CIVICA’s Europeanship Multicampus Course: “The Road to the Green Transition” , a brand-new course is currently open for enrollment to CEU master’s students and will offer direct interaction with some of the leading scholars on climate policy across eight different CIVICA universities.
Running from February 5-May 7, 2025, the course will critically explore the main policy challenges in achieving ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as called for in the Paris Agreement. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of economic policy, the role of the private sector and the multi-level politics behind the green transition. The course is designed and jointly taught by professors from Bocconi University (Italy), CEU, Hertie School (Germany), IE University (Spain), London School of Economics and Political Science (England), National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Romania), SGH Warsaw School of Economics (Poland) and Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden).
“Addressing climate change requires an integrated approach—no single discipline, sector or perspective can tackle the challenge alone. This is what makes this course so critical. It helps students understand the interplay between climate policy, market dynamics, private sector innovation and governance at different levels,” said CEU Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Michael LaBelle, who will teach in the course. “The goal is to help students think in a more integrated way, so they are better equipped to tackle the real-world challenges of the green transition.”
A Podcast Training Camp and Intercultural Learning
LaBelle will lecture on the green transition and the private sector and also lead a podcast training camp. The podcast training camp aims to equip students with the technical skills to produce a podcast. In addition to his academic work centered on energy governance, energy justice, geopolitics, security and innovation, LaBelle is the producer and host of the My Energy 2050 podcast, which delivers interviews with leaders in energy transitions research and policy. He said: “By teaching students how to create podcasts, we are not just providing technical skills; we are helping them communicate complex ideas about the green transition in a way that reaches a wider audience and raises awareness about these critical topics.” LaBelle also said that in today’s digital world, podcasting is an accessible and engaging tool that encourages meaningful conversation about important issues.
In addition to lectures, students will work in teams across countries and disciplines, with the aim of completing a final capstone project assignment related to climate policy challenges. In said capstone project, each team will work together to create a podcast that examines green transition issues covered in the course, unpacking the complexity of the related policy problems and highlighting policy options to address such issues.
“The multicampus structure gives students the opportunity to work with peers from different cultures and backgrounds, which is valuable because people often perceive climate change differently depending on where they come from. What one person sees as a pressing issue may not be the same for someone from a different region, based on their local experiences and challenges,” said LaBelle. “The European perspective in this multicampus course also provides insight into how the EU’s approach to sustainability and green policies shapes global efforts and offers practical models for other regions.” In addition to being a CIVICA multicampus course, “The Road to the Green Transition” is a CEU university wide course, an initiative that aims to bring together faculty and students from across academic programs to explore a topic of common interest.
Course registration deadline: January 13, 2025
Course description and syllabus:
UWC5036 - The Road to the Green Transition, CIVICA Europeanship Multicampus Course