‘Teaching about climate change is always challenging, as it can feel like an immense crisis. However, as a scientist, I find hope in seeing new students engage with the topic and become the active change-makers that we need to change the course we are on as a global community.’ Read the full interview with Joeri.

What is this course about?

We are living through a climate crisis, and addressing it requires a profound understanding of the Earth’s processes that humans are affecting. This course teaches students that climate change goes beyond rising global temperatures—it influences every aspect of the Earth system. Students explore topics such as meteorology, the natural drivers of the climate, the current causes of climate change, and potential solutions. They also gain skills in analysing local climate changes and using climate models to illustrate these impacts.

Why is this course relevant for students?

Climate change pushes our society into multiple transitions. For example, an energy transition from ready-to-use fossil fuels to less reliable renewable energy, or a food transition from a meat-heavy diet to a vegetarian diet. To make these transitions successful, we need to clearly explain what is at stake. This requires decision-makers at all levels of society who are aware of why the climate is changing, what the impact will be, and how we can move away from this impact.

Which sustainable competencies will students learn during this course?

Students not only learn about climate change through the lens of natural science but also gain experience in communicating their findings. In this course, students collaborate with peers from the International Politics of Climate Change course taught by Dr. Schaafsma. Together, they participate in a two-day climate negotiation where students represent different countries. My students act as scientific advisors, working alongside their counterparts to manage the negotiations. Through this exercise, students gain valuable insights into the challenges of conveying relevant information effectively in high-stakes discussions. This experience equips them to present compelling arguments to policymakers and world leaders about climate change in the future.

Why do you enjoy teaching this course?

Teaching about climate change is always challenging, as it can feel like an immense crisis. However, as a scientist, I find hope in seeing new students engage with the topic and become the active change-makers that we need to change the course we are on as a global community. It is a tough course because we must confront very bleak futures, but together we also envision a world where we strive for a more sustainable society.

‘Sustainability isn’t just about preservation; it’s about embracing nature’s intelligence and combating misinformation, particularly climate change denial.’ Read the full interview with Lotte.

Why is studying sustainability important to you?

Sustainability is more than just protecting ecosystems—it’s the thread that weaves together human conflicts, ideologies, and the vast natural systems we often overlook. Studying it has reshaped my worldview, revealing how deeply human emotions and actions are intertwined with Earth’s ancient, intelligent systems. Understanding these systems—and learning to recognize, respect, and work in sync with them—has given me a new perspective on life and activism. Sustainability isn’t just about preservation; it’s about embracing nature’s intelligence and combating misinformation, particularly climate change denial. If we protect ecosystems and allow them to maintain their balance, they can create wonders that sustain us—lush forests, healthy crops, and vibrant oceans teeming with life and color. This is the future we can still fight for.

What did you like most about this course?

I often find education lacking in visual and interactive elements, but this course was an exception. Professor Reinders brought climate science to life—having us draw on a globe with a black marker to grasp wind patterns, guiding us through climate modeling software, and preparing us to counter climate change denial. One memorable moment was analyzing a climate denier’s claim that the planet is “greening like never before.” As a class, we transformed the room into a model of Earth’s complex systems, using tape to map out the intricate web of gases and mediums that make up our planet’s energy balance. Through this exercise, we quickly understood that this greening is not what it seems. It signifies a dangerous rise in atmospheric CO₂ levels. The professor’s outstanding teaching methods helped us grasp complex concepts in a hands-on way—literally.

Which competencies did you acquire during this course that will be important in your academic or professional career?

The professor guided us through the fundamental laws of physics that shape our weather systems, encouraging us to observe natural phenomena—like clouds—not just as passing shapes but as evidence of the forces driving our climate. As simple as it seemed, this exercise grounded theory in reality. By bridging observation with data, this course strengthened my ability to navigate complex scientific literature and climate models. It also improved my critical thinking, helping me analyze climate science more carefully—understanding how graphs and models can be deceptive and that real conclusions are often more nuanced than misleading articles suggest. More importantly, it deepened my understanding of how interconnected our climate system is, where even the slightest change can trigger profound, lasting effects on future generations. Some of these effects may not be immediately visible due to the “tipping point,” delaying their occurrence and creating the illusion that nothing is happening. This dangerous lag fuels misinformation and denial—a battle truly worth fighting.

‘Drawing on the “relational turn” in the social sciences and the humanities, this course approaches the climate crisis as a relational crisis between ourselves, others, and nature. [one] that calls for a transformation towards sustainable and equitable futures for all life on Earth’. Read the full interview with Jelle.

What is this course about?

