Sustainability as professional decision-making competence

Adatok

A Tantárgybejelentőben megadott hivatalos adatok az alábbi tanévre: 2026-2027

Tematika

The course examines sustainability not as a mere "green topic," but as a qualitative dimension of professional decision-making. Its starting point is that a decision is professionally sound only if it is viable not only in the short term but remains functional in the long run. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of systems thinking, resource logic, and methods of consequence analysis, alongside various layers of professional responsibility. The course demonstrates how sustainability manifests in everyday professional choices, with particular regard to the interconnections between cost, resource utilization, social impact, and institutional operations. Central emphasis is placed on interpreting complex problems and the practice of balancing short-term optimization with long-term stability. Through specific case studies and reflective tasks, students examine their future professional roles from a decision-maker's perspective. As an interpretative framework, the course presents the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a common international language that helps place local professional decisions into a broader context. The goal is for participants to enter the labor market not merely as executors, but as conscious and responsible professional decision-makers. The focus is not on creating strategic-level analyses, but on developing decision-thinking and the conscious application of systemic perspectives and long-term viability within one's own professional context.

Előadások

• 1. Sustainability as a professional issue - Lemli Beáta
• 2. Short-term optimization vs. long-term viability - Lemli Beáta
• 3. Fundamentals of systems thinking: Impact chains and feedbacks - Lemli Beáta
• 4. Resource logic: Cost, energy, time, and trust - Lemli Beáta
• 5. Professional responsibility and consequences: Who pays the price? - Lemli Beáta
• 6. Managing complexity: Decision-making in uncertain environments - Lemli Beáta
• 7. Sustainability as institutional operation: A system, not a "Green island" - Lemli Beáta
• 8. Professional roles: Executor or decision-maker? - Lemli Beáta
• 9. The global language of sustainability: The SDG framework - Lemli Beáta
• 10. Health, innovation, and responsible operation: Professional touchpoints - Lemli Beáta
• 11. Community engagement and professional growth: Volunteering as a practice ground - Lemli Beáta
• 12. Decision quality in practice: Weighing complex situations - Lemli Beáta
• 13. Sustainability as professional maturity: Summary - Lemli Beáta

Gyakorlatok

Szemináriumok

• 1. What makes a decision "good"? Mapping student decision-making scenarios - Lemli Beáta
• 2. When a decision works but is not sustainable – Case study analysis - Lemli Beáta
• 3. Impact mapping of a professional decision - Lemli Beáta
• 4. Hidden resources – What are we failing to account for? - Lemli Beáta
• 5. Ethical dilemmas in a professional context - Lemli Beáta
• 6. Risk and responsibility – Simulated decision-making scenario - Lemli Beáta
• 7. Analyzing institutional operations from a student perspective - Lemli Beáta
• 8. At what point do we become decision-makers? - Lemli Beáta
• 9. Placing a professional scenario within the SDG framework - Lemli Beáta
• 10. Mini case study: Systemic analysis of a product or service - Lemli Beáta
• 11. Project planning workshop (Focus on economic, social, or environmental dimensions) - Lemli Beáta
• 12. Group project work and consultation - Lemli Beáta
• 13. Student presentations and reflection - Lemli Beáta

A tananyag elsajátításához szükséges segédanyagok

Kötelező irodalom

Donella H. Meadows: Thinking in System: A Primer, Chelsea Green Publishing

Saját oktatási anyag

The content of the lectures are electronically available.

Jegyzet

Ajánlott irodalom

A félév elfogadásának feltételei

During the semester, students analyze a specific professional decision-making situation related to their field of study, based on the course's systemic framework. The analysis focuses on exploring potential decision alternatives, identifying stakeholders and resources, and conducting a comparative study of short- and long-term consequences. Special attention is paid to the question of viability: to what extent the chosen solution can be sustained in a complex, uncertain environment, and what irreversible risks it may carry. Students are tasked with interpreting the decision-making situation not as an isolated problem, but within a broader institutional and social context. The project aims to formulate a professionally grounded, evidence-based, and publicly defensible decision proposal that reflects the principles of responsible professional thinking and long-term operational stability.

Félévközi ellenőrzések

Ongoing seminar activity and project work.

Távolmaradás pótlásának lehetőségei

As agreed.

Vizsgakérdések

The course concludes with a mid-term grade. There are no traditional exam questions. Assesment is based on a semester-long project that evaulates the application of the course's system thinking framework through the analysis of a specific decesion-making scenario.

Vizsgáztatók

Gyakorlatok, szemináriumok oktatói

• Lemli Beáta