Future Planet Project

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Researching coastal challenges is an incredibly fascinating and crucial endeavor, as it requires the integration of diverse disciplinary perspectives. The dynamic and multifaceted nature of coastal areas means that a wide range of issues must be addressed, involving both natural and social sciences. In the Netherlands, the coast is a particularly vibrant and critical zone where numerous activities and challenges converge within a limited geographical space.  

This Future Planet Project course is designed to experience the process and dynamics of conducting an interdisciplinary project related to coastal challenges. In small teams, you will focus on a segment of the Dutch coast and address pressing – and often conflicting – issues, such as food production affected by salinization, contested energy production, heritage sites threatened by sea level rise, and coastal protection strategies aimed at aligning with natural dynamics to become ‘nature-based’. These complex challenges clearly require integrated perspectives and collaborative solutions.  

During the first two weeks of the course, several lectures will offer insights into these challenges from various disciplinary perspectives, including earth sciences, ecology, political ecology, and interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. After forming teams, you will jointly develop an interdisciplinary project plan. You are encouraged to draw from the wide range of methods you've encountered in your studies – such as system mapping, GIS, multi-criteria analysis, modeling, interviews, surveys, scenario development – leveraging each team member’s unique skills and academic background. To make this a truly interdisciplinary endeavor, we want each team to consist of students from both the Future Earth and Future Society track.  

Your team’s project will result in a set of forward-looking recommendations that balance the needs of human populations with the preservation of vital coastal ecosystems, ensuring a sustainable future for these critical areas. These recommendations will be presented at the final fair, where several coastal experts will be present, and where you will showcase your team’s vision for the future of the Dutch coastal region. 

Study materials

Literature

• Keestra, M., Uilhoorn, A., & Zandveld, J. (2025). An introduction to interdisciplinary research. Routledge

• Separate compulsory and recommended literature about coastal challenges, the overarching theme of the Future Planet Project. These sources will be provided through Canvas.

Objectives

• Gaining experience with the creation of interdisciplinary knowledge by combining and integrating input from various disciplines.
• Reflecting on their personal strengths and weaknesses, drives and motives, and bear responsibility for bringing in the necessary knowledge and skills acquired in one‘s own field of expertise to the project.
• Integrating knowledge from previous courses in the execution of an interdisciplinary project, using a variety of data collection and analysis methods
• Identifying differences in disciplinary perspectives that can form barriers for inter- or transdisciplinary collaboration
• Learning how to overcome barriers within inter- or transdisciplinary projects by making use of adequate integrative techniques.
• Critically reflect on the potential impact of both intended and desirable effects and possible unintended and undesirable consequences of well-intended recommendations and/or solutions.
• Reflecting on interdisciplinary teamwork and intended project goals.

Teaching methods

• Seminar
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Lecture

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B): 

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses. 

• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the student attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed. 

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For this course, an attendance requirement applies to the work groups. During the work groups, all learning objectives of the course will be clarified. Subsequently, during the self-study, one can continue to work on achieving the learning objectives. The guidance and exercises during the work groups ensure that all 7 learning objectives can be achieved. These are subsequently tested in the course assignments and presentation. 

Attending all scheduled education activities is strongly advised. By doing so, you actively 
contribute to a lively learning community and significantly improve your chances of successfully completing the course. The designated mandatory activities play a crucial role in achieving the course objectives and are essential for your overall progress. By registering for this course, you are complying with the rules regarding attendance and agreeing to actively prepare for and participate in the mandatory activities. 

Assessment

Table 1: Assessment Future Planet Project

* One failed submission counts as one absence. Two absences without a valid reason may result in exclusion from further participation in the course, which means you will not be able to complete the course.

* If necessary the assessor will correct the group grade for individual members to reflect the actual contribution made by that particular individual member. In case this correction diminishes the total score of an individual team member to < 5.5, the final grade will not be sufficient to pass the course. Only if there are convincing reasons or special personal circumstances an individual student will be given a second chance, i.e. an opportunity to do additional work to try and pass the course after all. In that case, student and teacher will consult with each other and the course coordinator to see what type of re-sit can be organized.

