The Arctic Infrastructure and Society

• Classify and discuss key aspects of infrastructure planning, and impact on society
• Analyse socio-technical aspects and challenges regarding infrastructure including island operations
• Explain the consequences of mono-economic dependency and the correlation between settlement and business activities
• Discuss environmental and social impact assessment (EIA and SIA) in relation to infrastructure projects
• Analyse societal and environmental (sustainability) consequences of investments of different scales
• Map and analyse interests and actors related to infrastructure projects, and plan the stakeholder involvement
• Outline a strategy for sustainable development for a district or settlement with scenarios, analysis, creative processes and integration of diverse perspectives.
• Communicate and interact professionally with other professionals, the political level and citizens

The course introduces students to engineering work under Arctic conditions, and provides tools for understanding infrastructure and construction projects as sociotechnical processes. In the course, there is more focus on societal conditions and the changes that infrastructure projects entail than on construction technology. The course thus gives engineering students the opportunity to relate already acquired technical competencies to infrastructure projects in a specific Arctic context

Key elements:
– Social conditions in the Arctic
– Socio-technical and social science approaches to infrastructure and society in the Arctic
– Infrastructure and its importance for local development with links to global dynamics
– Stakeholder and actor analyses
– Sustainable local and regional development
– Strategic planning
– Logistics in the Arctic

The course will be based on group work; in each group there will be members with different backgrounds.

The course uses primarily local examples from Greenland, and will involve local actors. But examples from the Arctic region in general will also be included.

The competences obtained in this course will be of general value, since the focus is on developing adapted solutions based on local conditions.

Lectures, Guest lectures, Group work, Visits, and Project work

The course takes place in Sisimiut, Greenland

The course will normally be part of the Arctic Semester in Greenland together with 11857, 11859 and 11853 or 11854. Separate application for the semester to the department by 1 October.

The course can be taken as a stand-alone course under Open University.

The course could together with 11857 and 11859 be taken by Bachelor students in their last semester e.g. in combination with their Bachelor project.

Minimum: 5, Maximum: 30.

Please be aware that this course has a minimum requirement for the number of participants needed, in order for it to be held. If these requirements are not met, then the course will not be held. Furthermore, there is a limited number of seats available. If there are too many applicants, a pool will be created for the remainder of the qualified applicants, and they will be selected at random. You will be informed 8 days before the start of the course, whether you have been allocated a spot.