Global Engineering for Development, Environment and Society (GEDES), Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech)

Curriculum

For Master's degree program, the curriculum consists of 400- and 500-level courses taken over two years. Students can design their learning process by selecting courses from four elective groups. These are in addition to a newly established, compulsory applied Project-Based Learning (PBL) course, Project Design and Management.

The curriculum allows students to acquire the management skills needed to work globally with scientists and engineers in diverse fields. All courses are conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

For syllabus of each course, please refer to Tokyo Tech Open Courseware (OCW).

PROJECTS		GLOBAL AND REDIONAL ENVIRONMENT		SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT POLICIES		INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CO-CREATION		RESOURCES AND PRODUCT MANUFACTURING
CO	Project Design & Management S	400	Atmospheric Environment in Megacities	400	Environmental Policy	400	Sustainable Development and Integrated Management	400	Environmental Cleanup and Pollution Control Technology
CO	Project Design & Management F	400	Geospatial data analysis for environment studies	400	Methods of Analysis for Socioeconomic and Environmental Data	400	Project Evaluation for Sustainable Society	400	Technologies for Energy and Resource Utilization
		400	Hydrology and Water Resources Conservation	400	Basic Behaviormetrics: Theory and Methods	500	Case Method for International Development and Human Resources	500	Introduction to Systems Engineering
		500	Coastal Disaster Mitigation for Engineers and Planners	500	Environmental Impact Assessment	500	Concept Designing	500	Utilization of Resources and Wastes for Environment
		400	Global Environmental System and Ecosystem Dynamics	LEC	Basic Engineering on Thermal Environment	400	Global Science Communication and Engagement	400	Chemical Process Synthesis for Development
		400	Urban Environment	400	The Economics and Systems Analysis of Environment, Resources, and Technology	400	Science Media and Communication for Global Development, Environment and Society	500	Introduction to Information and Communication Technologies for Development
		500	Environmental Hydraulics	500	History and Current Issues of Economic Development and Environmental Protection			500	Perspective and Understanding of Various Kinds of Material and Standardization

[CO]: Compulsory [400]: Elective 400 series [500]: Elective 500 series

1. PROJECT DESIGN & MANAGEMENT (PDM) S AND F

This course is compulsory for all GEDES master’s students and is offered twice a year, in 1Q and 4Q. In PDM-S (1Q), students formulate a policy recommendation for national leaders in the form of a project that contributes to a developing country’s needs. For this task, the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the country are examined and the appropriate goals for those areas, which are included

in the recommendation, are set. In PDM-F (4Q), students work as a group on an energy and resource issue. In the past, for example, students were given the task of investigating the existing primary energy balances in Asian countries to confirm the local energy and electricity supply policies. They then built scenarios for the electricity supply policies of Asian countries through 2030. Both PDM-S and PDM-F emphasize the importance of communication, collaboration, and creation with people who have different expertise and cultural backgrounds. Presentation skills are also strengthened through this course.

2. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT IN MEGACITIES

The atmospheric environment of a city is composed of complex urban structures, spatiotemporal changes in artificial waste heat, and rapid changes in land cover. Over the past decade, studies of the urban climate have promoted innovative interdisciplinary research projects. According to recent findings, the condition of a city’s atmospheric boundary layer can be simple despite its complexity. The course begins with an introduction to groundbreaking numerical modeling and investigation techniques, followed by a series of lectures and exercises on advancements in climate change investigation in megacities. Students will acquire a deeper understanding of the urban atmospheric environment, take part in research collaboration opportunities, and learn advanced techniques for acquiring further knowledge.

3. GLOBAL SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT

This course provides an overview of science communication and an exploration of recent issues that highlight its importance. Students complete the course with a theoretical understanding of science and public knowledge on the global stage, and practical experience of doing science communication in different forms. Classes consist of lectures, readings, and group work. As a course focused on communication, ample opportunity is given to discuss the content of lectures and texts, to deepen understanding, and to practice skills in expressing opinions. Throughout the course, exercises allow students to use different formats of science communication focused on various areas of science and engineering, culminating in a final project: a public science communication event.