This course explores the interconnected and interdependent relationship between personal, societal and planetary wellbeing. It does so by studying the social and human dimensions of climate change in an interdisciplinary, interactive, and playful manner. Drawing on the ‘relational turn’ in the social sciences and the humanities, this course approaches the climate crisis as a relational crisis between ourselves, others, and nature. Relational perspectives highlight that climate change is transforming the life-support systems that our existence depends on, and simultaneously calls for a transformation towards sustainable and equitable futures for all life on Earth. This course therefore addresses an existential question that many of us are confronted with in these turbulent times, namely: how can I matter more meaningfully in this world?

Why is this course relevant for students?

This course is relevant for students because it provides a broader and deeper understanding of climate, sustainability, and wellbeing. The dominant discourse positions climate change as an environmental problem ‘out there’ that primarily requires techno-managerial quick fixes. This course introduces students to aspects of climate change that remain neglected in theory and practice: its social and human dimensions.

This course starts at the theoretical center and then slowly moves towards the margins. The approaches covered throughout the course therefore become increasingly critical, going from sustainability science, philosophy of science, and critical animal studies literatures to feminist, queer, post-colonial, decolonial, and Indigenous scholarship. Students examine questions such as: What are the emotions, values, and worldviews underpinning a changing climate? How is climate change related to other contemporary trends, such as growing inequality, and biodiversity loss? How does climate change touch upon the foundation of my everyday life, and is thereby personal? By rethinking the problem, students become equipped to both broaden and deepen the solution space.

Which sustainable competencies will students learn during this course?

This course is based on transformative pedagogy, an education approach that enables students to train the skills and competencies needed to spark, scale, and sustain transformation towards sustainability. The orientation is systems thinking, doing, being, which is integral to sustainable development.

Students will train important skills, including: analysing, generating solutions, project-based working, collaborating, oral communication, societal awareness, and reflecting. These skills are trained through different methods, such as: engaging with critical social science literature, completing individual reflective assignments, creating interdisciplinary podcast, participating in in-class debates, delivering group presentations, and undertaking a free creative project.

During the forest excursion, students engage in mindfulness, compassion, and artistic practices to (re-)connect with themselves, others and nature. By training these transformative skills and competencies, students become equipped to become agents of change, as distinguished from objects to be changed.

Why do you enjoy teaching this course?

I enjoy teaching this course because it enables me to transform education in practice. This is essential because the sustainability crisis is also an educational crisis.

Universities are currently designed for the production and reproduction of knowledge. Knowledge is a necessary, yet insufficient condition for personal, societal, and planetary transformation. The university is arguably not realizing its full potential, when its success is measured against the level of progress being made in generating the transformations needed to address major challenges, such as climate change and growing inequality.

This course includes ways of knowing, doing, and being that are often excluded in traditional forms of education. I find it incredibly rewarding to see how interdisciplinary, interactive, and playful education enables students to explore and develop parts of themselves that remain neglected in traditional educational settings. Watching my students grow and tap more into their full potential fills me with gratitude and pride.

’Nature gives so much to me every day and teaches me invaluable lessons about life. I feel compelled to give back, fostering the sense of kinship that Robin Kimmerer so wonderfully describes.’ Read the full interview with Jules.

Why is studying sustainability important to you?

Sustainability is one of the most globally pressing and imminent challenges we face today. On a personal level, nature gives so much to me every day and teaches me invaluable lessons about life. I feel compelled to give back, fostering the sense of kinship that Robin Kimmerer so wonderfully describes. I’m particularly drawn to sustainability within the social sciences because, while we understand the natural science behind climate solutions, the real challenge lies in turning this knowledge into meaningful action. I’m deeply interested in exploring how to bridge this gap - understanding human behavior and systems of change to inspire collective action and sustainable practices.

What did you like most about this course?

I was particularly drawn to the course’s progressive, integrative, and creative approach. The combination of diverse mediums (documentaries, short films, interviews, and indigenous knowledge) alongside scientific theory makes the class dynamic and holistic. I appreciate a less hierarchical approach to knowledge, embracing the idea that wisdom and truth can be found in every corner. Additionally, the course’s emphasis on questioning beliefs and norms, while encouraging collaborative critical thinking, creates a rich and embodied learning environment. It’s inspiring to see sustainability taught with a fractal approach - one that interconnects science, society, and self.

Which competencies did you acquire during this course that will be important in your academic or professional career?

