Free online courses on sustainable development

From the comfort of your couch, on the train or in bed. Through your computer, tablet or mobile phone. And for free. In such a simple and economical way you can learn everything you need to help save the world.

There are many universities and organizations that offer free online courses on sustainability: introductory, general, advanced, specific… We have compiled for you some of the most interesting so that you can choose the one that you prefer ... Or you can go for them all!

Via @Coursera and @edXOnline

Introduction to sustainability

Learning objectives: Engaging students on the academic discipline of sustainability and exploring how human societies are facing global changes, degradation of ecosystems and supply constraints.

• Level: easy
• Language: English (subtitles available in English, Spanish and Portuguese)
• Duration: 8 weeks
• Required time: 8 to 10 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (Champaign, United States)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Our energy future

Learning objectives: Showing the student the basic issues on energy and raising questions about its production by studying the fields of biology, engineering, economics, climate science, and social science perspectives.

• Level: medium
• Language: English (subtitles available in English)
• Duration: 9 weeks
• Required time: 5 hours a week
• Organizer: University of California, San Diego (San Diego, United States)
• Additional information: open enrollment all year long

Learning for sustainability: Developing a personal ethic

Learning objectives: This course assumes that the student has his own vision on sustainable development and provides him with the necessary tools to improve the future of the planet and encourage others to do the same.

• Level: easy
• Language: English
• Duration: 5 weeks
• Required time: 1 to 3 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Introduction to sustainable development

Learning objectives: Providing students with an overview of the main challenges that sustainable development has to face both on its social and environmental aspects.

• Level: easy
• Language: English (subtitles available in English)
• Duration: 1 week
• Required time: 5 hours a week
• Organizer: Columbia University (New York, United States)
• Additional information: open enrollment all year long

Urban Water - Innovations for environmental sustainability

Learning objectives: Getting to know the innovative solutions that are being implemented in urban settings to ensure sustainable use of water resources through videoconferences with architects, engineers, planners, environmentalists and artists.

• Level: easy
• Language: English
• Duration: 6 weeks
• Required time: 3 to 4 hours a week
• Organizer: University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year
• Additional price: 50 dollars (46 euros) for the expedition of a certificate

New Models of business in society

Learning objectives: Training students in the new business models built on the concepts of sustainability, shared values, philanthropy and corporate responsibility.

• Level: easy
• Language: English (subtitles available in English)
• Duration: Less than a week
• Required time: 4 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Virginia (Charlottesville, United States)
• Additional information: open enrollment all year long

Global Warming: The science and modeling of climate change

Learning objectives: Engaging students on the scientific framework of global warming and the human impact on the climate variations of the Earth.

• Level: medium
• Language: English
• Duration: 8 weeks
• Required time: 2 to 5 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Chicago (Chicago, United States)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Sustainability in everyday life

Learning objectives: Enabling students to develop a more sustainable life in all aspects of daily life through simple changes in their usual behavior.

• Level: easy
• Language: English (subtitles available in English and Swedish)
• Duration: 6 weeks
• Required time: 6 hours a week
• Organizer: Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden)
• Additional information: open enrollment all year long

Our Earth: Its Climate, History, and Processes

Learning objectives: Valuing the importance of air, water, land and biodiversity of the Earth and ensuring good an interaction with natural resources for a correct sustainable development.

• Level: easy
• Language: English
• Duration: 5 weeks
• Required time: 5 to 8 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Manchester (Manchester, England)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided

Learning objectives: Training students with the latest researches about climate change and give them the keys to an urgent decision making. This course can be developed in two ways: Climate champions, addressed to general public, and Policy and leadership, for professionals.

• Level: easy - medium
• Language: English
• Duration: 5 weeks
• Required time: 3 to 5 hours a week
• Organizer: World Bank (Washington, United States)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Forest and humans: from the Mid West to Madagascar

Learning objectives: Exploring world's forests to learn in which way human beings depend on them and learning how to sustainably manage our interaction with them and the species that inhabit them.

• Level: easy
• Language: English
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Required time: 1 to 2 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, United States)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

The meat we eat

Learning objectives: Enabling the student to inquire further about the quality, safety, health and sustainability of the meat market for human consumption and revealing the problems and characteristics of the producing and exporting countries.

• Level: medium
• Language: English
• Duration: 7 weeks
• Required time: 5 to 7 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Florida (Gainesville, United States)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year

Ocean solutions

Learning objectives: Giving the students the keys to deal in a sustainable way the challenges that the investigation of the oceans presents.

• Level: medium
• Language: English
• Duration: 6 weeks
• Required time: 4 to 8 hours a week
• Organizer: University of Western Australia (Perth, Australia)
• Additional information: multiple sessions per year