Education
Education
The Global Systems Institute aims to train a new generation of leaders of change to work with global partners to implement the solutions we develop together. We aim to transform the education experience for our own students, through a thriving doctoral training community, a new Masters programme, and continuing professional development and executive education programme. We will also share the new knowledge we generate globally.
Masters programme: MSc Global Sustainability Solutions
Our impacts on the Earth system are at such a scale that we have become a geological force. If we are to not just survive but flourish, we urgently need to create robust and practical solutions to a set of interacting global challenges.
This innovative and interdisciplinary masters programme will challenge you to critically evaluate and propose solutions to a range of contemporary sustainability challenges. These solutions will emerge from intense periods of academic exploration that will be applied to real-world challenges via a community of external partners.
The programme has been designed to allow students from a wide range of backgrounds to immerse themselves in a transformative educational experience. No science, mathematics, or engineering prerequisites are required. Upon graduation, you will have the experience and skills to become an agent of change for a sustainable future.
New for 2023 PGCert Global Sustainability Solutions ONLINE
The online PGCert Global Sustainability Solutions is the flagship online education programme of the University of Exeter’s thought-leading sustainability solutions-oriented institute, the Global Systems Institute (GSI). The PGCert has been designed by experts from the GSI and the University of Exeter’s award-winning Business School. More information
Systems Thinking Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship
This course is for mid- to senior-level public sector staff engaged with addressing complex and cross-disciplinary challenges. It is designed in collaboration with employers from across the public sphere, addressing real-world complex public challenges through applied systems-thinking approaches.
Postgraduate opportunities
The University of Exeter is launching a new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Environmental Intelligence (EI) that will pioneer new research in using Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to understand the complex interactions between the environment, climate, natural ecosystems, human social and economic systems, and health. The increasing availability of large and complex data sets from diverse sources (e.g. environmental monitoring; satellite remote sensing; climate modelling; electronic medical records; social media; and contributions from citizen science) presents an exceptional opportunity to transform our understanding of both the effects of environmental change and our planet-transforming power.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
Nearly 40,000 people worldwide have already participated in our Massive Open Online Course on ‘Climate Change: Challenges and Solutions’ over the past 4 years. Engaging with a global community of learners has enabled the co-creation of new knowledge and the sharing of some powerful stories of personal experience with respect to climate change. Why not sign up to one of the Climate Change MOOCs on offer:
Valuing Nature: Should We Put a Price on Ecosystems?
Tipping Points: Climate and Society
Invisible Worlds: Understanding the Natural Environment
Read Daneen Cowling's blog explaining why she is such a big MOOC fan and her experience as both a learner and teacher.
Help find solutions to some of the world's biggest problems.
With over 40,000 participants from around the world, you'll be in good company.