LEARNING OUTCOMES
After the course a student is able to...
- analyse and assess how global water resources are distributed in relation to human population and how this has changed over time
- recognise the connection between food production and use of water
- analyse the water stress and water scarcity in various scales by using spatial datasets and estimate their impact on human society
- apply GIS software (R, R Studio) on global water challenges
- use different kind of spatial datasets as a part of scientific research
- recognise the basics of visual scientific communication, and create informative maps and graphs
Credits: 5
Schedule: 22.10.2024 - 28.11.2024
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Matti Kummu
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
Food security and the overall wellbeing of human kind are threatened by the overexploitation of our water and land resources. Water scarcity is not only a threat to people, but also to many of the planet's key ecosystems. But how have we ended up in this situation, and how does the future look like?
In this course, the aim is to investigate how the world has changed over time, and how these changes have impacted on our water and land resources. Moreover, as the pressure on natural resources is expected to only grow in the future, an overview on future pathways is given.
Within the course, a student will explore and assess these changes using various spatial analyses methods of R, over different openly available global datasets. Moreover, advanced graph and map making is practised with Adobe Illustrator.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Course consist of lectures, hands-on trainings and workshops. Students do each week individual home assignment, which will be collected to a final presentation at the end of the course. In both, main emphasis is on illustrations and graphics.
Grading: participation in lecture-training sessions (1/8), home assignments (5/8), individual final presentation (2/8)
Note: lecture-training sessions are compulsory and student need to attend to minimum five out of six of them, in order to pass the course.
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Contact teaching (lecture-training sessions): 24h (6x4h)
Pre-assignment, orientation to lectures: 24h (6x4h)
Home assignments: 48h (6x8h)
Final presentation: 35h
TOTAL 131h
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
Will be given during the course
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
2 Zero Hunger
6 Clean Water and Sanitation
13 Climate Action
15 Life on Land
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language: English
Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Autumn II
2025-2026 Autumn IIRegistration: Registration for Courses registration for courses will take place on Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi). closes one week prior the course starts. Within the enrollment you are asked to write short motivation letter; this will be used for student selection if needed. Note Max 25 students can attend to the course; priority is given to WAT Master's students.