Global classroom piloted at six EfD centers

EfD’s flagship educational program: Collaborative Program in Climate Change and Development Economics (3CDE)  linking local and international students and teachers with hands on experience and case studies kicked off its first pilot in CATIE, EfD Central America´s host institution in February.

Emil Sjöholm, student in the Learning and leadership Master Program from Chalmers University in Sweden received a Field Study to conduct the first pilot in Costa Rica with the support of 3CDE’s program director Francisco Alpizar and pedagogics expert Erik Sterner. His MSc thesis will capture the results of this pilot.  EfD:s Eugenia León sat down  with Emil and asked him about the pilot conducted in Costa Rica.

What is the pilot course about?
The course we are piloting is called Environmental policy instruments, that has been a master course taught at the Environmental Economics Master program at the University of Gothenburg.  It includes basic economic concepts underlying environmental policy-making. It should also give the students insights into practical issues of policies, both from the perspective of implementers, and those facing new regulations.

How is the course designed?
Teaching material of this course mainly consists of video lectures that the students watch on their own before class.  After watching the videos, students are asked to complete a quiz in order to rate their understanding of the lecture. Video Lectures and quizzes are followed up by questions, discussion and exercises in a local classroom.  The course also includes a three-part global collaborative exercise on "a fair global climate change deal" in which students from six countries across the globe get to negotiate, take other perspectives and try to come up with a fair climate deal.

How big is the class?
Here in Costa Rica five students are attending the course, but In total  more than 70 students will be participating globally in this exercise. The course is also taking place in China (starts on Monday), Colombia (10 students), India (12 students) , Kenya (7 students)  and Sweden (30 students)   

For how long is the pilot course going on?
It varies from different universities. But the global collaborative exercise is taking place between mid-February until 19th of March.

The Collaborative Program in Climate Change and Development Economics (3CDE) is the first “global classroom” in climate change problem solving. The program is specifically designed to provide graduates with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively contribute towards development under a changing climate.

For more information about the 3CDE program click here.

By: Eugenia León.

News | 16 February 2018