Course syllabus

Course-PM

TRA500 TRA500 Sustainable design in theory and practice: From products to systems lp3 VT26 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Tracks

TEACHER, SUPERVISORS, AND GUEST TEACHERS

• Sophie Isaksson Hallstedt, Professor och Examinator, IMS, Chalmers
• sophie.hallstedt@chalmers.se (SIH)
• Giliam Dokter, Postdoc, IMS, Chalmers
• dokter@chalmers.se
• Jinhua Sun, Docent och lärare, IMS, Chalmers
• jinhua@chalmers.se (JS)
• Pauline Léonard, industridoktorand, IMS, Chalmers
• pauline.leonard@chalmers.se (PL)
• Guest Teachers:
• Katarina Lindh Weibull, Sustainability Leader på Inter IKEA Group; Sweden
• Maya Ezzeddine, R&D Sustainability Technical Leader, Schneider Electric; Canada

• Erich Brandner, Senior Manager Materials & Analysis at Stena Recycling, & Erich’s team at STENA

Course purpose

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 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 analyze and iteratively improve the sustainability performance of product concepts.
• enhance capabilities in collaboration through cross-disciplinary teamwork

Schedule

TimeEdit

Week 4: 19/01-23/01
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond. 13.15-14.00	Course introduction	Intro of course, schedule, activities	T1	SB3-L111(54)	SH GD
Mond. 14.15-15.00	Lecture 1	General aspects of sustainable development, with emphasis on corporate and global perspectives		SB3-L111(54)	SH
Mond, 15.15-16.00	FUSE environment introduction	Introduction to the FUSE environment and different facilities, rooms, and workshops		FUSE	Henrik
Frid. 15.15-17.00	Lecture 2	General topics and concepts such as sustainability, strategies for circular solutions, sustainable product development (SH)  introduce reflective assignment of product in daily life (GD)		SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Week 5: 26/01-30/01
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond. 13.15-15.00	Lecture 3	Deep dive in circular design, circular services & business models, design for sustainable behavior, and bio-mimicry	T2	SB3-L111(54)	GD, SH
Thur. 08.00-09.45	Reflective seminar	Relate to lecture material, reflect on a product from your own life		SB3-S53 SB3-S37	SH, GD
Frid. 15.15-17.00	Lecture + workshop with cases	IKEA: Sustainable design in consumer electronics		SB3-L111(54)	Katarina Lindh Weibull
Week 6: 02/02-06/02
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond 13.15-14.00	Lecture 4	Materials (metals, batteries, bio, polymers) towards sustainable product development	T3	SB3-L111(54)	JS
Mond 14.15- 16.00	Lecture 5	Sustainable design methods, tools (SH) LCA introduction (PL) introduction SIAT tool (GD)		SB3-L111(54)	PL, SH, GD
Tues. 08.00-16.00	Field trip STENA 1/2	Visit recycling facility + workshop		Halmstad	GD
Wedn. 08.00-16.00	Field trip STENA 2/2	Visit recycling facility + workshop		Halmstad	SH
FRE, 15.15-17.00	Reflective seminar	Reflection on lecture material and field trip		SB3-S53 SB3-S37	SH, GD
Week 7: 09/02-13/02
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond. 13.15-14.00	Mini-lecture	Define your design challenge, present Tracks	P1	FUSE BOX	GD, SH
Mond. 14.15-17.00	Disassembly workshop	Disassembly workshop IKEA product		FUSE BOX	SH, GD, PL
Thur., 10.00-11.45	Supervision	Check-in design challenge		SB3-L111(54)	PL, GD
Frid. 15.15-17.00	Presentation	Present your design challenge		SB3-L111(54	PL, GD
Week 8: 16/02-20/02
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond. 13.15-14.00	Mini-lecture	Ideation & conceptualisation, (intro maskintekniken referens)	P2		SH, GD
Frid. 15.15-17.00	Supervision			SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Week 9: 23/02-27/02
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mon. 10.00-11.45	Workshop introduction	Introduction relevant FUSE workshops	P3	FUSE	SH, GD
Thur. 10.00-11.45	Mini-lecture + supervision	Experimentation & prototyping, discuss with groups about prototyping		SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Frid. 15.15-17.00	Presentation	Present ideas & concepts		SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Week 10: 02/03-06/03
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mond. 15.15 – 16.00	Guest lecture (online presentation on-site discussions)	Practitioner perspective: integrating sustainability in product manufacturer	P4	SB3-L111(54)	Maya Ezzeddine, Schneider Electric
Thur. 10.00-11.45	Mini-lecture + supervision	Introduce booklet structure & requirements		SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Week 11: 09/03-13/03
Day	Activity	Content	Mod	Room	Teacher
Mon. 13.13-15.00	Supervision		P5	SB3-L111(54)	SH, GD
Thurs. 08:00-11:45	Exhibition	Present solution / company feedback
Week 12: 16/03-20-03
Mon. 13:15-15:00	Reflective seminar (extra session)		P6	SB3-S53
Frid at 17:00	Booklet hand-in

