Making Calculus Sustainable: A Co-Creation Effort
Co-created with students, this project integrates sustainability into calculus, linking math to real-world challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In an exciting collaboration between staff and students, sustainability topics have been integrated into the CEN1002 Calculus course within the BSc Circular Engineering program at Maastricht University. This project, supported by a sustainability grant, was co-created by Dr. Martijn Boussé and student assistant Leoni Haller, making calculus more relevant and engaging for students.
The initiative embeds real-world sustainability challenges into the course, including optimizing solar panel efficiency and minimizing packaging waste, directly linking mathematics to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A new team assignment encourages students to apply calculus to sustainability issues from their own hometowns, fostering engagement and ownership in learning.
This project highlights the power of co-creation, demonstrating how students and staff can collaboratively shape meaningful educational experiences. Curious to see how it all came together? Watch our dissemination video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWkUYvbOlok
Contact: Martijn Boussé, m.bousse@maastrichtuniversity.nl