Hacking for Sustainability is an interdisciplinary module that provides students the opportunity to work with an organisation to address their business sustainability challenges.
The module is theoretically underpinned by key entrepreneurship, sustainability and pedagogical theories and delivered through applied experiential project-based learning. Inter-disciplinary student teams engage directly with the complex, real world challenges proposed by partners (such as government agencies, local authority or NGOs). The teams will design and pitch the innovative solutions to the partner with a view of the solutions being implemented in practice.
The students will be provided with a range of relevant methodological tools and techniques (such as design thinking and business model canvas). As the module progresses, student teams will be required to discover and validate customer needs and to continually build iterative prototypes to test whether they understood the problem and solution. Teams take a hands-on approach requiring close engagement with the partner organisations, end-users and their lecturer-mentor.
Indicative syllabus
Sustainability Literacy UN SDG framework (environmental, social and economic issues), measurement and impact, evidence-based business solutions (e.g. circular economy, doughnut economics)Identifying and defining the problemExternal and internal environment, stakeholders understandingIdeation and finding solutions Empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping, minimal viable product (MVP) and testing (design thinking approach) Insights, learnings and findings Re-defining value proposition and impactPartnerships for impactStakeholder management, partnerships for change & wider impactPresentation of strategy and pitching of solutionsCommunication for impact and stakeholder buy-in, pitching to stakeholders
Theoretically underpinned, experiential learning approach is used as a key learning method in this module. Workshop style sessions (3 x 6 hours) in collaboration with TU Dublin GrowthHub will allow students to engage in creative problem solving, critical reflection, experimentation, working with diverse teams, coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risks as they work through finding solutions to sustainability challenges (EntreComp, 2018, GreenComp, 2021).
Learning will be facilitated through engaging with hands on tools and methodologies (e.g. lean canvas, design-thinking canvas), engagement with stakeholders, discussions and independent work. Preparatory pre-session work, attendance and ongoing engagement with the module are essential parts of learning and achievement of learning outcomes.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 100 |