Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2024
Agricultural Sciences Master  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Major in Plant Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Agriculture and Environment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-5101-00L | Biogeochemistry and Sustainable Management | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | I. Feigenwinter, N. Buchmann, K.‑M. Kohonen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course focuses on the interactions between ecology, biogeochemistry and management of agro- and forest ecosystems, thus, coupled human-environmental systems. Students learn how human impacts on ecosystems via management or global change are mainly driven by effects on biogeochemical cycles and thus ecosystem functioning, but also about feedback mechanisms of terrestrial ecosystems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students will analyse and understand the complex and interacting processes of ecology, biogeochemistry and management of agroecosystems. They will use their theoretical knowledge in two flipped classroom exercises, but also set up a small weather station and program a data logger to collect meteorological variables, analyze large meteorological and flux data sets, and evaluate the impacts of weather events and management practices on the ecosystem greenhouse gas exchange. Thus, students will expand their computational competences. Moreover, students will be able to coordinate and work successfully in small (interdisciplinary) teams. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Agroecosystems play a major role in all landscapes, either for production purposes, ecological areas or for recreation. The human impact of any management on the environment is mainly driven by effects on biogeochemical cycles. Effects of global change impacts will also act via biogeochemistry at the soil-biosphere-atmosphere-interface. Thus, ecosystem functioning, i.e., the interactions between ecology, biogeochemistry and management of terrestrial systems, is the science topic for this course. Students will gain profound knowledge about biogeochemical cycles and greenhouse gas fluxes in managed grassland and/or cropland ecosystems as well as expand their computational competences. Responses of agroecosystems to the environment, i.e., to climate and weather events, but also to management will be studied. Two flipped class-room exercises include the assessment of an ecosystem disturbance and the experimental design of an own study. Dataloggers will be programmed, and a small weather station will be set up. Different meteorological and greenhouse gas flux data will be analysed (using R) and assessed in terms of production, greenhouse gas budgets, and carbon sequestration. Thus, students will learn how to collect, analyse and interpret data about the complex interactions of a coupled human-environmental system. Students will work in groups (3-4 persons per group) with data from a small weather station (dedicated to the course), as well as data from the long-term measurement network Swiss FluxNet and from global databases. Data from the intensively managed grassland site Chamau will be used to investigate the biosphere-atmosphere exchange of CO2, H2O, N2O and CH4. Functional relationships will be identified, greenhouse gas budgets will be calculated for different time periods and in relation to management over the course of a year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts will be available in moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Prerequisites: Attendance of introductory courses in plant ecophysiology, ecology, and grassland or forest sciences. Knowledge of data analyses in R and statistics. Course will be taught in English. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-3405-00L | Chemical Nature of Nutrients and their Availability to Plants: The Case of Phosphorus  | W+ | 4 credits | 4G | E. Frossard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The CNNAP course discusses the mechanistic relationships between nutrient speciation in fertilizer and nutrient uptake by plants using phosphorus as an example. The course involves theoretical aspects of nutrient cycling, laboratory work, data analysis and presentation, and the use of advanced methods in plant nutrition studies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | At the end of the CNNAP course, participants will obtain a mechanistic understanding of why and how the speciation of phosphorus in fertilizer can affect its release to the soil solution and subsequent uptake by plants. Students will be able to use this information for the development of fertilization schemes that maximize the nutrient uptake and fertilizer efficiency of crops or pastures. During the course, participants will become familiar with the use of radioisotopes and nuclear magnetic resonance as approaches to measure nutrient availability and forms, respectively and they will know the limits of these techniques. Students will also have the opportunity to improve their laboratory, presentation, discussion and writing skills. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Documents will be distributed during the lecture. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Documents will be distributed during the lecture. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The CNNAP lecture will take place at the ETH experimental station in Eschikon Lindau every second year. The next course will be organized in autumn 2024. The CNNAP course will take place if and only if 8 or more students are registered one week before the start. See the location of the station at: http://www.plantnutrition.ethz.ch/the-group/how-to-find-us.html We strongly advise students who are planning to be absent for more than one week during the semester NOT to visit this course. Students should have visited the plant nutrition lectures in the 3rd and 6th semesters and the lecture pedosphere in the 3rd semester of the agricultural study program of the ETH. If students do not have visited these courses they will have to acquire the necessary information by themselves as this knowledge is indispensable for the CNNAP course. As the CNNAP course does not take place in autumn 2023, we recommend students interested in integrated assessment of nutrient cycling in soil plant systems to visit the 8th semester lecture 751-3404-00L (Nutrient Fluxes in Soil-Plant Systems: The Case of Nitrogen) organized in spring 2024 by Oberson et al. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-5125-00L | Stable Isotope Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems | W+ | 2 credits | 2G | R. A. Werner, N. Buchmann, A. Gessler, M. Lehmann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course provides an overview about the applicability of stable isotopes (carbon 13C, nitrogen 15N, oxygen 18O and hydrogen 2H) to process-oriented ecological research. Topics focus on stable isotopes as indicators for the origin of pools and fluxes, partitioning of composite fluxes as well as to trace and integrate processes. In addition, students carry out a small project during lab sessions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students will be familiar with basic and advanced applications of stable isotopes in studies on plants, soils, water and trace gases, know the relevant approaches, concepts and recent results in stable isotope ecology, know how to combine classical and modern techniques to solve ecophysiological or ecological problems, learn to design, carry out and interpret a small IsoProject, practice to search and analyze literature as well as to give an oral presentation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The analyses of stable isotopes often provide insights into ecophysiological and ecological processes that otherwise would not be available with classical methods only. Stable isotopes proved useful to determine origin of pools and fluxes in ecosystems, to partition composite fluxes and to integrate processes spatially and temporally. This course will provide an introduction to the applicability of stable isotopes to ecological research questions. Topics will focus on carbon (13C), nitrogen (15N), oxygen (18O) and hydrogen (2H) at natural isotope abundance and tracer levels. Lectures will be supplemented by intensive laboratory sessions, short presentations by students and computer exercises. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts will be available on the webpage of the course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Will be discussed in class. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course is based on fundamental knowledge about plant ecophysiology, soil science, and ecology in general. Course will be taught in English. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Methodology Competences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seminar in Plant Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 751-5115-00L | Current Aspects of Nutrient Cycle in Agro-Ecosystems | W+ | 2 credits | 1S | E. Frossard, A. Oberson Dräyer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The seminar concerns current aspects and research related to nutrient cycles in agro-ecosystems. The theme of the next seminar is “Integrated Nutrient Management to maximize nutrient use efficiency in productive agricultural systems: Insights from long-term field experiments”. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Analyze publications and/or data records on long-term field experiments regarding their content on integrated nutrient management and derive the nutrient use efficiency; link this information, write it up in a report and present the results in an oral presentation; work in a group; ask questions and contribute to the discussion following the oral presentations; link the information to answer overarching questions and recommendations; expand the knowledge on nutrient cycles and nutrient management in the agro-ecosystem; learn about the importance of long-term field experiment to answer questions on the sustainability of agricultural systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The seminar concerns current aspects and research related to nutrient cycles in agro-ecosystems. The theme of the next seminar is “Integrated Nutrient Management to maximize nutrient use efficiency in productive agricultural systems: Insights from long-term field experiments”. The students will analyze and connect the results published (or from data records) for selected field experiments in a group work. They will present their analysis in a report and in an oral presentation. The seminar is composed by presentations of experts and of the students. The presentations will be synthesized during a final discussion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-4003-01L | Current Topics in Grassland Sciences (autumn) | W+ | 2 credits | 2S | N. Buchmann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Research results in agro- and forest ecosystem sciences will be presented by experienced researchers as well as by doctoral and graduate students. Citation classics as well as recent research results will be discussed. Topics will range from plant ecophysiology, biodiversity and biogeochemistry to management aspects in agro- and forest ecosystems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students will be able to understand and evaluate experimental design and data interpretation of on-going studies, be able to critically analyze published research results, practice to present and discuss results in the public, and gain a broad knowledge of recent research and current topics in agro- and forest ecosystem sciences. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Research results in agro- and forest ecosystem sciences will be presented by experienced researchers as well as by doctoral and graduate students. Citation classics as well as recent research results will be discussed. Topics will range from plant ecophysiology, biodiversity and biogeochemistry to management aspects in agro- and forest ecosystems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | none | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of plant ecophysiology, terrestrial ecology and management of agro- and forest ecosystems. Course will be taught in English. