Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management

The International Master of Science in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management (SINReM) educates a new range of professionals focused on developing technology and engineering and re-inventing the value chain to make it more sustainable. SINReM gives students a broad view on the entire value chain in its different aspects. They learn about the different (technological) options for optimizing flows of natural resources in the different parts of the chain, ranging from resource exploration over sustainable materials use and use of resources in production processes to recovery/recycling of resources from end-of-life products. SINReM graduates have an entrepreneurial mind-set, a multidisciplinary view and creative innovative problem-based technology development skills. They are qualified for a professional career in the private (supporting companies in making processes, products and services more sustainable), research (applied research at universities, research institutes or companies) or public sector (consulting in local, regional and (inter)national administrations, defining and implementing sustainable development policies). SINReM promotes networking and exchange of knowledge and experience between different nationalities, between academic and non-academic partner and between scholars and students from EU and non-EU countries which are rich in natural resources and/or can be considered as rapidly growing markets for sustainable products, processes and services. SINReM is offered by a consortium of 3 leading Higher Education Institutes: Ghent University (Belgium), University of Uppsala (Sweden), and TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). SINReM is supported by a wide range of non-academic as well as non-European academic partners, active in mining and geo-resource exploration, chemical, environmental and recycling technology and development of sustainable materials. Student mobility within Europe is an integral part of the 2-year programme of 120 ECTS. In the first semester in Ghent, the second semester in Uppsala, and during the Summer School in Freiberg, students are introduced to the value chain, management of natural resources, the circular economy, its economic, policy and legal aspects, inventory techniques, the clean technology concept and life cycle assessment tools to assess sustainability of products, services and processes. In the second year, students choose a major: geo-resource exploration (Uppsala), sustainable processes (Freiberg) or sustainable materials and resource recovery (Ghent). Students interact with the professional sector through cooperation in thesis research, internships, lectures and seminars. SINReM also provides complementary skills training in innovation management, entrepreneurship, and business case development. The language of instruction is English. Graduates obtain the joint degree International Master of Science in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management.