Learning approach

Our applied, practitioner-oriented postgraduate programmes are designed to support personal and professional development. The following are key features that underpin CISL’s distinctive approach to learning:

Flexible: Programmes are designed for professionals working full time; hence the intensive workshops are blended with remote working on assignments and other course-related activities.

Thought leadership: The speakers, lecturers and facilitators are leading experts and practitioners from academia, business, government and civil society.

Practical relevance: Business case studies and hearing from leading industry figures are an integral part of the taught content, and assignments are focused on organisational contexts; thereby developing skills needed to translate cutting-edge insights into practice.

Topical: The content includes developing a robust ‘business case’ for sustainability, a focus on sustainability leadership aims and responses, and change management, covering both established and emergent experience.

Interactive: The learning approach is highly interactive, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and designed to encourage reflection and debate. 

Diversity of perspectives: Students come from a wide range of functions, sectors, and geographies; hence provide a wide spectrum of insights and opportunities to benchmark against how other organisations are responding to sustainability. 

Peer-learning: Shared learning and networking with between peers and the extensive range of contributors together provide a rich learning environment.

Support and mentorship: A dedicated CISL team and expert tutors/supervisors support the learning journey, including by providing feedback on assignments that are focused on organisational contexts.

Personal application:  Students are encouraged to identify personal opportunities for leadership and engage in reflective practice throughout the programme, supported by peers and tutors.

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Time commitment

In addition to attending the residential workshops, it is estimated that to complete the programme successfully students will need to spend the equivalent of 1 day per week (8 hours) on directed learning, independent study, reading, accessing one-to-one support, and completing work for assessment. In addition, students admitted to the programme are also expected to be in a position to undertake personal reflection, apply the learning in practice and/or gain relevant practical experience related to the themes of the programme for at least 1 day per week. This is an average across the two years of the programme for a typical student, and variations in individual approaches to scheduling and learning can result in weeks where the workload may be heavier or lighter.  Students are provided with all substantive tasks and deadlines at the start of the programme, so they can plan in advance in order to help spread the work evenly across the duration of the course.
 

Core modules

Our Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment (IDBE) programmes offer flexible, part-time learning and are available as a ten-month Postgraduate Certificate or two-year Master’s (MSt). Courses are delivered through a blend of online e-learning, and interactive workshops in Cambridge.  At each workshop, the core modules are explored. At workshop 1, the core modules are introduced and subsequent workshops explore them through various built environment lenses: living environments; working environments; historic environments; moving environments; and, future urban environments.

leadership.png	Module 1: Leadership, professionalism and interdisciplinary practice Develop the skills and competencies required to help lead and achieve effective collaboration within interdisciplinary teams.
	Module 2: Sustainability and resilience Examine the principles and practices of sustainable development and understand the environmental, social and economic impacts.
	Module 3: Innovation and technology Explore how new ideas, tools, devices and methods can help improve performance and make built environments that are more responsive to user needs.
	Module 4: Design thinking Understand the many definitions and uses of design and how to integrate skills from different disciplines to improve project design.
	Module 5: Research skills Learning core academic research skills including methodology, research design and qualitative and quantitative methods to help transform professional knowledge into rigorous academic learning.