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-2105-00L | Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture Number of participants limited to 25. All students wo register will be on the waiting list. A motivational application is required until 6 September: - presenting yourself and your studies - stating what topic in the field of Political Ecology that you are interested in - suggesting one paper to enrich the literature list for the course The selected students will be notified until 9 September. Questions regarding the application to johanna.jacobi@usys.ethz.ch. | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | J. Jacobi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | In this seminar, students are introduced to the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology to investigate human-environment relationships in food and agricultural systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | - Being able to provide an overview of the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology for investigating the relationships of humans to our environment - Learn to identify how power and interest influence social-ecological systems and to distinguish symptoms from systemic root causes - Become enabled to analyse complex and sometimes distant human-ecology relationships choosing from a broad range of methods | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | We will review common narratives in agri-food systems informed by a range of different theories and assisted by different analytical tools. For this purpose, we will start from different concepts of nature, power and interests, explore different ontologies and epistemologies through a set of topics such as hunger, obesity, agrobiodiversity and seeds, forests and deforestation, climate change and food production. Students will explain one concept in each course to the groups and practice their argumentative and writing skills in a final essay, applying the acquired tools to a topic of their choice. While specific inputs from external lecturers broaden our perspective, enough time for critical discussion and reflection will be granted. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | 20.9.2024 Introduction to political ecology 27.9.2024 Ontologies and epistemologies 4.10.2024 Climate justice and food systems 11.10.2024 Green revolution, industrial agriculture, and agroecology 18.10.2024 Conservation: Protecting what from what? 25.10.2024 Don't blame the rain: Water management in agriculture 1.11.2024 Deforestation: Root causes and alternatives 8.11.2024 Pandemics, syndemics and the food system 15.11.2024 Technology and the politics of knowledge 22.1.2024 Land-sharing, land-sparing 29.11.2024 Feminist (political) agroecology 6.12.2024 Food: Commons or commodity? 13.12.2024 Alternatives to sustainable development 20.12.2024 Final session (The Hunger Banquet) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Literaturelist provided on Moodle when the course starts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Design, Analysis and Communication of Science | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 751-3801-00L | Experimental Design and Applied Statistics in Agroecosystem Science | O | 3 credits | 2G | A. Hund, C. Grieder, R. Kölliker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Different experimental designs will be discussed and various statistical tools will be applied to research questions in agroecosystem sciences. Statistical methods range from simple analysis of variance to mixed-models and multivariate statistics. Surveys and manipulative field and laboratory experiments are addressed and students learn to analyse data using a hands-on approach. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students will know various statistical analyses and their application to science problems in their study area as well as a wide range of experimental design options used in environmental and agricultural sciences. They will practice to use statistical software packages (R), understand pros and cons of various designs and statistics, and be able to statistically evaluate their own results as well as those of published studies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The course program uses a learning-by-doing approach ("hands-on minds-on"). The topics are introduced as short lectures, but most of the work is done on the computer using different packages of R – a software for statistical computing and graphics. In addition to contact hours exercises must be finalized and handed in for grading. The credit points will be given based on successful assessments of selected exercises. The tentative schedule contains the following topics: Introduction to experimental design and applied statistics in R Data handling and data exploration with tidyverse Designs of field and growth chamber experiments theory Design creation with DiGGer Fitting linear mixed-effects models with lme4 Marginal means estimation and post-hoc tests with emmeans Nonlinear regression fits Statistical learning techniques Principle component analysis, canonical correpondence analysis (CCA), cluster analysis Random forest This course does not provide the mathematical background that students are expected to bring along when signing up to this course. Alternatively, students can consider some aspects of this course as a first exposure to solutions in experimental design and applied statistics and then deepen their understanding in follow-up statistical courses. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts will be available (in English) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | A selection of suggested additional literature, especially for German speaking students will be presented in the introductory lecture. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course is based on the course Mathematik IV: Statistik, passed in the 2nd year and the Bachelor's course "Wissenschaftliche Datenauswertung und Datenpräsentation" (751-0441-00L) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-5201-10L | Tropical Cropping Systems, Soils and Livelihoods (with Excursion) IMPORTANT: Students who enroll for this course are strongly recommended to verify with lecturers from other courses whether their absence of two weeks may affect their performance in the respective courses. | W+ | 5 credits | 10G | J. Six, K. Benabderrazik | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course guides students in analyzing and comprehending tropical agroecosystems and food systems. Students gain practical knowledge of field methods, diagnostic tools and survey methods for tropical soils and agroecosystems. An integral part of the course is the two-week field project in the Mount Kenya Region, which is co-organized with the University of Embu (Kenya) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | (1) Overview of the major land use systems in Tropical agroecosystems in several contexts Africa (2) Interdisciplinary analysis of agricultural production systems (3) Knowledge on methods to assess agroecological performance of a tropical agroecosystems (4) Hands-on training on the use of field methods, diagnostic tools and survey methods. (5) Gain practical knowledge on how to assess to climate resilience and farming systems. (6) Collaboration in international students and stakeholders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | This course guides students in analyzing and comprehending tropical agroecosystems. Students of ETH Zürch will work together with the students from Embu University (Kenya) in an interdisciplinary and intercultural team. Students will focus on the Agroecological performance and climate resilience of diverse farming systems in the Mount Kenya Region. From October 28th to November 11th, The students will take part in a field course in the Mount Kenya Region. Students will then gain practical knowledge on field, meeting several stakeholders of the agricultural and food systems and conducting various assessments related to climate resilience and farming systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | We would require the students enrolled to the class to send a short cover letter (1-page max.) by September 18rd 2023, justifying your motivation to enroll to this class. A selection of 20 students will be done on the basis of the letters. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Major in Agriculture Economics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Decision Making and Management | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 363-0403-00L | Introduction to Marketing | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | F. von Wangenheim, P. Bachmann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course provides an overview on essential perspectives of marketing and how marketing adds value to a business. It will teach concepts, frameworks and methods for marketing decision making. The course will also look at issues related to marketing implementation. Thereby, a particular focus will be on how data and data analytics can help to support marketers in their decision making. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | After taking the class, students will be able to 1) Understand how marketing adds value to a business. 2) Provide an overview of key concepts in marketing that are applicable to any business. 3) Understand how consumers behave and how this impacts marketing 4) Learn how analytics and quantitive methods can help to improve decision making in marketing. 5) Get to know the elements that shape a firm’s marketing strategy (segmentation, targeting, positioning) and marketing tactics (product, price, promotion, place) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The class will center on the importance of marketing as an activity that creates long-term value for the benefit of organizations and their customers. It will teach concepts, frameworks and methods for marketing decision making. Specifically, the course is aims to provide students with a) an overview on the role of marketing within a business, b) details on strategic marketing management decisions and tools, c) a profound knowledge on the individual elements of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, place), d) an awareness of specific contexts of marketing, and e) first-hand experience on data-driven techniques to support marketers' decision making. Thus, this course will introduce key analytical tools to help solving respective managerial tasks. This is a lecture with integrated exercises. Access to a laptop is required for the exercises. The the class might be thought in an in-person, remote or in a hybrid format. Students might also be taught via pre-recorded videos and assigned material for self-study. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Kotler, Philip and Gary Amstrong (2021). Principles of Marketing (18th Global Edition), Pearson. ISBN-13: 9781292341132. The course might comprise mandatory and supplemental reading material. Other literature may be assigned in class. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-2205-00L | Management for Enterprises in the Agri-Food-Chain II | W+ | 2 credits | 2G | M. Weber | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Advanced Management in the Agri-Food Chain: Framework and models for management of organizations in the Agri-Food Chain in a complex environment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | After the lecture the students ... ... know the characteristics and consequences of complexity in the organizational world, ... know and can apply selected comprehensive models for managing in complex situations, ... know possible practical applications and examples of the treated contents to organizations in the Agri-Food Chain and ... are able to deepen the relevant topics in an autonomous way. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | In the lecture the following contents will be treated: - State, reasons and effects of complexity in the organizational world. - A basic framework for shaping and governing intelligent organizations. - Selected contemporary models for managing in the complex organizational world. - Transfer and adaption of the models to organizations in the Agri-Food Chain. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Reader with selected contents. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | - Vorlesung "Management für Unternehmen der Agrar- & Ernährungswirtschaft I" in D-USYS Vorlesung wird in deutscher Sprache abgehalten | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 363-0387-00L | Corporate Sustainability | W | 3 credits | 2G | V. Hoffmann, C. Bening-Bach, B. Girod, L. Miehé | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The lecture explores current challenges of corporate sustainability and prepares students to become champions for sustainable business practices. The module combines asynchronous videos, live sessions, with a group work phase between weeks 5-10 of semester during which students deep-dive into one of 10 sustainability challenges. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students - assess the limits and the potential of corporate sustainability for sustainable development - develop competencies that are useful in the context of corporate sustainability and beyond (analytical competency, critical thinking, problem solving) - recognize and realize opportunities through team work for corporate sustainability in a business environment - present strategic recommendations in teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Corporate Sustainability is the flagship course of the Group for Sustainability and Technology at D-MTEC. In this course, students learn about key concepts in corporate sustainability and develop skills to implement them in the real world. The course prepares students for making well-informed sustainability decisions in their future careers. The course uses constructive alignment to bring the various innovative teaching and learning elements (e.g., case-based experiential learning, reflective thinking and blended learning with videos and quizzes) into a coherent transformational journey. Students can now flexibly, efficiently, and effectively acquire the conceptual foundations that are essential for a substantial understanding of corporate sustainability. For part of the course, students work in groups to complete a set of graded assignments designed to guide them into a deep dive on a selected corporate sustainability challenge. Please note that full participation in this part is essential, so make sure you are available. Furthermore, these group assignments count towards the overall grade for the course. For further details on the course structure etc. visit the following link: http://www.sustec.ethz.ch/teaching/lectures/corporate-sustainability.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Presentation slides will be made available on Moodle after lectures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Literature recommendations will be distributed via Moodle, and are available from the start of the course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | TEACHING FORMAT/ ATTENDANCE: The course includes several mandatory sessions that participants must attend to successfully earn credit points. It is not possible to take the class purely online | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Resource Economics and Agricultural Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 751-2903-00L | Evaluation of Agricultural Policies | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | R. Huber, R. Finger, C. Schader | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | In this course, students get an overview of agricultural policy evaluations and their societal and political relevance. They learn to understand and apply the principles of scientific based evaluations of agricultural policies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The course has four major learning objectives: 1) Students know the conceptual background of evaluations and can relate concepts in agricultural economics to the evaluation of policies. 2) They know the basics of how to design and implement a policy evaluation study. 3) Students can transfer their methodological knowledge from other agricultural economics courses to the context of agricultural policy evaluations (econometrics, modelling etc.). They make hands-on experiences of methodological challenges. 4) They can critically assess the science-policy interface of policy evaluations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The course consists of two blocks: First, students will learn the basics of how to design, implement and interpret agricultural policy evaluations. In this block, the conceptual embedding, the design and methodological tools as well as case studies are presented. Secondly, the students make hands-on experience using econometric and modelling tools in the context of agricultural policy evaluations. They apply their theoretical and empirical knowledge to Swiss case studies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts and reading assignments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 701-1651-00L | Environmental Governance | W | 6 credits | 3G | E. Lieberherr, M. J. Fischer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The course addresses environmental policies, focusing on new steering approaches, which are generally summarized as environmental governance. The course also provides students with tools to analyze environmental policy processes and assesses the key features of environmental governance by examining various practical environmental policy examples. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | To understand how an environmental problem may (not) become a policy and explain political processes, using basic concepts and techniques from political science. To analyze the evolution as well as the key elements of environmental governance. To be able to identify the main challenges and opportunities for environmental governance and to critically discuss them with reference to various practical policy examples. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Improvements in environmental quality and sustainable management of natural resources cannot be achieved through technical solutions alone. The quality of the environment and the achievement of sustainable development strongly depend on human behavior and specifically the human uses of nature. To influence human behavior, we rely on public policies and other societal rules, which aim to steer the way humans use natural resources and their effects on the environment. Such steering can take place through government intervention alone. However, this often also involves governance, which includes the interplay between governmental and non-governmental actors, the use of diverse tools such as emission standards or financial incentives to steer actors' behavior and can occur at the local, regional, national or international level. In this course, we will address both the practical aspects of as well as the scientific debate on environmental governance. The course gives future environmental experts a strong basis to position themselves in the governance debate, which does not preclude government but rather involves a spectrum from government to governance. Key questions that this course seeks to answer: What are the core characteristics of environmental challenges from a policy perspective? What are key elements of 'environmental governance' and how legitimate and effective are these approaches in addressing persistent environmental challenges? Furthermore, we encourage the development of soft skills by engaging students in activities such as moderating discussions in class, presenting own proposals, giving regular peer feedback, as well as critically reflecting on various relevant publications in the environmental governance domain. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Lecture slides, a script and additional course material will be provided on Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | A detailed course schedule will be made available at the beginning of the semester. During the lecture we will work with Moodle. We ask that all students register themselves on this platform before the lecture. We recommend that students have (a) three-years BSc education of a (technical) university; (b) successfully completed Bachelor introductory course to environmental policy (Entwicklungen nationaler Umweltpolitik (or equivalent)) and (c) familiarity with key issues in environmental policy and some fundamental knowledge of one social science or humanities discipline (political science, economics, sociology, history, psychology, philosophy) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Development and International Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 751-2103-00L | Socioeconomics of Agriculture | W+ | 2 credits | 2V | S. Mann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The main part of this lecture will examine constellations where hierarchies, markets or cooperation have been observed and described in the agricultural sector. On a more aggregated level, different agricultural systems will be evaluated in terms of main socioeconomic parameters like social capital or perceptions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students should be able to describe the dynamics of hierarchies, markets and cooperation in an agricultural context. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Introduction to Sociology Introduction to Socioeconomics Agricultural Administration: Path dependencies and efficiency issues Power in the Chain The farming family Occupational Choices Market segregation The issue of meat demand Common Resource Management in Alpine Farming Agricultural Cooperatives Societal perceptions of agriculture Perceptions of farming from within Varieties of agricultural systems and policies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319741406 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | see script | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Basic economic knowledge is expected. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 851-0626-01L | International Development Cooperation Does not take place this semester. | W+ | 2 credits | 2V | I. Günther | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The course gives economic and empirical foundations for a sound understanding of the instruments, prospects and limitations of international development aid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students have a theoretically and empirically sound understanding of the prospects and limitations of international development aid. Students are able to critically discuss the various aid instruments of bi-and multilateral donors and NGOs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Introduction to the Determinants of Underdevelopment; History of Aid; Aid and Development: Theories and Empirics; Political Economy of Aid; Experience and Impact of Aid; New Instruments of Aid: e.g. Micro-Finance, Budget-Support; Fair-Trade. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Articles and book abstracts will be uploaded to a course website. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 860-0023-00L | International Environmental Politics Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET, D-USYS. | W+ | 3 credits | 2V | T. Bernauer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course deals with how and why international problem-solving efforts (cooperation) in environmental politics emerge and evolve, and under what circumstances such efforts are effective. Based on concepts, theories, and methods of political economy, political science, and public policy, various examples of international environmental policy-making are examined. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The objectives in this course are to (1) gain an overview of important questions in international environmental politics from a social sciences viewpoint; (2) learn how to identify interesting/innovative questions in this policy area and how to address them in a conceptually and methodologically meaningful and insightful way; (3) gain an overview of important global and regional environmental problems and how they are or could be solved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | This course deals with how and why international problem-solving efforts (cooperation) in environmental politics emerge and evolve, and under what circumstances such efforts are effective. Based on concepts, theories, and methods of political economy, political science, and public policy, various examples of international environmental policy-making are examined, for example international efforts to reduce air pollution, manage international water resources, mitigate and adapt to global warming, protect the stratospheric ozone layer, address biodiversity challenges, deal with plastic waste, and prevent pollution of the oceans. