Climate University

The new language versions of the Climate University courses are now open and freely available:

Sustainable.now is a bachelor’s level basic course for anyone interested in sustainable development and climate change. The principles of sustainable development are linked to the 1.5 degree climate target. The course provides a solid information package on the concept of sustainable development and its ecological, social, economic and cultural dimensions, as well as the connections and tensions between them. The ethical perspective running through the course provides a basis for looking at sustainable development as a political and normative concept as well. The course also emphasizes the importance of agency as well as the different roles of the individual. The student is offered the opportunity to look at the sustainability of their own lifestyle from the perspective of individual choices, but on the other hand, sustainability and climate challenges are also presented as a structural and systemic problem. Practical examples and case descriptions illustrate sustainability challenges and their possible solutions. Through the team work assignments, the students deepen their understanding of sustainability challenges and receive peer support from other students. Team work assignments teach the student collective and multidisciplinary knowledge formation as well as collaboration skills that are essential in solving sustainability challenges. Find out more & link to the study material

The next opportunity to study the Sustainable.now course is offered by the University of Helsinki in September (course code ATM378). Follow CU blog, or join our email list for registration info and updates!

ClimateComms.now is a course about climate communication. What is the role of communication in solving the climate crisis? This course dives into the importance and challenges of communicating about climate change, and covers the factors of effective climate communication. During the course you learn to identify the different forms of communication related to climate change, to understand and critically analyze factors that are characteristic to climate communication and make it important yet challenging, to learn about issues that affect the messengers and recipients of climate change messages, and the keys to effective climate communication. Find out more & link to study material 

The ClimateComms.now course you can study at least in the University of Oulu, starting in January 2022 (course code 766382A).

Tervetuloa viettämään kesä ilmastokysymysten parissa! Ilmasto.nyt tutustumiskurssi perustuu Climate Universityn uuteen Lukiolaisen Ilmasto.nyt -kurssiin ja on tiivistetty versio jo monena vuonna järjestetystä Ilmasto.nyt -kurssista. Kurssin lisäksi järjestämme toukokuussa Nuorten ilmastowebinaarin, jossa kurssin aiheita käsitellään vierailevien puhujien kanssa ennen varsinaisen kurssin aloittamista. Sekä opiskelijat että opettajat ovat tervetulleita kuuntelemaan sekä maksutonta webinaaria että osallistumaan kurssille.

Ilmasto.nyt tutustumiskurssi (2 op, kurssikoodi FYS4027)

Ilmasto.nyt -tutustumiskurssi järjestetään 11.5 – 22.6.2021 Digicampus-kurssialustalla. Kurssi tarjoaa pohjustuksen ilmastonmuutoksen moninaisiin aiheisiin. Kurssin materiaalit ovat pääosin itseopiskeltavia, ja ne soveltuvat sekä lukiolaisille että kandidaatin tutkintoaan suorittaville opiskelijoille, kuin myös muuten vaan aiheesta kiinnostuneille. Kurssilla järjestetään tiistaisin klo 16-17 yhteinen Zoom-sessio, jossa halukkaat voivat osallistua keskusteluun ja kysyä kurssiin liittyviä kysymyksiä. Ainoastaan kurssin ensimmäinen ja viimeinen etätapaaminen ovat pakollisia kaikille osallistujille (ja ne järjestetään 11.5 ja 22.6.2021 klo 16-17). Kurssi on ilmainen ja sinne ilmoittaudutaan avoimen yliopiston kautta.

Kurssin kolme keskeistä teemaa ovat

• ilmastonmuutoksen luonnontieteelliset perusteet (esimerkiksi kasvihuoneilmiö, hiilenkierto, ilmastomallit)
• ilmastonmuutoksen hillintä (esimerkiksi hiilineutraali energia ja uusiutuvan energian tuotanto, hiilijalanjälki, ilmastopolitiikka)
• ilmastonmuutoksen vaikutukset ja niihin sopeutuminen (esimerkiksi ekosysteemipalvelut, palauteilmiöt, ilmastonmuutokseen sopeutuminen)

