A Holistic Approach to ‘Sustainable Systems Design’ Course Development

The new Sustainable Systems Engineering program at the University of Calgary aims to disrupt sustainability education by imbedding a systems approach and regenerative design mindset throughout. This paper provides an overview of the first iteration of the second-year design course, SUSE 300, Introduction to Sustainable Systems. Underlying the course is the idea of transformative learning through systems thinking and design-based approach. Through their design project, personal reflections, and design portfolio, both students and instructors went through transformative learning experiences. In this paper, early reflections from the two co-instructors are provided on creating these ambitious learning experiences, and areas for improvement in the next iteration.