IESD stands for Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Tongji University jointly established the UNEP-Tongji IESD in May 2002. One of the main activities of UNEP-Tongji IESD is to develop education and training programmes for capacity building on environment for sustainable development.
Mission
To promote the protection and management of the environment for purpose of sustainable development through education, research and dissemination of intellectual assets in collaboration with like-minded partners from the academic, government, corporate and international communities.
Vision
To be a top regional center of excellence in the field of environment, sustainable development and allied fields offering high quality education and professional development curricula as well as conducting research of relevance and disseminating research findings both in the host country and in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.
Academic Program
UNEP-Tongji IESD International Master’s Program
The Master’s degree program intends to educate graduate students who wish to work for an environmentally friendly and accountable society. At its core is the analysis of the changes needed to achieve such a society. Focus is placed on how these changes can be steered locally and globally over both the short and the long term. A sound research methodology is encouraged for this process. The program is also based around the three pillars of sustainable development-human/social, environment, and economic dimensions. It offers courses on fundamental of environmental science and technology, planning, management, and development as well. Students are expected to master various concepts and gain knowledge on economic, development, social systems, environmental protection and resource conservation issues.
UNEP-Tongji IIESD International Doctoral Program
The program provides an educational facility for young professionals in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to study and conduct research for the advancement of knowledge on environmental issues as they relate to the new sustainability paradigm. It focuses on the generation of new knowledge, development of leading-edge approaches, creative innovations and novel applications of knowledge. The program is flexible and at the same time in-depth to a large extent, tailored to the educational goals of the individual student and emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, field-based learning, systems-oriented approach to sustainability as well as interdisciplinary in curriculum design.