Kurssin tarkempi kuvaus löytyy kurssin wiki-alustalta: https://wiki.helsinki.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=367946481

Kurssille ilmoittaudutaan Avoimen yliopiston kautta:

https://studies.helsinki.fi/opintotarjonta/cur/hy-CUR-142447848/Avoin_yo_Ilmasto_nyt_tutustumiskurssi_kes%C3%A4

Nuorten ilmastowebinaari – Vihreä kaupunki

Maksuton Vihreä kaupunki -webinaari järjestetään torstaina 6.5.2021 klo 15-16.15. Webinaarissa ilmastonmuutosta lähestytään kaupunkisuunnittelun ja sopeutumisen näkökulmista. Webinaari soveltuu hyvin lukiolaisille ja muille Ilmasto.nyt tutustumiskurssista kiinnostuneille.

Tervetuloa kuuntelemaan ja keskustelemaan yhdessä Climate University:n tutkijoiden ja vierailevien puhujien kanssa!

Webinaarin ohjelma:

15.00-15.10 Tervetuloa

15.10-15.30 Leena Järvi (apulaisprofessori, Ilmakehätieteiden keskus, Helsingin yliopisto) – Puuston ilmastovaikutukset

15.30-15.45 Riikka Äärelä (maisema-arkkitehti, Helsingin kaupunki) – Hiilinielut ja –varastot tiivistyvässä kaupungissa

15.45-16.00 Susanna Kankaanpää (ympäristösuunnittelija, ilmastonmuutos, Helsingin kaupunki) – Miten puusto auttaa sopeutumaan

16.00-16.15 Koonti ja Ilmasto.nyt tutustumiskurssin esittely

Webinaari on maksuton eikä edellytä kurssille ilmoittautumista. Webinaarin osallistumislinkki lähetetään ilmoittautuneille. Ilmoittautuminen webinaariin:  https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/110980/lomake.html 

Webinaarin järjestävät yhteistyössä Helsingin yliopisto INAR, Helsingin kaupunki ja Lukioiden korkeakouluyhteistyö pääkaupunkiseudulla –hanke.

Tulevia tapahtumia:

Global Challenges camp for the youth 3.-4.8.

Kansainvälinen Global Challenges –leiri, joka sopii hyvin jatkoksi Ilmasto.nyt verkkokurssin teemoille. Lisätietoja löydät leiristä tiedekasvatuksen verkkosivuilta:

https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/science-education/for-children-the-youth-and-the-families/global-challenges-course-for-the-youth

4.-5.8. Teachers’ Climate Change Forum 

Opettajien kansainvälinen ilmastonmuutosfoorumi (TCCF):

https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/science-education/for-teachers-and-learning-communities/teachers-climate-change-forum

Janina Taurinen & Mikko Äijälä 

Helsingin yliopisto 

I started working at the University of Helsinki and also at Climate University, in August 2019 as a civil servant. My job was to produce video material for online courses, among other things as well.

In the beginning I felt a bit lost. I had never worked in an office environment before. My days were filled with watching tutorial videos for my video editing software and navigating around the university both online and literally. After a month of working at the university I went on a month-long bus trip in Eastern-Europe with my friends. It was marvellous and returned to work with a clearer mind.

In November 2019 I attended my first Climate University workshop at Metropolia UAS. In the workshop we launched an idea of a #ClimateChallenge campaign, where the workshop attendees could challenge any individual or organisation to take a specific action against climate change. We received positive feedback from the challengers and decided to continue the filming of these challenges in the upcoming workshops. And so we did. In early March 2020 at Aalto University’s workshop (just before the first COVID-19 restrictions) we filmed more challenges. After Aalto, all of the remaining three workshops were online, but this didn’t stop us from filming the challenges. During my time at Climate University I filmed and sent 29 amazing challenges to various different organisations and individuals. Thank you everyone who contributed to the making of these challenges!

