Environmental and Social Infrastructures (4 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After the course you will have
• an understanding of what environmental and social infrastructures are
• an understanding of their meaning to individuals, regions and countries
• an understanding of the concept of quality of life, society and public services
• an understanding of the quality of life in general in the participating students’ countries
• knowledge and experience of engaging with the stakeholders
• experience of working in a multicultural, multidisciplinary team
• a general understanding of resilience

Content

The course takes a look at quality of life in rural areas and the social and environmental infrastructures. What kind of environment is healthy to live in? What services are necessary and what not? How do the environmental and social infrastructures affect a person's feeling of belonging, being a part of something, happiness, ability to work and live in the rural areas?

1. environmental and social infrastructures; what are they, who is responsible for them, how they affect individuals
2. quality of life; well-being, standard of living, balance between working and free time
3. quality of the society; how to participate, be a part of something, how to engage in the community, challenges of social exclusion, insecurity, etc.
4. quality of public services; what is necessary in terms of, for example, health care and other public services
5. what is the future looking like?

The assignments of the course can include, for example:
• orientation to current social and environmental issues in your own region
• quality of life survey
• participation in relevant events
• excursions and reflecting on them

Location and time

The course is implemented as a hybrid version i.e. you can either join in on campus or online from where ever you are based. The lectures will be online at the same time as in class on Wärtsilä Campus. The lecture parts will be recorded.

For those on campus in Joensuu:
1) Participation in the lectures and assignments related to them
2) Participation in the possible excursions (compulsory) and assignments related to them
3) Quality of life survey in groups (groups will consist of students on campus)
4) Presentation of the survey results
5) Participation in the online Zero Carbon Conference and assignment related to it

For those taking the course in virtual mode:
1) Participation in the lectures during lecture times or listening to the recorded lectures and assignments related to them
2) No excursions but assignments related to the same topics as there are excursions for the on-campus students
3) Quality of life survey in groups (groups will consist of students online)
4) Presentation of the survey results online
5) Participation in the online Zero Carbon Conference and assignment related to it

Teaching methods

The course takes a look at quality of life in rural areas and the social and environmental infrastructures. What kind of environment is healthy to live in? What services are necessary and what not? How do the environmental and social infrastructures affect a person's feeling of belonging, being a part of something, happiness, ability to work and live in the rural areas?

1. environmental and social infrastructures; what are they, who is responsible for them, how they affect individuals
2. quality of life; well-being, standard of living, balance between working and free time
3. quality of the society; how to participate, be a part of something, how to engage in the community, challenges of social exclusion, insecurity, etc.
4. quality of public services; what is necessary in terms of, for example, health care and other public services
5. what is the future looking like?

The assignments of the course can include, for example:
• orientation to current social and environmental issues in your own region
• quality of life survey
• participation in relevant events
• possible excursions and reflecting on them

Student workload

The approximate work load for on-campus students is:
Lectures: 30h
Readings: 20h
Individual assignments: 28h
Group work: 40h

For online students (available for Open UAS only:
Lectures: 30h
Readings: 15h
Individual assignments: 38h
Group work: 30h