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Reading materials and slides will be available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Reading materials and slides will be available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The course is open to all ETH students and visiting students from other universities. Participation does not require previous coursework in the social sciences or environmental policy. Most meetings in this course will take place on campus (ETH Main Building, HG F.3). There will be no live-streaming, and the course is not in hybrid (on-campus plus online) format. However, the lecture will be recorded (slides and voice, no video) and the recordings will be made available via the Moodle platform for this course a few days after the respective lecture for students who are unable to attend in person. All electronic correspondence will take place via the ETH mystudies system and Moodle, so please make sure you are properly registered there with a functioning email address/account. Credits and Exam After passing a written test at the end of the course (requirement: grade 4.0 or higher) students will receive 3 ECTS credit points. The workload is around 90 hours (meetings, reading assignments, preparation of test). Visiting students (e.g., from the University of Zurich, exchange students) are subject to the same conditions. Registration of visiting students in the web-based system of ETH is compulsory. Students who obtain a grade of < 4.0 for the test will have a second chance (see table below). Students who did not participate in the test on 16 December 2024 will not have access to the repeat test unless they submit compelling and documented (e.g., medical, other exam in parallel at ETH) reasons for why they are/were unable to participate in the first test. The test covers all contents of the lectures and the reading assignments. No separate registration for the exam is required, registration for the course as such covers everything. The exam will take place on campus, most likely in HG F3. That is, you must be present in person at ETH Zurich on the exam date/time. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| 751-2105-00L | Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture Number of participants limited to 25. All students wo register will be on the waiting list. A motivational application is required until 6 September: - presenting yourself and your studies - stating what topic in the field of Political Ecology that you are interested in - suggesting one paper to enrich the literature list for the course The selected students will be notified until 9 September. Questions regarding the application to johanna.jacobi@usys.ethz.ch. | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | J. Jacobi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | In this seminar, students are introduced to the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology to investigate human-environment relationships in food and agricultural systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | - Being able to provide an overview of the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology for investigating the relationships of humans to our environment - Learn to identify how power and interest influence social-ecological systems and to distinguish symptoms from systemic root causes - Become enabled to analyse complex and sometimes distant human-ecology relationships choosing from a broad range of methods | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | We will review common narratives in agri-food systems informed by a range of different theories and assisted by different analytical tools. For this purpose, we will start from different concepts of nature, power and interests, explore different ontologies and epistemologies through a set of topics such as hunger, obesity, agrobiodiversity and seeds, forests and deforestation, climate change and food production. Students will explain one concept in each course to the groups and practice their argumentative and writing skills in a final essay, applying the acquired tools to a topic of their choice. While specific inputs from external lecturers broaden our perspective, enough time for critical discussion and reflection will be granted. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | 20.9.2024 Introduction to political ecology 27.9.2024 Ontologies and epistemologies 4.10.2024 Climate justice and food systems 11.10.2024 Green revolution, industrial agriculture, and agroecology 18.10.2024 Conservation: Protecting what from what? 25.10.2024 Don't blame the rain: Water management in agriculture 1.11.2024 Deforestation: Root causes and alternatives 8.11.2024 Pandemics, syndemics and the food system 15.11.2024 Technology and the politics of knowledge 22.1.2024 Land-sharing, land-sparing 29.11.2024 Feminist (political) agroecology 6.12.2024 Food: Commons or commodity? 13.12.2024 Alternatives to sustainable development 20.12.2024 Final session (The Hunger Banquet) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Literaturelist provided on Moodle when the course starts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| Methodology Competences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Methods in Agricultural Economics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 363-0305-00L | Empirical Methods in Management | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | S. Tillmanns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | In this class, students learn how to understand and conduct empirical research. It will enable them to manage a business based on evident-based decision-making. The class includes assignments related to the lecture content. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The general objective of the course is to enable students to understand the basic principles of empirical studies. After successfully passing the class, they will be able to formulate research questions, design empirical studies, and analyze data by using basic statistical approaches. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Data has become an important resource in today’s business environment, which can be used to make better management decisions. However, evidence-based decision-making comes along with challenges and requires a basic understand of statistical approaches. Therefore, this class introduces problems and key concepts of empirical research, which might be qualitative or quantitative in its nature. Concerning qualitative research, students learn how to conduct and evaluate interviews. In the area of quantitative research, they learn how to apply measurement and scaling methods and conduct experiments. In addition, basic statistical analyses like a variance analysis and how to conduct it in a standard statistical software package like SPSS or R are also part of the lecture. The lessons learned from the lecture will empower students to critically assess the quality and outcomes of studies published in the media and scientific journals, which might form a basis of their managerial decision-making. We recommend the lecture also to students without basic statistical skills, who plan to attend more advanced lectures in the field of artificial intelligence such as Marketing Analytics. The lecture will be taught in presence. There will be individual assignments that students have to solve throughout the lecture. In addition to that, there will be some non-mandatory online exercises as an additional opportunity to prepare for the exam. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Literature and readings will be announced. For a basic understanding we recommend the Handbook of Good Research by Jürgen Brock and Florian von Wangenheim. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The course includes out-of-class assignments to give students some hands-on experience in conducting empirical research in management. Projects will focus on one particular aspect of empirical research, like the formulation of a research question or the design of a study. Assignments will be graded and need to be turned-in on time as they will be shown and discussed in class. Class participation is encouraged and can greatly improve students' learning. In this spirit, students are expected to attend class regularly and come to class prepared. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| 363-0585-00L | Intermediate Econometrics | W+ | 3 credits | 2V | G. Masllorens Fuentes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The aim of the course is to discuss different econometric models and their empirical applications. We will cover cross-sectional linear and non-linear regression models, models for estimating treatment effects, and linear panel data models. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | By the end of the course, students should understand the different existing approaches, their applicability, and their advantages and disadvantages. They should be able to read and understand regression output tables. Additionally, students will be able to apply the estimation approaches in practice using STATA. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The lectures will consist of both theoretical and practical components. In the theoretical part, we will discuss each estimation approach in detail. The lecture will present the assumptions, derivations, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the estimation approach. In the empirical part, we will look at simulation results using artificial data. Furthermore, we will investigate a particular research question using STATA. The course will tentatively cover the following subjects: - review of ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation - instrumental variable estimation and two-stage least squares estimation - seemingly unrelated regression models - simultaneous equation models - maximum likelihood estimation - binary response models - count data models - censored and truncated regression models - sample selection models - treatment effect models - static linear panel data models (random effects and fixed effects estimation) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | For the theoretical portions of the lectures, we will prepare slides for in-class discussion. The format of the course is in-person. Slides will be distributed electronically before each lecture. For the applied portion of the lectures, we will provide STATA do files, log files, and data sets. Problem sets will also be made available after every lecture. These problem sets will not be collected or graded, but students can use them in order to prepare for the final exam. Solutions will be made available in the following lecture. While there is no required textbook for the course, we draw from the following texts, which are also recommend for the preparation of the exam: - Wooldridge, J.M. (2015). Introductory Econometrics. - Wooldridge, J.M. (2010). Econometrics of Cross Section and Panel Data. - Cameron, A.C. and P. Trivedi (2005). Microeconometrics. Methods and Applications. - Cameron, A.C. and P. Trivedi (2009). Microeconometrics Using Stata. - Angrist, J.D. and Pischke, J.-S. (2009). Mostly Harmless Econometrics. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Jeffrey M. Wooldridge: Introductory Econometrics; Jeffrey M. Wooldridge: Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data; A. Colin Cameron and Pravin K. Trivedi. Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications. Joshua A. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke: Mostly Harmless Econometrics. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Prior basic knowledge of matrix algebra and probability theory is strongly recommended. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 751-0423-00L | Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Agriculture | W+ | 3 credits | 2G | R. Finger, J. Schmitt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Agricultural production is exposed to various risks and risk management is indispensable. This course introduces modern concepts on farmers' decision making under risk and risk management. We present innovative insights, emprical example from European agriculture. You gain hands-on experience using R. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | -to develop a better understanding of decision making under uncertainty and risk; - gain hands-on experience in risk analysis and management using R -to gain experience in different approaches to analyze risky decisions; -to develop an understanding for different sources of risk in agricultural production; -to understand the crucial role of subjective perceptions and preferences for risk management decisions; -to get an overview on risk management in the agricultural sector, with a particular focus on insurance solutions -to get insights in the role of big data and machine learning for agricultural risk management | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | - Quantification and measurement of risk - Risk preferences, Expected Utility Theory, Cumulative Prospect Theory - Production and input use decisions under risk - Portfolio Theory and Farm Diversification - Forwards, Futures, Crop Insurance - Weather Index Insurance and Satellite Imagery - Big data and machine learning for agricultural risk management - Empirical Applications using R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts will be distributed in the lecture and available on the moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | knowledge of basic concepts of probability theory and microeconomics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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