My other major task at Climate University has been the production and coordination of videos for the new Climate University courses, Sustainable.now and SystemsChange.now. During autumn of 2019 I was more invested in tasks regarding the courses of University of Helsinki, but in early 2020 I started to work on the Climate University course videos. We decided to make these videos with Unigrafia, which turned out to be a great decision. First I planed the videos with the course teachers and developers. They came up with the topics and the potential speakers. Then we all had a few meetings together with Heikki and Lauri from Unigrafia, where the course developers could ask questions and give their ideas for the videos. Then I started to contact the speakers and searched for locations for filming. I was able to make a schedule for the filming of the videos right before midsummer. Everything stood still during July, but things started rolling again in August. We filmed the videos with Lauri and Heikki during September and October. On set Heikki and Lauri took care of the technical side, while I instructed the speakers and asked the questions for the interviews. All of the speakers were excellent, which made the post-production much easier. Heikki and Lauri edited the videos and I gave my creative opinions and told them what should be fixed. We were supposed to get all of the videos on YouTube before the final Climate University workshop on 9th December. I worked long days and we were able to get most of the videos online on time. The rest of them were put up there before Christmas. For the first months of 2021 I have been fine-tuning Climate University’s YouTube channel so that everything is visually pleasing and in a unified format. I think the videos and the channel turned out very well. It was pleasure to work with Lauri and Heikki from Unigrafia as well as with the speakers and the course developers. The videos will give a fresh addition to the already great courses. I’ll put links to some of my favourite videos below.

On 1st July I officially became a conscious objector. I refused to complete my remaining civil service due to my non-violent beliefs. I had informed everyone at the university about it well beforehand and Laura and my other co-workers supported my decision, which felt great. I was hired to the university for seven more months as a trainee, starting in the beginning of August. I enjoyed a beautiful, sunny July travelling around Finland, visiting my friends and relatives. It was an easygoing month full of swimming and relaxing. It truly was one of the best months of my life. Then in August I returned to work and the following seven months have flown by me just like that. Now it is time to close this chapter in my life and embark upon new experiences.

All in all I have enjoyed working in Climate University. Although, the work hasn’t constantly been super exciting (I don’t think almost any work is), it has been important for me to work for something that truly makes a difference in the world. I have had great co-workers and I have learned a lot about making videos but also about the topics of the videos. I hope that the Climate University materials will spread around the world and I’m proud that I was able to contribute to the creation of them.

What comes next is a bit of a mystery for me, as it is for everyone else as well, because of the pandemic. The first thing I will do with me free time is reading and exercising. I won’t apply to any universities this spring, but I will maybe try to get a summer job. Something physical to balance the 1.5 years of working in an office. Gardener would be nice. What I do know is that I will soon go to jail for the conscious objection. I don’t know specifically what my new address will be and when it’s time for moving day. Luckily this is only a short-time arrangement, since I had so little time left of my service.

A big thank you to everyone who have worked with me during the past 18 months. Let’s all continue working for a sustainable future together!

A more detailed look on the reasons of my objection can be found here (sorry it’s only in Finnish).

Links to my favourite Climate University videos:

• Forests:

• Water and development:

• The ladder of inference:

Mikael Nummi 

Climate University colleagues want to thank Mikael for the good work! You have done a lot in only 18 months, and it has been a pleasure to work with you! 

Welcome to enrol to the following Climate University courses starting in March and April 2021:

Kestävyys.nyt, Kestävän kehityksen peruskurssi 5 op (kurssikoodi YH000042) on käynnissä Turun yliopistossa 17.3. – 23.5. Kurssi on tarjolla Turun yliopiston opiskelijoille sekä kaikille halukkaille Turun Avoimessa Yliopistossa, jossa voi ilmoittautua kurssille osoitteessa https://nettiopsu.utu.fi/avoin/ilmoittautuminen. Ilmoittautumisaika päättyy 28.2.2021. Kurssi on suomenkielinen.

Sustainable.now, course on the basics of sustainability, is available in English in LUT University (course code BH60A6800 and BH60A6801) 8.3. – 25.4.2021. The course is open for LUT students. 