Through this course, I have developed several key competencies that will be invaluable in my academic and professional career. These include integrity to values, which ensures my actions align with ethical and sustainable intentions; open-mindedness, enabling me to approach challenges and diverse perspectives with curiosity and respect; and critical thinking, which allows me to analyse complex issues and offer thoughtful approaches. Additionally, I have cultivated compassion, which strengthens my ability to work collaboratively and empathetically, and a commitment to striving for wholeness, ensuring that I approach sustainability (and most other things) as an interconnected system of science, society, and self.

’As humanity, we apparently do not have the capacity to absorb “the history of nature”; we lack a collective natural history consciousness.’ Read the full interview with Marc.

What is this course about?

The course is about the shifting baseline syndrome; the shifting of our reference point about the state of nature. For many natural scientists, the reference point against which they measure change is the situation as they found it at the start of their career. A next generation of scientists does the same. The reference point against which change is measured therefore shifts each time. Children experience a similar process. The nature in which they play is seen as ‘untouched, rich’, and forms the benchmark against which change is ‘measured’. However, for both the scientists and the children, that benchmark is already a greatly changed, and in most cases a worsened situation. As humanity, we apparently do not have the capacity to absorb ‘the history of nature’; we lack a collective natural history consciousness.

Why is this course relevant for students?

Students will look at their own living environment, where they grew up, with different eyes. You can often read the surprise on their faces when they look back further than their childhood and see what (natural) changes have taken place that they had no knowledge of or insight into. They are enabled to look at the world with a broader perspective, in a field (natural history) where this is rarely done. Looking at the world with such eyes is already an eye-opener. It is striking that students from many different disciplines participate in the course. Apparently there is great interest in this theme.

Which sustainable competencies will students learn during this course?

The course is mainly linked to SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on land). It makes clear how far the influence of human actions on nature reaches, over long time scales. The course is not aimed at making choices about behavior or lifestyle, but enriches your worldview, of your own living environment and how it has changed unnoticed over decades, centuries to millennia. The SDGs that the course focuses on are also the lowest scoring in the business world. As a result, students are better equipped to fill 'that gap' in later work.

Why do you enjoy teaching this course?

What I enjoy most is confronting students with this ‘gap’ in their consciousness. I mix my practical experiences that I have gained in research in nature, particularly in Europe and Indonesia, with a broader scientific background around those practical experiences. I almost literally take them on a journey, around the theme of the course, and that often results in lively lectures. That interaction, the challenging, is one of the most enjoyable aspects of working with students during this course.

‘Even if we, as individuals, could buy anything and everything in the world without our habits making a dent into Mother Nature, in the end it hasn’t made us happier human beings. As such, overconsumption isn’t benefiting us neither The Earth.’ Read the full interview with Linda.

Why is studying sustainability important to you?

Studying sustainability is important, because I believe we need to shift our assumptions from infinite growth to either slow-growth or degrowth economic models. This would involve finding ways how to equip individuals and societies to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Sustainable living is a key ingredient to that. Even if we, as individuals, could buy anything and everything in the world without our habits making a dent into Mother Nature, in the end it hasn’t made us happier human beings. As such, overconsumption isn’t benefiting us neither The Earth. Sustainability is a lifestyle that spans from basic individual needs (such as food, accommodation and energy) to ways in which societies operate (such as public transport, walkable cities and basic healthcare). In the end, it isn’t just about putting on a” sustainably sourced” logo on a chocolate bar. It is the way we, as humankind, move through universe.

What did you like most about this course?

I appreciated the enthusiasm and the real-world expertise of the professor. Our classes were filled with engaging discussions, where the question in hand were entertained from all vantage points. This type of seminar-style class is great for improving all kinds of skills, from reasoning to questioning. Additionally, the autonomous approach in writing the essay where students can pick their own case study was refreshing. Enabling us to dive into subject we most found fascinating while endowing students with the responsibility of excelling in picked topics. However, my favourite part must be when I contacted a professor in Estonian university for my research paper, in order to enquire about SBS, and them hearing about for the first time. This illuminates the significance of the course Mr.Argeloo is teaching – and how we, the students, are already becoming future teachers.

Which competencies did you acquire during this course that will be important in your academic or professional career?

The main takeaway was studying about the shifting baseline syndrome (SBS). It is imperative that we understand generational amnesia, and how it affects our climate policies. Recognising how environmental degradation has become normalised can help us save historical ecological knowledge that otherwise would be lost. For example, currently in the public, there is a habit of basing our conversion targets on already-degraded ecosystems. Thus, consequently we aim too low in our future environmental policies while failing to restore environments to their full potential.

By learning about SBS, I realised how imperative it is to define realistic and historically informed benchmarks when setting the environmental restoration targets. As someone who majored in International Relations and Organisations, recognising SBS in public discourse can help in setting accurate conservation goals and improving environmental policy.