Environmental Systems Analysis and Scenarios

The course NB2002 Environmental Systems Analysis and Scenarios has a fixed starting moment in November. We advise you to register at least three weeks before the start of the course so that you receive the course material on time, have access to the learning environment and (if applicable) can be assigned to a study group. Enrollment remains possible up to one day before the start of the course.

During this course you will learn the basics of system analysis and how you can use this to analyze environmental issues and to propose solution strategies. On the basis of a number of examples you will learn step by step how you can describe reality as a system mathematically and how you can make a model of it. Then you will learn how to analyze the system with scenarios on the basis of that model, by developing your own model with a scenario.

This course consists of a course folder as a reader with source documents and selected chapters from the book Thinking in Systems (Donella Meadows). Every enrolled student gets access to Stella software (student license) after registration via the digital learning environment.

You must have a recent laptop from the date of registration. This is the entire course needed, and preferably during the online tutorials and the meeting on the theme day. If you need to purchase another laptop, pay attention to the following requirements of Stella :

  • Suitable for Windows 10 or later and Macintosh OS 10.12.
  • Decent graphics card.
  • A 64-Bit operating system is recommended.
  • A minimum of 4GB RAM is required, but 8GB is recommended.
  • A minimum 120 GB of hard disk with at least 50 GB free space is recommended.

You are responsible for your own laptop and for installing the necessary software according to recommended settings. See software related FAQ’s.

Note: The students registered one month in advance will receive an email from the software provider two weeks before the course starts. You must check your junk-mail for an email ending "@iseesystems.com" and follow the instructions. Students who register one week before the course starts will receive the licensing information after the course has started. However, you can start doing exercises with the trial version and take screen-shots for your tasks.

Digital learning environment

As a student you can go to the discussion groups via the course site in the digital learning environment. Here you can exchange information with fellow students and supervisor and discuss the subject material.

Examination of the course consists of assignments to be fulfilled at home. Total study load is 140 hours (5 European Credits).

Course code: NB2002
Course instructor: Dr. Gibran Vita
The course fee varies, according to your residential country, your nationality and the previous education completed, between € 336,= and € 554,= (for more information see www.ou.nl/costs).
An invoice will be included with the course materials.

Enrollment form