Course Description:

The global futures we face today are viewed by many as threatening our very existence on this planet we call home, and the existence of many of the species we share it with. The impact of climate crisis alone threatens the urban, mostly coastal, lifestyles that many of us in the so-called developed world are comfortable with. This is the first in a series of three courses that will introduce you to global futures. The purpose of the ‘Global Futures: Environment Course’ is twofold: 1. To demonstrate that the environmental challenges we face if we continue with business-as-usual, are a threat to human survival; and 2. To show there are numerous alternatives available to us, if we choose to turn things around. This course focuses on our environment, and will teach you about such intractable emerging issues as climate crisis, sea level rise, food and water security, and resource depletion. Secondly, the course will empower you to search for and appreciate the enormous potential of innovation to create alternative solutions, such as floating cities, urban and Ocean farming, renewable energy and alternative education. The course will also, where possible, indicate how the alternative solutions are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Identify three major environmental systems challenges and give examples of at least two specific challenges for each.
• Reflect on how at least one of these environmental challenges is having a direct impact in their life and that of their community.
• Research alternative scenarios for this direct challenge, if possible demonstrating how each alternative aligns to one of more of the UN SDGs.
• Design a plan of action to implement some tangible change in their life or community in relation to one of the environmental challenges.

Introduction Video:

Faculty:

Jennifer M. Gidley, PhD – Jennifer is an author, educator, psychologist and futures researcher. She has held academic posts at four Australian universities, is currently an Adjunct Professor at two Australian universities, and holds academic affiliations in France, Germany and Spain. She is Co-founder and Director of Research at the Oceanic Research Institute, Australia: the world’s first fully sustainable Ocean research organisation, and a partner in the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

Jennifer works globally with speaking and research collaborations across Australia, Europe, UK, USA, Middle East and South East Asia. As the longest serving elected President (2009-2017) of the World Futures Studies Federation, a UNESCO and UN-ECOSOC partner founded in Paris in 1973, she led the global peak body for futures scholars from 60 countries. As WFSF President she presided over UNESCO Participation Project funding in six developing countries.

Jennifer has published 50 academic papers, edited scholarly books and special journal issues, and serves on editorial boards of seven international academic journals. Her recent books are: Postformal Education: A Philosophy for Complex Futures (Springer, 2016) and The Future: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2017), and The Secret to Growing Brilliant Children: Vol 1: Steiner Education for the 21st Century (Bear Books, 2020). She has five more books in process.

Websites: www.jennifergidley.com & www.bearbooks.info

Course Modalities:

Non-Credit Options

Audit-No Credit – If you would like to participate when this course is offered in our Live Virtual Classroom mode, you may attend the live faculty webinars but will not be required to submit assignments for credit.

If you take a few courses and decide you want to officially enroll in a degree program, you can gain academic credit for Lite versions or Audit-No Credit versions by paying the difference between these course fees and a normal academic fee, successfully completing quizzes, submitting your reflection journals and delivering a Final Creative Assignment that will be graded.

For-Credit Options

Live Virtual Classroom: Study that takes place within Ubiquity University, in which Ubiquity academic coursework is accomplished through attendance in Live Webinars, with faculty and student interaction being a part of the Live Webinar content. To receive academic credit, you must not miss more than 3 live sessions, you must complete the quizzes and submit any other required assignments (if any), and a final creative assignment for grading at the degree level you are enrolled in.

Internal Online Independent Study: Study that takes place within Ubiquity University, in which Ubiquity academic online coursework is engaged in independently on one’s own and does not include faculty interaction. To receive academic credit, you must complete the quizzes and submit your reflection journals and final creative assignment for grading at the degree level you are enrolled in.

Pricing:

• BA Level: $300
• MA Level: $600
• PhD Level: $900
• Audit-No Credit: $240 (only if offered in Live Virtual Classroom Mode)
• Lite: $50 (no credit, access to course materials only)

Our shopping cart is simple and easy to understand. If you do not have a user account, you will be able to create one upon purchase. Save your username and password as you will need it to login to access course materials later. For more detailed, step-by-step instructions you can review our tutorial How to Purchase a Course. Again, if you experience any issues, please email Veronica Saldias at registrar@ubiquityuniversity.org.

We allow students at all academic levels to participate in our online courses. However, those students who are enrolled in MA or PhD programs are expected to offer a more sophisticated analysis on reflection tasks, writing assignments, and in the final creative assignment. You will be graded commensurate with your degree level. Except for the Final Creative Assignment, word counts are offered as guidelines. If you need to exceed the word counts to submit an MA or PhD level response, you may feel free to do so as long as the word count expansion is reasonable and necessary.

Course Contact Information:

Live Virtual Classroom macrocourses are delivered by faculty in live Zoom sessions. You will have a course facilitator who is available to answer questions and offer additional assistance and that information will be provided to you upon registration. Please do not email faculty directly with any technology or registration issues.

For on-demand lite or Internal Online Independent Study versions, click the “Chat” button down on the left-hand side of the screen for any technical issues or questions you may have about the content.