 

Course literature

The course material consists of presentations from lectures and literature, e.g. book chapters, scientific publications, related to the lectures. Both presentations and literature are posted on the course webpage in Canvas. With input from the teaching team, students will develop the ability to identify and acquire relevant literature throughout their projects.

Recommended book for the course: Faludi, J. (Ed.). (2025). Sustainable Design from Vision to Action. Taylor & Francis. For Chalmers students it is available as a e-book: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/chalmers.se?url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003504672

Course design

The course is built upon in total four module blocks: one set of theoretical modules, one set of modules of practice, one set of sustainable design and sustainable product development modules, and finally one module for dissemination of result. There are several reflective seminars and/or presentations for the module blocks, which are mandatory for all students. All theoretical modules and modules of practice need to be approved before the sustainable design and sustainable product development modules are approved to start.

The theoretical modules are: i) Sustainable development: general concepts and theories ii) Design for sustainability & circularity; iii) Tools & methods for Sustainable Product Development. See Figure 1

Figure 1. The theoretical modules for TRA500

The modules of practice are: i) participation in supervised workshops focusing on selected Sustainable Product Development tools and practice on product cases for instance provided by product development companies; ii) team development workshops, including project plan, and group contract.

The sustainable design and product development 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.

The learning will be supported through applied learning, cases, reflective seminars, assignment, field trip and workshop at STENA Recycling , and a design project in line with the CDIO-principles (Conceive-Design- Implement-Operate). In project groups the students will analyze consumer products, selected from IKEA, and assess their sustainability performance, they will learn how to apply Sustainable Product Development methods in their case. The outcome from the project groups will be proposed new or improved solutions that are more sustainable compared to a previous product or product -service solution. The students will follow the early product development phases: prepare, capture, explore, evaluate, and decide and visualize. The course finishes with an open seminar and exhibition to which companies specifically those involved in the course project are invited.

Final assignment need to be submitted to Canvas. All communication between teachers and students takes place via Canvas, otherwise noted.

Changes made since the last occasion

This is the first year the course is offered. 

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

• master problems with open solutions 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 relate to product and production systems

Skills and abilities

• demonstrate the ability to design, analyze, and evaluate 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.

 

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/TRA500/?acYear=2026/2027

If the course is a joint course (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet) you should link to both syllabus (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet).

Examination form

Grades are individual and the grading scale is Failed, 3, 4 and 5.

To pass the course it is mandatory to:

1. participate in reflective seminars;
2. attend, present, and argue for the development and the design solution towards sustainability

• participate in compulsory course activities such as: field trip (ONE FULL DAY) and guest lectures

3. present final solution as a part of a course exhibition in a presentation and submit to teachers in booklet form.

The following logic will be used for deciding the individual grades

Grade 3: participate in the two reflective seminars and take part in the discussions

Grade 4: participate in the two reflective seminars and take part in the discussions AND give a presentation at one of the two seminars

Grade 5: participate in the two reflective seminars and take part in the discussions AND give a presentation at the two seminars

 Note, absence from mandatory activities will result in additional assignments to demonstrate that the knowledge has been acquired through other means. These will be offered one time and must be approved before the end of the study period.