Solutions.now, a project course where students brainstorm concrete and real climate and sustainability challenges in collaboration with working life, is available 15.3. – 7.5.2021. The course is open to the students of Turku University of Applied Sciences (course code TE00BR31-3002), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (course code XX00DW15-3003), LAB University of Applied Sciences (course code LA00BU68-3002 /AMK and LA00BU68-3003 /YAMK) and University of Helsinki (course code ATM380), as well as via open university of Helsinki: https://studies.helsinki.fi/courses/cur/hy-CUR-136253958 

Climate.now, Basics of climate change and implications on technology and business (PHYS-E0580), is available in Aalto University 19.4. – 28.5.2021. The course is open to all Aalto students. 

Please take a look at these fresh new trailers of our new Climate University courses:

• Kestävyys.nyt

• SystemsChange.now 

• Solutions.now 

More about the courses: www.climateuniversity.fi

The first round of Climate University was wrapped up in Tampere workshop 9.- 10.12.2020. Due to the Coronavirus situation the workshop was held virtually but that did not stop us from having good conversations and activities during the two days. The topic of the first day was summarizing what we have learned during the Climate University and teaching and research for sustainable citizenship. The second day we were concentrating on the future of climate and sustainability teaching and the future of Climate University. 

First day 

To start the workshop, we had the honour of having Academician Markku Kulmala giving us the opening words. Birgitta Vuorinen brought us greetings from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture before Mari Walls, president of Tampere University gave an opening speech. 

The rest of the morning session was used to summarize our experiences from Climate University and get to know the new Climate University courses. Our coordinator Laura Riuttanen had prepared a treasure hunt during which the participants could learn about the new courses while trying to find solutions to a puzzle. Before lunch break, we celebrated the success of Climate University by raising a toast. 

During the lunch break people also had the possibility to film #ClimateChallenges to challenge companies, politicians, institutions etc. to climate actions. The challenges were filmed by Mikael Nummi and are sent to the challenged individuals or organizations (and shared in social media if the challengers so wish). You can find all the challenges from the Climate University YouTube channel. 

The afternoon session concentrated on teaching and research for sustainable citizenship. Our first keynote speaker was Professor Leena-Aarikka Stenroos from Tampere University. She talked about CICAT2025: Circular Economy Catalysts project, which she is the research consortium leader of. We learned how circular economy leads towards more ecologically friendly and sustainable economic growth. This transition can be helped by various factor such as technology and regulations, but also by education. The education viewpoint was explored in more detail by Pirjo Kuula from TAU, who gave us a talk about integrating circular economy, and more broadly sustainability,  in the teaching and education of  built environment. Constructing buildings and infrastructure is material-intensive and therefore it is critical to teach future civil engineers the importance of recycling materials and avoiding primary materials when moving towards circular economy. 

Our third keynote speaker for the day was Anette Mansikka-Aho who gave us a thought-provoking presentation about how to talk about climate change to adults (or anyone else really) who refuse to accept what we know about climate change. Finally, we had professor Kirsi Pauliina Kallio talking about Climate Citizenship and the challenge of tackling a global problem in a world where decisions are made locally. Climate change does not respect borders and our response to climate change should reflect this. 

To end the day, we had a workshop lead by our four keynote speakers regarding their topics. Participants could discuss the topic they were most interested in and try to come up with ideas to take advantage of that topic in teaching. 

Second day 

After some welcoming words by professor Miikka Dal Maso, we started the second day with a keynote speech by Eveliina Asikainen. She talked about Sustainability Competences or how can we design our education so that it leads to a more sustainable world. This does not mean just courses about climate change and sustainability but taking those factors into account in all teaching. Our second keynote talker for the morning session was Daniel Fernandez Galeote. He gave us an interesting talk about how to use games to engage people to talk and think about sustainability and environment. 

The rest of the morning was dedicated to two parallel workshops. Under Eveliina’s guidance, the participants could discuss the different sustainability competences and their importance on their degrees or disciplines. The discussions highlighted how integrating the different competences (see the Flinga screenshot below) is a key cornerstone of creating impactful education.  

Daniel organized a Game Jam, where people could try to come up with an idea for a game that could be used to teach sustainability issues. 

The final session of the workshop was dedicated to talk about the future of Climate University. Meri Löyttyniemi from Aalto University was our last keynote speaker. She brought greetings from UNIFI (Universities Finland) Sustainable Development work group. We were given a talk about how the Finnish universities will take sustainability and climate into account in their future teaching, research, administration and societal interactions.  

