Minor Sustainability Transitions Challenges
We all support the idea of moving towards a system that operates within planetary boundaries, and promotes well-being and social justice. In the Sustainability Transitions Challenges minor, you will develop the competencies necessary to lead these systems effectively.
Come and meet us
Choosing a minor is an important decision. That's why we will help you make your choice.
Why choose this minor?
- It empowers you to develop your own perspective on sustainability transitions
- Through defining your own challenges, you can focus on topics you find most interesting
- It gives you the opportunity to collaborate with students from across BUas and beyond
About this minor
This minor invites you to engage with various sustainability transition challenges. These range from those focusing exclusively on environmental or social issues to those combining these two pillars of sustainability.
You can choose the challenges that interest you and, by completing them, develop the skills and knowledge needed to form your own perspective on sustainability and play your part in addressing climate change and/or broader sustainable development challenges.
The minor is designed to enable you to learn alongside fellow students from BUas and other EU universities, as well as various sustainability experts. It is also designed to be completed online, offering maximum flexibility.
More information:
- Language of instruction
English.
- Admission requirements
Admission requirements for BUas students:
- Propaedeutic certificate obtained
Admission requirements for external students:
- For KreativEU students: requirements still to be determined
- Others: Propaedeutic certificate obtained + motivation letter, interview if necessary
- Learning outcomes & competencies
This minor enables you to fulfil two BU-wide Integrated Learning Outcomes (ILOs) at Level 3 (End Level).
ILO 1: Account for climate and sustainability realities/facts in crafting context-specific courses of action to tackle societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- Basic Level: With guidance, identify climate and sustainability issues that are relevant to a domain’s current and potential contribution to tackling societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- Intermediate Level: With coaching, analyse the interdependencies between various climate and sustainability issues that are relevant to a domain’s current and potential contribution to tackling societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- End Level: With limited coaching and direction, make well-argued choices and decisions in crafting context-specific courses of action (within or across domains) to tackle societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
ILO 2: Develop your own (current and future, personal and professional) role in tackling societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or sustainable development
- Basic Level: With guidance, identify a range of realities, facts, perspectives and opinions with respect to societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- Intermediate Level: With coaching, analyse positionality of stakeholders involved with societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- End Level: With limited coaching and direction, make well-argued choices and decisions in crafting their/your own (current and future, personal and professional) role in tackling societal challenges that relate to climate change and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development
- Topics and structure of the minor
The minor involves completing five sustainability transitions challenges, which you can select from a wide range. Completing these challenges involves going through the nine steps of Challenge Based Learning (CBL), either individually or in a group. To complete the minor, you will reflect on your contribution to completing these challenges individually and relate your development in terms of attitudes, skills, and knowledge to the two BUas-wide Climate & Sustainability Integrated Learning Outcomes in a portfolio. You will present this portfolio as your final product for assessment.
- Teaching & assessment
You will work on challenges following the nine steps of Challenge Based Learning (CBL), with the support of specialised sustainability experts. The entire minor, including the final assessment, is delivered online. This final assessment is an interview with two sustainability experts based on your portfolio. The two BUas-wide Climate & Sustainability Integrated Learning Outcomes will serve as the assessment criteria.
- Required study material
This is provided online as part of the challenges.
- Minor coordinator
Frans Melissen: [email protected]
After this minor
You have learnt to make well-argued choices and decisions crafting context-specific courses of action of action to address climate-related societal challenges and/or the broader challenge of sustainable development. You will be able to do this in a way that aligns with your worldview, personality and professional ambitions and dreams.
Practical information
When
Monday 31 August 2026 – Friday 31 January 2027
Where
All classes and meetings will take place on the BUas campus in Breda.
Teaching method
You are assisted by our Challenge-Based Learning coaches at regular meetings. Together with them, you organise additional activities such as seminars, debates and field trips.
How to apply?
You can choose this minor if you study at BUas, but students from other higher education institutes are also warmly invited to join. This makes for a diverse and inspiring classroom!
- How to apply: BUas students
For BUas students, the application option in Osiris opens from 23 to 27 March 2026 (fall semester) & 5 to 9 October 2026 (spring semester). When you apply in Osiris you can indicate two preferences, these can be two different minors at BUas, but you should also indicate if you prefer to take an external minor. For more detailed information please visit the Minor Desk page on the student portal.
Please note that applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis or via a selection procedure as mentioned at the admission requirements on this page.
- How to apply: non-BUas students
All information regarding the minors for 2026 -2027 is available on Kies op Maat. From 2 February to 15 May, the application option and thus the download of the learning agreement will be open on Kies op Maat.
The full step-by-step plan:
- Download the learning agreement on Kies op Maat. Ask your own university of applied sciences to sign the learning agreement for approval.
- Start your application via Studielink – this is possible until 26 June. Go to the Study Programmes tab and click 'add new enrolment application'. Then click at 'Educational institution' on Breda University of Applied Sciences and enter 'Minor' or 'KOM' as search term. A list of BUas KOM minors per academy will appear. Make sure you apply for the right minor. Check the learning agreement to see where your minor belongs to. After registering in Studielink you will receive two emails: one confirming your registration with BUas and immediately afterwards an email containing the login codes for and the link to Osiris Registration from BUas. If you do not receive the second e-mail, check your spam first and otherwise send an e-mail to [email protected].
- Receive access to My Online Application. Here you can complete – and keep track of – the next steps of your application.
- Upload the signed learning agreement in My Online Application (note: the learning agreement must be signed by your own university of applied sciences and yourself before uploading it on My Online Application)
- Since you are coming to BUas temporarily for a minor, it is important that you arrange payment in a correct manner via the following steps to arrange your proof of payment, a so-called BBC (Bewijs Betaald Collegegeld).
- Arrange the payment at your own institution
- Go to Studielink and request a BBC for BUas. Click here to go to the correct webpage (search on this page for the "Request for proof of paid tuition fees") for the step by step plan.
Make sure you complete all steps on time, as mentioned there are deadlines for downloading the learning agreement and starting your application. Once you have made a start in My Online Application, you have until 1 September / the start of the minor at the latest to complete your steps. Please note:
- Some minors have limited numbers of places available. Students will be admitted in order of application.
- If you are a student of an institution affiliated to Kies op Maat, the rules and agreements of Kies op Maat apply. The costs of the minor will be settled between BUas and your home institution. As a student, you won’t notice anything about this.
- If you are a student from a government-funded institution that is not affiliated to Kies op Maat, we will make separate arrangements about financing the minor before the start of the minor.