Independent development of decision bases and preparation of concrete project documents in connection with practical spatial and environmental planning problems.

The course Basics of RE&IS equips Master’s students with core skills in scientific writing. Central is the full writing cycle, supported by peer- and self-review. Students learn to critically evaluate literature, argue pros and cons, create simple visualizations, and present their work. Generative AI is examined for its potential and risks at each step.

Presentations by guest speakers from academia and practice. Students must attend all meetings in person and actively participate in the discussion.

The lecture teaches the basics of ecology and soil science with a focus on engineering and spatial planning approaches. Students learn about soil properties, soil ecosystems, water, gas and material cycles as well as soil degradation, analyze and assess human interventions on soils and deal with concepts for soil protection and sustainable soil management.

Focus of the course are the method, the process and content of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as well as the legal bases and methods for compiling an environmental impact study (EIS). Using examples, a comprehensive view of the EIA is made possible by means of excursions. In the frame of a project the process of am EIA will be workt out by the students.

The lecture covers tools, methods and procedures ofLandscape and Environmental Planning. Their implementation will be illustrated through field trips.

Concepts, methods, and techniques for 3D landscape visualization and auralization in landscape and environmental planning. Practical application of a workflow for audiovisual 3D landscape simulation. Reflection on relevant aspects such as the level of detail and realism and their effects on the perception of the visualized landscape.

Introduction to general scientific working methods and skills in the core fields of geomatics. It includes a literature study, a review of one of the articles, a presentation and a report about the literature study.

The Interdisciplinary Project Activity (IPA) forms the key feature of the MSc RE&IS. Students work on an interdisciplinary task from the field of spatial development and infrastructure systems in a real-life application . The interdisciplinary cooperation and strong communication skills are crucial skills required in practice to communicate with and between relevant actors and other stakeholders.

The Interdisciplinary Project Activity (IPA) forms the key feature of the MSc RE&IS. Students work on an interdisciplinary task from the field of spatial development and infrastructure systems in a real application area. The focus of the IPA on interdisciplinary cooperation and strong communication skills are crucial expertise required in practice to communicate with and between relevant actors.

R is one of the most popular programming language in science and practice for data analysis, modelling and visualisation. In this course, you will learn the basics of R and some common applications of R, such as making plots, regression analysis and working with spatial data. The weekly computer labs start with a short lecture followed by exercises that have to be handed in to pass the course.

The objective is to understand how the interactions of humans with their environments shape landscapes and vice versa. This understanding provides the basis for managing and planning landscapes in ways that foster resilience to future climate and socio-economic changes. Therefore, essential theory, concepts and case studies are introduced and discussed.

The course Landscape Planning and Environmental Systems: Computational Approaches focuses on the application of landscape planning using computational approaches with GIS. It introduces students to a range of different methods and tools that they apply while solving landscape planning challenges. Working in groups, students will complete exercises drawn from current Swiss planning contexts.

How can the energy and climate transition be successfully achieved—planning-wise, politically, and economically? This module explores various approaches through different concepts, methods, and instruments on how spatial development can promote biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and protect the climate—from circular economy practices to achieving net-zero.

This learning module navigates the journey from global crises to local interventions by first emphasizing the significance of resilience in DRRS. It then explores local responses to global crises through diverse perspectives in the "framing nested crises" submodule. The subsequent submodules focus on practical skills at the community level and the societal and individual root causes of crises.

The lecture engages students in a participatory modelling process of diverse, real-world, environmental problems working alongside a partner organisation.

In particular, the aspects measuring, understanding and assessing of landscape-relevant land-use, requirements and developments will be taught. Concerning the landscape development in a project area, aims will be developed and corresponding actions defined.