Advances in life cycle assessment

Om kursen

The course will be given in the spring 2023, start date April 17th.

This course aims to give a deeper understanding of the applicability, limitations and methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA), including knowledge on state-of-the-art research in selected areas. It also aims to stimulate the PhD students in creating an informal network of young LCA researchers. For this purpose, the course combines seminars led by senior LCA researchers with student-centered discussions and activities. The senior researchers will present and problematise methodological approaches and applications of LCA, based on their experiences in research and application of life cycle thinking in various areas. Students participate in group discussions where they get a chance to learn from each others experiences, reflect on their own and others research in view of earlier and current LCA research, and discuss limitations and possibilities for future development of their work. The students will also present their current and planned work to others.

Course organisation
The course is a collaboration between the partner universities within the Swedish Life Cycle Center (SLC): Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Chalmers University of Technology and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

The course consists of three weeks: an initial week (April 17-20) in Gothenburg, the second week (May 8, 10 and 12) online, and the third week (May 22-25) in Uppsala. Before and between these weeks, students are expected to read literature, engage actively in group work, and individually prepare a poster that focuses on their research project.

Applications
To be admitted to the course the student must be admitted to third-cycle education in a topic of relevance for the course. The student must also have completed an undergraduate or graduate LCA course, have significant experience from the use of LCA, or be able to demonstrate similar competence.

Applications are sent to Niclas Ericsson (niclas.ericsson@slu.se) before the 28th of February 2023 with an attached document indicating your current affiliation, the name and a short description of your PhD project and a list of completed undergraduate/graduate LCA courses (include syllabus as attachment) or other means of demonstrating significant experience of the use of LCA.

Exam requirements
The following is required to complete the course:
  • Attend minimum 75% of scheduled activities
  • Participate actively in discussions during scheduled activities.
  • Prepare and present a group project about LCA research development in a broad perspective
  • Prepare and present an individual project about the students own work in view of areas covered in the course

Mer information

Tomas Ekvall (tomase@chalmers.se) or Niclas Ericsson (niclas.ericsson@slu.se)

Kurslitteratur

A mix of scientific and technical documents. The list will be available on Canvas. 

Föreläsare

Tomas Ekvall, Ann-Marie Tillman, Michael Hauschild, Serenella Sala, Henrikke Baumann, Mathias Janssen, Valentina Bisinella, Paola Federica Albizzati, Bengt Steen, Francesca Verones, Ulrika Palme, Niclas Ericsson, Martin Futter, Dilip Khatiwada, and Elisabeth Ekener.