When personal circumstances give cause, you can approach your work group teacher and ask for delay of a deadline. In view of the deadline for the grading, postponement can never be more than one or maximally two weeks.

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Students who participated in the course last year must retake the entire course and, like all other students, submit all assignments and meet all requirements. It is not possible to carry over grades from previous years.

Inspection of assessed work

Students may contact their seminar instructor at any time to review their assessed assignments.

Assignments

Assignment 1: Reading questions (individual assignment)
You individually read Chapters 3–5 of Keestra, Uilhoorn and Zandveld (2022), watch the video, and answer several questions. You reflect on the history and meaning of interdisciplinarity, extract insights from the video, and relate integrative techniques from Chapter 5 to your own prior study experience.

Assignment 2: Preliminary focus and individual literature report
As a group, you draft a concise, 2‑page preliminary project focus using bullet points, and formulate both personal and group learning objectives. Individually, each student writes a 2‑page disciplinary literature review (annotated bibliography, synthesis, and reflection) to clarify how their disciplinary perspective contributes to the group’s topic.

Assignment 3: Project plan
In a structured document, your group develops an abstract, a focused problem statement and research questions, and a research plan detailing methods, interdisciplinarity, timeline, and risk management. You also sketch expected outcomes and recommendations, including how you will communicate results at the final symposium, possibly supported by visual/system maps.

Assignment 4: Interim individual and group reflection
Your group jointly writes a max 500‑word reflection on how collaboration is going so far, especially in relation to the team objectives set in Assignment 2. Individually, each student writes a max 500‑word reflection on two key challenges or lessons of interdisciplinary teamwork, connecting them to their own role and learning objectives.

Assignment 5: Progress report and preliminary findings
As a group, you submit a roughly 1000‑word report summarizing your project’s current status, preliminary findings, and any challenges encountered. You also outline the next steps toward completing the final report and preparing the symposium presentation; the emphasis is on clarifying your thinking rather than producing a polished document.

Assignment 6: Presentation
Your group prepares and delivers a 10‑minute symposium presentation (plus 5 minutes Q&A) that clearly presents your research question, approach, methods, interdisciplinary character, and key findings. You then formulate forward‑looking, case‑specific and more general recommendations, highlighting impactful elements, potential barriers, and ways to overcome them, and submit your slides beforehand.

Assignment 7: Final reflection and report
You produce a concise final research report (around 1000 words) that presents your process, findings, interdisciplinary integration, and recommendations. In addition, you submit a group reflection and an individual reflection (each about 500 words) on collaboration, learning, and personal development, which together form the basis for the oral exam discussion.

Assignment 8: Oral exam
In a 20‑minute oral exam with your guiding teacher, your group discusses the project’s content, its interdisciplinary aspects, and key lessons learned. Your performance is assessed based on your overall effort, the quality of your final report and reflections, and your responses during the conversation.

NB. See Canvas for more detailed descriptions of the course assignments

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

We vinden het belangrijk dat je je op de UvA en bij Future Planet Studies veilig voelt. Krijg je onverhoopt te maken met ongewenst gedrag of voel je je onveilig, dan kun je terecht bij verschillende personen. Je melding wordt altijd vertrouwelijk behandeld. Kijk op onze website voor meer informatie over waar en bij wie je terecht kunt.

It is important that everyone feels safe at the UvA and Future Planet Studies. We are committed to provide social safety and we offer various forms of support for people experiencing inappropriate or unsafe situations. Consult the UvA website or Future Planet Studies Canvas page for more information and contact info.

Last year's student feedback

Vanaf 2013-2014 hebben we ervoor gekozen om d.m.v. onderstaande tabel de studenten meer inzicht te geven in de kwaliteitszorg. Daarom nemen we een korte weergave van de studentenevaluatie op en de daaruit voortvloeiende acties ter verbetering van het vak.

Contact information

Coordinator

• J.V. Rothuizen

Staff

• J.V. Rothuizen
• Anne Uilhoorn
• Annabel Isarin
• Rosa Rougoor