Photo Credit: Akiba Mashinani Trust
 

Under the framework of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Global Virtual Classroom , students from Osaka University participated in an advanced online course on urban resilience from 19 May to 19 August 2021.

This pilot course was developed and implemented by Dr. Murali Chandrashekaran, Vice-Provost, International, Fred H. Siller Professor of Behavioural Science, UBC Sauder School of Business, the University of British Columbia. Dr. Brendan Barrett, Specially Appointed Professor at the Osaka University Center for the Study of Co* Design, was co-instructor for the course.

The focus of this pilot course is on UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES ) and it involves students working in cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional teams. The course content is brought to life through global virtual teamwork, engaging mini lectures, virtual field study, relevant readings, and discussions to explore urban resilience challenges.

Students work in collaboration with community representatives from the Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi (Kenya), from Slum & Shack Dwellers International, and the Akiba Mashinani Trust. They undertake research on the co-design and feasibility of community-led affordable housing and clean energy cooking projects.

Seventeen students (including three from Osaka University) completed the course. They were required to complete reflection reports on their experience and below are examples of their feedback.

“It was the first class I'd ever taken where my incentive to do good did not lie within my grades but rather the impact I would be able to create. So, while I had my moments of doubts, I worked through it because I knew what we could deliver had value. I also learned to unlearn because we were tackling a problem in society I was unfamiliar with; I could not always rely on my own set of experiences and methods of making decisions. Every time we engaged with the community in Mukuru, I left with ten times the amount of wisdom and knowledge compared to what I could find in academic or web research.”

“Taking this course was a refreshing change from my usual routine of going to the lab and conducting experiments. Although the project was challenging, I have learned numerous lessons that will be useful for my future research career. Three major lessons that I have learned throughout this course are the importance of pivoting, the importance of not using feasibility as the only criterion for making plans, and using active listening skills to facilitate communication with people from different backgrounds.”

“The ethos of this course, structured off Dr. Murali’s principle of acting In Service, forced me to confront my motivations and reconsider my approach to a career in sustainable development. In discussing the subject with several sustainability practitioners, I learned that the Global South does not need consultants to provide Western, cookie-cutter, dead-end solutions to their current challenges. Rather, change must be led by those who understand the nuance of the social and political context in which these issues exist. Simply put, as emphasized by this course, development must be locally led and internationally supported.”