Our last program was Introduction to the future of the climate university and a workshop held by  Laura Riuttanen. Participants could choose to join a topic relevant to the future of Climate University such as research or internationalization. 

Oskari Kangasniemi & Miikka Dal Maso

Tampere University 

We are glad to announce the new website www.climateuniversity.fi, where you can find information on all the Climate University courses from now on. Welcome to explore the new Climate University courses!

At least the following Climate University courses will be taught in spring 2021:

SystemsChange.now, 5 ECTS, January-May 2021

You can enrol via University of Helsinki (course code ATM379), University of Turku (MAAN7741), Tampere University (HALYAS14), Aalto University (MS-E2136) or Open University of Helsinki: https://courses.helsinki.fi/fi/ayatm379en/140011500.

Leadership for sustainable change, 5 ECTS, January-March 2021

The course is open to the students of University of Helsinki, Tampere University, University of Jyväskylä as well as via open university. Enrolment directly to the MOOC platform: www.leadforsust.fi.

Statistical tools for climate and atmospheric science, 5 ECTS, January-May 2021

The course is open to University of Eastern Finland students (course code 3352755), University of Helsinki students (course code ATM308), as well as via open university (registration: https://opintopolku.fi/app/#!/koulutus/1.2.246.562.17.99752628315). 

Solutions.now, 5 ECTS, March-May 2021

The course will be open to the students of Turku University of Applied Sciences (course code TE00BR31-3002), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (course code XX00DW15-3003), LAB University of Applied Sciences (course code LA00BU68-3002 /AMK and LA00BU68-3003 /YAMK) and Helsinki University (course code ATM380), as well as via open university of Helsinki.

Sustainable.now, 5 ECTS, March-May 2021

The course will be organized by Univeristy of Turku. More info coming.

Welcome!

PS. Climate University in University of Helsinki news (in Finnish): https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/uutiset/koulutus-kasvatus-ja-oppiminen/yhdentoista-korkeakoulun-tuottamat-kestavyys-ja-ilmastokurssit-yhdesta-paikasta

How to face the challenges of sustainability and climate change in teaching in higher education? Welcome to hear the outcomes of the Climate University Ministry of Education and Culture key initiative “Multidisciplinary digital learning in sustainability challenges – flexible study paths to the working life” 2018-2020. It is time to celebrate together, as well as to discuss the future of sustainability education.  

Program:

Wednesday 9.12. 

9:00 Welcome to Climate University at Tampere 

9:30 Summary of Climate University 

9:30 Get to know the Climate University new courses 

11:00 Celebrating the success together  

11:30 Lunch break 

12:30 Teaching and research for sustainable citizenship  

12:30 Keynote 1: Leena Aarikka-Steenroos: CICAT Circular Economy Catalysts – From Innovation to Business Ecosystems

12:50 Keynote 2: Pirjo Kuula: Teaching circular economy for built environment

13:10 Discussion 

13:30 Break  

13:45 Puheenvuoro 3: Anette Mansikka-aho: Kuinka ilmastonmuutoksesta kannattaisi puhua aikuisille? 

14:10 Keynote 4: Kirsi-Pauliina Kallio: Climate citizenship: challenges of global shared responsibility in the world governed through state-based liberal democracy

14:30 Introduction to workshop

14:40 Working in break-out rooms

15:40 Conclusions 

16:00 End of day 

Thursday 10.12. 

9:00 Welcome  

9:15 Future of Teaching Sustainability 

9:15 Keynote 1: Eveliina Asikainen: Sustainability competencies

9:35 Keynote 2: Daniel Fernandex Galeote: (No) Time to Play: Games for Climate Change Engagement

9:55 Discussion

10:05 Break

10:15 Workshop: How to teach sustainability?  

12:00 Lunch break 

13:00 Future of Climate University 

13:00 Keynote 1: Meri Löyttyniemi: Greetings from Unifi sustainable development work

13:15 Interactive workshop  

16:00 End of day 

The seminar will be held online and is hosted by Tampere University. Further information with participation links will be sent closer to the event to the registered participants.  

