View MSc Programs in Sustainability Studies 2019 in Flanders in Belgium

The program Master of Science in Materials Engineering: sustainable materials aims at the study of properties, production or extraction, processing, use and recycling of a whole range of materials. This implies:

Dealing with limited resource availability worldwide in a sustainable way is an important objective of the course. Important materials dealt with are metals, synthetic materials, textiles, composites and ceramics. In order to specialize in specific types of materials, students can choose between two majors.... [-]

The Master in Human Settlements addresses rapid urbanization in the developing world and contemporary urban transformations within the scope of sustainable development. The program aims to provide insight into the problems of human settlements as related to rapid change and to the interaction between modernity and tradition, formal and informal city-making.

Architecture, urbanism and spatial planning are the core disciplines of the program. Contributions from economics, geography, and anthropology, among others, complement this core.

The structure is organized around:

The Master of Water Resources Engineering addresses water-related issues in developed and developing countries, with a focus on problems in the latter. The general program objective is to educate professionals and scientists who contribute effectively to the development and management of water resources on both a local and global scale.

The Master’s program provides multi-disciplinary and high-quality university education in the field of water resources engineering. Students will be trained with the technical and managerial knowledge and skills to:

(i) successfully plan, design, operate and manage water resources projects; and... [-]

A country's physical land resources are a fundamental pillar of support for human life and welfare. Worldwide, population pressures and severe degradation, pollution and desertification problems are threatening this - for several countries relatively scarce - natural resource, and cause competition between agricultural or industrial purposes, urban planning and nature conservation. To guarantee a proper use and management of this for a nation basic commodity, well trained specialists with a thorough knowledge of the properties and characteristics of this natural resource, and a solid insight in factors and measures that may alter its actual state and value are warranted and call for a high standard scientific and practical education.... [-]

Increased population pressure, industrialisation and intensive land use are causing depletion of natural resources and are limiting the performance of land with respect to its functions such as biomass production, carbon sequestration, water purification, etcetera. The additive effects of climate change and the above-mentioned aspects of global change influence the capacity of soils to regenerate and may even cause soil degradation.

The future capacity of soils to support (human) life is at stake. Programmes have been developed to protect the environment and to increase ecosystem resilience. Numerous directives on soil response to external pressures have been developed and implemented. A wealth of scientific knowledge is available but dispersed due to the specialisation of research groups, which makes it difficult for students to follow a focused curriculum on soils and global change at any individual university.... [-]

The increasing demand for raw materials, their price volatility, the production concentration and the market distortions imposed by some countries, confront Europe and other world regions with a number of challenges along the entire value chain. To tackle this supply risk challenge and to deal with environmental problems arising from too large emissions of waste (such as CO2), technological innovation is required with respect to exploration of new resources and sustainable primary mining, sustainable use of resources in specific products and production processes (e.g. substitution of critical metals in materials), prevention of waste generation, valorisation of secondary (alternative) resources and recovery/recycling of resources from end-of-life products.... [-]

Awarded the EIT Label in 2016

Materials provide the foundation of the modern global economy. They are becoming increasingly relevant for the shift to a decarbonising society as they enable the transition to renewable energy, electric mobility and resource efficiency, among others. Nevertheless, many materials are becoming critical.

Therefore, we need to develop robust solutions and game-changing technologies that allow for a sustainable stream of materials.

The SUMA Master programme aims to train tomorrow’s resource engineers in collaborative work in a global world, gathering together some of the best educational programmes in the field of sustainable materials engineering in Europe. The goal is to ensure young scientists obtain a solid background in chemistry and physics, with competencies for designing and tailoring new material systems for specific functions, and with a specific view to the sustainability of processes and technologies in the field of material development. SUMA puts a particularly strong focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership and takes a holistic approach to the materials paradigm by exploring circular (eco) design, materials substitution, life cycle engineering and circular economy design, materials processing and recycling, manufacturing and innovation.... [-]

Awarded the EIT Label in 2017

Sustainability is more than just a buzzword. Raw materials are one of the fastest depleting resources on Earth. A steady and sustainable supply of many of these materials is vital for a decarbonising society, renewable energy infrastructure, electric mobility but also consumer products and electronics. The outdated make-take-use-dispose model is no longer valid in a world of finite resources. In order to deal with this challenge, three leading European universities cooperated to develop a new Erasmus+ Master programme – the International Master of Science in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management (SINReM). SINReM was created to educate a new generation of professionals who can engineer technology to reinvent materials science, and gain competence, expertise and confidence in developing solutions in the sustainable use of materials.... [-]