proactive behavior" it is intended to assess the daily attitude of each student, especially: a) shows that the subject and the discussions that take place in the classroom are up to date; b) pertinent comments on what was discussed; c) motivation and positive attitude in class, among others. To be done individually.
Final exam (face-to-face)
• The exam will consist of a set of short questions.
The consideration of "not presented" will be taken if you do not attend any evaluation activity (exam, teamwork or technical visit). If only one of them is not attended, the qualification at the first opportunity will be "failed".
Those who have to attend the second opportunity will keep the qualifications obtained in teamwork, technical visit and proactive behavior in the classroom. If you have not participated in a specific activity, you will have additional questions:
- If they did not participate in the teamwork, questions about innovative technologies will be included.
- If they have not participated in the technical visit, questions about it will be included.
Distribution of the final mark
Continuous assessment 5 points
- Classroom activities 3
- Technical visit 1
- Proactivity 1
Final exam 5 points
- Questionnaire 5
TOTAL 10 points
Competences assessment
• Básics: CB6, CB7, CB8, CB9, CB10
• Generals: CG1
• Transversals: CT4, CT6
• Specific: CE3, CE8
Their assessment will be done according to:
• Expositive classes: CG1, CB6, CB7, CB8, CB10,
• Interactive classes: CB7, CB8, CB10, CE8, CT4, CT6
• Technical visit: CB7, CB8, CB10, CE3, CE8
• Proactivity: CG1, CB9
• Teamwork: CB8, CB9, CE3, CE8
• Exam: CB6, CB9, CB10,
This subject has 3 ECTS which represents an amount of work distributed as shown in the following table. The number of hours spent in classroom include lectures, seminars, presentation and tutorials for groups. Furthermore, it is estimated that a number of hours corresponding to personal work is necessary for the different activities.
Activity Total hours
Lectures 10
Seminars 12
Teamwork 2
Exam 2
Autonomous work 49
Total 75 (3 ECTS)
The use of Learning Management System (LMS) is recommended as the backbone of all the activities to be carried out in the matter.
Recommendations for telematic teaching:
• It is necessary to have a computer with a microphone and camera to carry out the telematic activities that are programmed throughout the course. The acquisition of computers with the MS Windows environment is recommended, since other platforms do not support some of the computer programs available at USC.
• Improve informational and digital skills with the resources available at USC.
El idioma vehicular de la materia será el castellano en consonancia con la decisión estratégica del Máster que definió como fundamental la captación de alumnado procedente de otras comunidades autónomas o países.
Francisco Omil Prieto
Coordinador/a- Department
- Chemistry Engineering
- Area
- Chemical Engineering
- Phone
- 881816805
- francisco.omil [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Professor
Friday | |||
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12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom A7 |
06.10.2024 16:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A7 |
06.10.2024 16:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A7 |
06.27.2024 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A7 |
06.27.2024 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A7 |