SGLK17003U Cancelled Urbanisation and Health – global and local perspectives with Copenhagen as a case

Volume 2020/2021
Education

MSc in Global Health - elective summer course

Content

Through a combination of online lectures, resources and assignments; on-campus lectures and field visits the students will be introduced to inter-disciplinary, research-based and solution-oriented approaches to the public health challenges of urbanization. Examples from urban settings around the world will be provided together with a selected location in Copenhagen that will serve as the real-life case.

Through group work the students will practice methods to involve the user perspective and wider stakeholder viewpoints as a way of informing priority setting and design of urban public space.

The course will focus on promotion of health and wellbeing in the urban environment across age groups and socio-economic positions. Furthermore, the course will focus upon urban adaptation to climate change, management of environmental health risks, and opportunities of green urban development on health.

Learning Outcome

The objective of the course is to provide the student with knowledge, skills and competences to identify, comprehend, analyse, discuss, and pursue approaches to address priority urban health challenges in local and global contexts. Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge
Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge about predominant local and global urban trends and the related health challenges and responses in terms of climate, demography, infrastructure, environmental risks, green space, physical activity, and socio-economic factors.

Skills
Analyse and discuss the dynamics of selected features of urban health with reference to relevant literature, cases and evidence.

Competencies
Make observations and collect data about current condition and practices and perceived health challenges and opportunities in a given urban location, including relevant stakeholders in this process and integrating range of reflections and findings in a proposal to be presented at the end of the course.

Online and on-campus lectures; links to databases and elective and mandatory literature and other resources including scientific publications, review reports, case stories, formative quizzes; individual and group assignment.

This is a MSc level course aimed at students as well as professionals in all fields of social and natural sciences, public health, humanities, engineering, architecture and business with an interest in sustainable urban development, who at least hold a completed Bachelor degree (or equivalent).
The summer course is composed of an online and an on-campus part, each with a student workload of two weeks. The online part is accessible five weeks prior to the start of the two-week on-campus part. The stretched study period allows space for reflections and variations and repetitions to enhance the opportunity for deeper learning.

The students are introduced to key topics and stakeholders in the online part via video lectures, case stories from different global and local settings (including tailored ones from Denmark, Spain and Portugal), formative quizzes and an individual assignment. The online part needs to be completed prior to the on-campus part. The on-campus component will include lectures, meetings with resource persons from private and public sectors and community members, field visits, and group work on the re-design of actual public spaces to improve health and wellbeing among users. In this process participants divided into multi-disciplinary groups will collect a range of data making use of the theories and methods introduced by the lecturers and in the readings.On the last day of the course the groups pitch and discuss their solutions with experts and community members.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 24
  • Preparation
  • 68
  • Project work
  • 40
  • Exam
  • 6
  • Total
  • 138
Oral
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Practical oral examination
Continuous assessment with final oral exam.
During the summer school, the students work on a case-based project in groups.
On the last day to pass the exam the project must be presented by the groups to and approved by a panel of experts including representatives from the University of Copenhagen and selected stakeholders from the outside.
Marking scale
passed/not passed
Censorship form
No external censorship
One internal examiner
Exam period

Please see the exam plan

Re-exam

Please see the exam plan

Criteria for exam assesment

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge
Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge about predominant local and global urban trends and the related health challenges and responses in terms of climate, demography, infrastructure, environmental risks, green space, physical activity, and socio-economic factors.

Skills
Analyse and discuss the dynamics of selected features of urban health with reference to relevant literature, cases and evidence.

Competencies
Make observations and collect data about current condition and practices and perceived health challenges and opportunities in a given urban location, including relevant stakeholders in this process and integrating range of reflections and findings in an end-of-course presentation.