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Quick Facts

Medium Of Instructions	Mode Of Learning	Mode Of Delivery
English	Self Study	Video and Text Based

Course Overview

Sustainable development is economic development that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. Coursera offers a course in The Age of Sustainable Development in collaboration with Columbia University. Students will learn about what sustainable development means, how to achieve it and what challenges it faces.

The Age of Sustainable Development training will provide you with the skills to comprehend and perform energy, sustainable energy, environmental protection, and urban planning. Jeffrey D Sachs who is a world-renowned economics professor, UN advisor, champion in sustainable development, and an esteemed professor of Columbia University will be your instructor.

The Coursera Age of Sustainable Development programme consists of pre-recorded video lectures. Each video is anywhere between 10 minutes and 30 minutes long. A quiz marks the end of each module, and its duration is 30 minutes. The programme is 100% online, which enables students to learn at their schedule and convenience. Students will require approximately 30 hours to complete this course, and at the end of it, they will have to appear for a final exam.

The Highlights

Readings for every module
Self-paced education
100% Online
Practice Exercises
Flexible deadlines
English and Chinese subtitles
Quizzes
30 hours to complete
Offered by Columbia University

Programme Offerings

Pre-recorded Video Lectures
Practice Exercises
Flexible Deadlines
100% online course
Self-paced learning
Columbia University Course
English Subtitles
Chinese Subtitles
video transcript

Courses and Certificate Fees

Certificate Availability
no

Candidates can join the Age of Sustainable Development course completely free of cost by selecting the ‘Enroll for Free’ option.

What you will learn

Knowledge of Urban Planning

After completing the Age of Sustainable Development course by Coursera, you will be adept in the following skills:

Understanding different methods of enabling energy saving
Ability to identify economic growth in terms of sustainability and unequal distribution of wealth and resources
Familiarity with the wide-ranging history of economic development and inequality
Learning techniques and sustainable methods of environment protection

Who it is for

The Age of Sustainable Development programme is suitable for both undergraduates and graduates. Students with a background in various disciplines such as engineering, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences, and social sciences will benefit from enrolling in this programme. Policymakers think tanks, and professionals working in NGOs concerned with sustainable development can also undertake this course.

Admission Details

Candidates who wish to enrol for the Age of Sustainable Development course can do so for free. They must follow the steps given below:

Visit Coursera’s official website
Using the search bar, find the “The Age of Sustainable Development” course.
On the top right corner of the page, you will find the “Join for Free” option. Click on it.
Those who already have an account on Coursera can simply log in and enrol for the course. Others will have to create an account on Coursera or log in using Google, Facebook or Apple.

Application Details

Candidates need not fill a separate application form to enrol for the Age of Sustainable Development training programme. They can join and access the learning material for free. All they need to do is sign up with Google.

The Syllabus

Readings

Suggested Readings for The Age of Sustainable Development
Syllabus
Course Overview

Videos

Intro to Sustainable Development
Economic Growth and Progress
Continuing Poverty
Environmental Threats
Paths

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: What is Sustainable Development?

Videos

Incomes Around the World
Urban/Rural Inequality
Income Inequality Within Countries
Measuring Wellbeing
Convergence or Divergence?

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Inequality Around the World

Videos

Economic Development is New
The Industrial Revolution Starts in England
The Great Waves of Technological Change
The Diffusion of Economic Growth
Economic Development Since World War II

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: A Short History of Economic Development

Videos

The Idea of Clinical Economics
The Role of Physical Geography: Transport, Energy, Disease, and Crops
The Role of Culture: Demography, Education, Gender
The Role of Politics
Which Countries are Still Stuck in Poverty?

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: The History of Inequality

Videos

The Reasons to Believe that Extreme Poverty Can Be Ended
A Strategy to End Extreme Poverty in Africa
South Asia: The Continuing Challenge of the Food Supply
A Closer Look at Official Development Assistance
Designing Practical Interventions: The Case of Millennium Villages

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty

Videos

The Planetary Boundaries
Growth Dynamics
Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Energy (22:04)
Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Food (20:06)
Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Population (21:31)

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Growth within Planetary Boundaries

Videos

The Ethics of Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality
Major UN Covenants and Declarations
Divided societies
Forces of Widening Inequalities
Gender Inequality and Solutions

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Human Rights and Gender Equality

Videos

Life-cycle Approach to Human Development
Early Childhood Development
The Rising Returns to Education and the Supply Response
Social Mobility
The Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Education

Videos

The Human Right to Health 
Poverty and Disease
Designing and Financing a Primary Health System in Low-Income Settings
Ten Recommended Steps to Health for All in the Poorest Countries
The Challenges of Health Coverage in High-Income Countries

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Universal Health Coverage

Videos

Malnutrition
Farm Systems, Ecology, and Food Security
How Environmental Change Threatens the Food System
How the Food System Threatens the Environment
Towards a sustainable global food supply

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger

Videos

The patterns of urbanization around the world
What makes a city sustainable? 
Smart Infrastructure
Urban Resilience
Planning for Sustainable Development

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Sustainable Cities

Videos

The Basic Science of Climate Change
Consequences
Mitigation
Mitigation Policies
Policies and Global Cooperation for Climate Change

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: The Basic Science of Climate Change and Consequences

Videos

What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity Under Threat
Oceans and Fisheries
Deforestation
International Dynamics

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: Saving Biodiversity

Videos

The proposal for SDGs at Rio+20
Goal Based Development
Financing for Sustainable Development
Principles of Good Governance
Feasibility of Sustainable Development

Practice Exercise

QUIZ: The SDGs
Final Exam

Evaluation process

To complete the Age of Sustainable Development online course, candidates need to get through all the modules by going through the readings, watching the video lectures, and taking the practice quiz at the end of each unit. Finally, students need to appear for a test.

Instructors

Columbia University, New York Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

1: Will my college award me credit for taking this course?

The Age of Sustainable Development course does not carry any university credit, but some colleges and universities may accept Course Completion Certificates for credit. Check with your institution for more information.

2: What are the system requirements for the Age of Sustainable Development course?

There are no technical requirements, aside from a stable internet connection. Candidates can access the videos from their desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

3: Why should I enrol for this course at Coursera?

This programme by Coursera covers all the fundamental concepts of sustainable development and the challenges it faces. The programme is entirely online, and thus candidates have the option of self-paced learning and rescheduling deadlines as per their convenience.

4: Which university offers the Age of Sustainable Development course?

Coursera brings you the Age of Sustainable Development course courtesy of Columbia University. Columbia University has been a leader in higher education across the world for more than 250 years.

5: Are there any practice tests available?

Yes, at the end of each module candidates get a quiz. The duration of the quiz is 30 minutes.