Minor Overview
- About this minor
Careful global management of ocean resources is key to a sustainable future, creating strong demand for graduates in a range of sectors of Australia's \$100b Blue Economy. However, there has been a continuous deterioration of our capacity to conserve and sustainably use ocean resources due to climate impacts, pollution, water quality deterioration and an incomplete understanding of ocean environments. This gives rise to a range of global oceans challenges that society must address: in particular, developing sustainable solutions to oceans pollution, ecosystem conservation, food and energy production, coastal protection and, critically, improved societal understanding of the oceans.
The Oceans minor aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills foundation to identify: (i) the extent, rates of change and complexities of these global oceans challenges, (ii) the capacity for humans to influence ocean processes and environments, and (iii) solution pathways for each challenge.
The minor is inherently multi-disciplinary, with each unit integrating views, approaches and understanding from the range of oceans-facing disciplines, including marine science, engineering, policy, planning and the social sciences. It is designed to allow students from all undergraduate programs at UWA to develop the skills required to drive the development of knowledge-led solutions to pressing ocean challenges and be valuable contributors to UWA's Grand Challenges programs.
- Outcomes
- Students are able to (1) Articulate the extent, rates of change and complexities of global oceans challenges, and the social, economic and environmental benefits that can result from their solution.; (2) Demonstrate an understanding of ocean environments and processes that shape global oceans challenges and solution development.; (3) Characterise the human influence on the oceans, both in terms of creating and solving global challenges.; and (4) Define the role of engineering, and its intersection with other oceans-facing disciplines, in the development of solutions to global oceans challenges..
Units
Key to availability of units:
- S1
- Semester 1
- S2
- Semester 2
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | OCEN1001 | Global Oceans Challenges | None |
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | OCEN2001 | Energy from Oceans | None |
| S1 | OCEN2002 | The Changing Oceans | None |
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | OCEN3001 | Ocean Engineering Solutions | None |