Here below you can find all master courses the University Centre offers. All courses are taught in 1-3 week modules running from August through June. See how the courses are organised in the teaching schedule for both programs. Usually 2-3 courses are taught at the same time, but students may only enroll in one course at a time.
The master courses are available to you whether you plan to pursue a degree or just take a course or courses. Please review the options for guest studies to determine how you can apply.
For further information, contact the Administrative Director of Education and Teaching.
Ethics of conservation and resource use
- Autumn 2025
- Instructor: Dr. Marie Schellens
About the course
Working in resource management and development fields often means facing difficult choices as people seek to balance the conservation and utilization of natural resources with the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, protecting indigenous rights, promoting environmental justice, and securing a healthy economy. Actors involved in decision making and resource use often possess different priorities and ethical values which means controversial decisions with long-term implications, even potentially disastrous outcomes for the local environment and communities. This course introduces students to a diverse set of theories and principles behind ethical vs. non-ethical environmental management. It introduces students to real-world cases gone wrong. Most importantly, the course prepares students to apply various tools in research and management of natural resources and ecosystems to ensure an ethical approach. Particular emphasis will be given to applications and case studies involving coastal and marine resources.
Instructor
Marie Schellens, environmental researcher at peacebuilding organisation PAX (NL), monitors environmental damage impacting the lives and livelihoods of people in conflict zones through earth observation and geospatial analysis, in collaboration with affected communities. She explores the wider linkages between environmental degradation, the climate crisis, and conflict to strengthen international norms and policies on this nexus and supports the integration of environmental initiatives in peace work.
Before joining PAX, she worked as an environmental security analyst at the UN Environment Programme. She coordinated the development of Strata, an easy-to-use web-based mapper that supports project managers, analysts, and policymakers to streamline climate security data in their daily work. From 2016 to 2020, she was a Marie Curie PhD fellow at Stockholm University and the University of Iceland, researching the role of natural resources in conflict risk. She holds an MSc in Geography jointly from KU Leuven and Free University Brussels (Belgium, 2015).