Registration link: https://survey.tuni.fi/lime/666916?lang=en  

Registration is closed. 

Contact:

Miikka Dal Maso, Tampere University

Laura Riuttanen, University of Helsinki

University of Helsinki Open Science Award was given on 22.10.2020 to post-doctoral researcher Laura Riuttanen on her efforts in building the Climate University. Thank you everyone who have participated in the community!

Read more: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/higher-education-science-policy/university-of-helsinki-open-science-award-given-to-builders-of-open-learning-and-teaching-communities 

Interview in Finnish: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/thinkopen/avoimen-tieteen-palkinto-2020-laura-riuttanen/ 

First day, October 7^th. Main topic of the day: Climate Science

Highlighting the importance of the workshop, we were honored to have the opening words of the first day by Permanent Secretary Juhani Damski from the Ministry of Environment. As the former head of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, he expertly discussed the topic of the workshop and the work done by Climate University on increasing the climate awareness in the larger context.

After the riveting keynote, introduction of the workshop themes and schedule, it was time for speed networking hosted by Bradlie Martz-Sigala. This was well-received by participants, as it was really nice to see other participants of the workshop and discuss with them even briefly, as we would have done on the hallway outside of the lecture room in “normal” workshop or seminar.

The science part of the workshop was initiated by research professor Sami Romakkaniemi, who is the head of the Finnish Meteorological Institute Atmospheric Research Centre of Eastern Finland. He gave us extensive overview on the main topics of climatic research, including studying greenhouse gas emissions and aerosol particles, modelling of atmospheric processes in global scale, how the warming of the climate is studied and how it affects our future living conditions and finding ways to slow down or even counteract the warming. The talk was followed by discussions on three interesting topics: firstly on “How to decrease our carbon emissions or turn them to negative”, secondly on “Should we use geoengineering to counteract the warming?” and thirdly on “The role of emission compensations”.

The afternoon was reserved for discussions on strengthening the climate and sustainability competencies of the society. Specifically, by introducing Climate University courses related to sustainability and climate change. For those who were not interested on the courses, we gave opportunity to continue discussion on climate science.

Second day, October 8^th. Main topic of the day: Climate Law

The day was opened by the Academic Rector of the University of Eastern Finland, Professor of Environmental Law Tapio Määttä. He introduced the research done at the UEF on environmental law and science. The talk highlighted the forerunner position of our university in the fields related on climate, both in the fields of science and law.

The keynote of the day was given by Professor of International Law Kati Kulovesi. Her presentation provided thorough overview of the climate law and its importance on the fight against climate change. She also gave attention to international climate negotiations, their importance and difficulties. The keynote session was continued by  Secretary-General of the Climate Panel, Heta Heiskanen. Her main topic was the current status of Finnish climate act, its reform, and how individuals and communities can actively participate in giving their opinion of it.

The Keynotes were followed by breakout sessions on Climate Litigation, led by Prof. Harro van Asselt, International Climate Negotiations, led by Kati Kulovesi, and Consumption Regulations, led by Heta Heiskanen. Each of these special breakout sessions dove deeper into the complexities of climate change law. The International Climate Negotiations session focused on the UNFCCC processes and international stage for the climate conferences (COPs), while Climate Litigation focused on the law suits around the world of citizens taking their governments to court for insufficient climate action. The Consumption Regulation session focused in on the Finnish climate context.

During the lunch break, Mikael Nummi was filming climate challenges by the participants (see Climate University YouTube channel).

In the afternoon, meetings for teachers of Climate.now and Circular.now courses were held, and most importantly, an exciting discussion on gaps and challenges in climate science and law. The discussions were lively and gave good insight on situations around the world, as the farthest members in our discussion were from Pakistan and Nigeria.

At the end of the day we asked the participants what were the main words they picked up from the workshop. The resulting word cloud is a good ending for our blog posting. Thank you all who participated, and especially great thanks for people who made the workshop happen!

Santtu Mikkonen & Bradlie Martz-Sigala

University of Eastern Finland