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Course syllabus for Sustainable design in theory and practice: From products to systems

The course syllabus contains changes
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Course syllabus adopted 2026-06-22 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameHållbar design i teori och praktik: från produkter till system
  • CodeTRA500
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTRACKS
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • DepartmentTRACKS
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language

    English

  • Application code

    97157

  • Maximum participants

    32 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)

  • Minimum participants

    8

  • Block schedule

  • Open for exchange students

    Yes

Credit distribution

Module
Sp1
Sp2
Sp3
Sp4
Summer
Not Sp
Examination dates
0125 Project 7.5 c
Grading: TH		 7.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)

Specific entry requirements

A degree of at least 180 ECTS within Engineering and/or Technology or the equivalent. English level should be equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Course specific prerequisites

General requirements to study at the first-cycle level at Chalmers

We invite enrolled students across all Master's and PhD programs at Chalmers interested to learn how to design for sustainability transition, which includes from products to product value chains. Consumer products are a focal point in the project work together with industry partners such as, recycling facility, product developers, product manufacturers, to directly address sustainability concerns and find innovative solutions. As per policy of Tracks, alumni and professionals are also encouraged to apply. Background in areas such as design, product development, production, software development, and industrial engineering is desired but not necessary. Teams are required to have diverse academic backgrounds. As a project-based course, physical presence at the campus is mandatory. Therefore, the course cannot be taken on distance.

Aim

General for all Tracks courses: The course provides a platform to work and solve challenging cross-disciplinary real-world problems from different stakeholders in society such as the academy, industry or public institutions. Additionally, the aim is that students from different educational programs practice to work efficiently in multidisciplinary development teams and make use of and learn from each other's competences and specialisations.

Course specific aim:
The purpose of the course is for students to learn how to create and develop solutions for a sustainability transition, with consumer products as a focal point.
The aim is to:
- give insights of the theories and factors for sustainable development and for sustainable product development.
- understand what the driving forces for sustainable transformation are at the societal -level, while fostering personal engagement with product-related sustainability challenges situated in local and real-world contexts.
- introduce different topics and concepts that are central to create and develop solutions for a sustainability transition, such as sustainability, circular economy, sustainable product development, sustainable business models and product-service systems, and design for sustainable behavior.
- enhance students' understanding and practical skills in applying strategic sustainability thinking, along with selected complementary approaches, methods, and tools, to analyse and iteratively improve the sustainability performance of product concepts.
- enhance capabilities in collaboration through cross-disciplinary teamwork

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • master problems with open solution spaces which includes to be able to handle uncertainties and limited information.
  • work in multidisciplinary teams and collaborate in teams with different compositions
  • identify ethical aspects and discuss and judge their consequences in relation to the specific problem
  • orally and in writing explain and discuss information, problems, methods, design/development processes and solutions
Knowledge and understanding
  • demonstrate knowledge of design methods and tools within the field of sustainable product development to identify areas for improvement in new or existing solutions to complex problems
  • demonstrate understanding of the different dimensions of sustainable development and addressing societal needs within the planetary boundaries
  • demonstrate how sustainable development relates to product and production systems
Skills and abilities
  • demonstrate the ability to design, analyse, evaluate and prototype solution(s) for a product design challenge with the purpose of improving the sustainability performance
  • demonstrate the ability to lead and participate in a product development process, with focus on sustainable product development in a multi-disciplinary team.
  • generate scenarios and strategies for achieving improved sustainability performance on a system level.
  • demonstrate the ability to clearly present, reason and argue for, both orally and in writing, solutions towards sustainability.
Judgement and approach
  • demonstrate the ability to make assessments of products and system solutions with regard to relevant ecological, social and economic aspects, including ethical considerations from both local and global perspectives.

Content

The course is built upon in total six modules: three theoretical modules and three practical modules that embody a sustainable design project. Each module (except the first one) is finalised with a reflective seminar and/or a presentation.

The theoretical modules are: i) general aspects of sustainable development, with emphasis on corporate and global perspectives; ii) topics and concepts such as sustainability, circular economy, sustainable product development, and design for sustainable behavior; iii) sustainable design methods and sustainable product development tools.

The sustainable design project modules are: i) Define your design challenge which also includes: system-mapping, key stakeholder identification and needs, and identification of sustainable design challenge; ii) Develop ideas and concepts which will include to propose sustainability criteria, and formulate sustainability related product requirements, and develop ideas and concepts; iii) Develop final solution and prototype which includes to develop and present a poster and, either an animated presentation or a physical prototype, to show the proposed redesign of the case product, as well as scenarios and strategies for achieving improved sustainability outcomes, all summarized in a booklet form.

Organisation

General Tracks organisation:
The course is led by a multi-disciplinary teaching team and structured around a challenge-driven design project. The project addresses real-world sustainability challenges ranging from broad societal issues to industry- or research-driven cases. Students work in cross-disciplinary groups supported by on-demand teaching and targeted skill development aligned with the project needs. The project team will have one university examiner, one or multiple university supervisors and one or multiple external co-supervisors if applicable.

Specific organisation for the course:
The learning will be supported through applied learning, cases, reflective seminars, assignments, a field trip, and a design project in line with the CDIO-principles (Conceive-Design- Implement-Operate). The course is structured around the analysis of real-world consumer electronics products developed by industrial partners involved in the course. These products are used as case studies and serve as the basis for the project assignments. The analysis builds on insights gathered through a field trip at a recycling facility, a structured disassembly workshop, and applying various sustainability assessment methods, to identify opportunities and set sustainability criteria. The project groups will learn how to apply Sustainable Product Development methods and tools to develop alternative design solutions with improved sustainability performance compared to the existing solution. The students will follow the early product development phases: prepare, capture, explore, evaluate, and decide and visualise. The course finishes with an open seminar and exhibition to which companies specifically those involved in the course project are invited.

Literature

With input from the teaching team, students will develop the ability to identify and acquire relevant literature throughout their projects.

Examination including compulsory elements

To pass the course it is i) mandatory to participate in reflective seminars; and to ii) attend, present, and argue for the development and the design solution towards sustainability, as well as iii) participate in compulsory course activities such as: field trip and guest lectures, iv) present final design solution as a part of a course exhibition for the external partners in a presentation and booklet form.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers about disability study support.

The course syllabus contains changes

  • Changes to course:
    • 2026-06-22: Organization Organization changed by UOL
      Updated information about organization
    • 2026-06-22: Content Content changed by UOL
      Updated content
    • 2026-06-22: Learning outcomes Learning outcomes changed by UOL
      Updated information about learning objectives
    • 0226-06-22: Aim Aim changed by UOL
      Updated purpose
  • Changes to course rounds:
    • 2026-06-04: Max number of participants Max number of participants 32 added by UBS
      [Course round 1]