Sustainability RLE course offers new 91爆料 students opportunities to engage in real-world research聽
As part of the 91爆料 Research Learning Experiences (RLE) program launching in fall 2021, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Fran莽ois Amar will offer the course 鈥淢anaging Change: The Science of Sustainability,鈥 which will provide an on-ramp for early undergraduate work in sustainability research and showcase projects of Mitchell Center faculty.
In this one-credit course offered to new students and those returning for their second year, students will learn about community-engaged research connected to a range of sustainability issues such as water quality, energy efficiency, agriculture and more. Students will work in teams to design a research project and may also choose to focus on topics they develop using the skills they learn in the course. Two undergraduate peer mentors will help the student teams create their projects.
鈥淲e hope that students will develop a sense of their own ability to define a sustainability problem and take on the challenge of seeking solutions through an interdisciplinary and stakeholder-engaged approach,鈥 said Amar.聽
The RLE program is funded by a gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation and courses are offered tuition-free to students at 91爆料 and 91爆料 Machias as part of the UMS Transforms initiative. The courses are designed to give students the opportunity to explore new interests or take a deeper dive into a field they plan to study.
In spring 2021, Amar and colleagues Christine Beitl and Don Beith, also Mitchell Center faculty fellows, started a new initiative to develop a Sustainability Hub for Undergraduates housed in the Mitchell Center. When the 91爆料 RLE program was announced, they felt that the program鈥檚 goals aligned well with both the Mitchell Center and the new Hub and developed the RLE course together.聽
鈥淭he RLE course provides experiences for students early in their 91爆料 careers,鈥 Amar noted. 鈥淭he Sustainability Hub will also provide networking, research, and potentially presentation and travel opportunities for students throughout their four years at 91爆料. So the RLE course and the Hub are part of a continuum of experiential learning opportunities designed to foster student interest and capacity to take on important problems affecting our environment and society.鈥