The course introduces to the theory and practice of System Design for Sustainability (Product-Service System design for Sustainability).

The course is structured into two parts: a first theoretical part and a design exercise based on a multilateral and transcultural process framed within the LeNS AFRICA network.

The theory presents the following topics:
- sustainable development and designer’s role;
- evolution of sustainability within design;
- Life Cycle Design: methods, tools,  strategies, guidelines and examples;
- System (PSS) design for eco-efficiency: criteria, guidelines and examples;
- System design for socio-ethical sustainability (emerging context): criteria, guidelines and examples;
- System design in emerging contexts;
- methods and tools for system design for sustainability (SDO toolkit, …);
- methods and tools for system design (system map, interaction story board, ...).

The design exercise it is framed within the LeNSes (Learning Network on Sustainable energy systems), being a 3 years project awarded by the European Commission Edlulink program as a follow-up of the former LeNS EU funded project (see below). The African partners contributing to the course are: the Makerere University (Uganda), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), the University of Botswana (Botswana) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa).

The students (divided in groups) are asked to design a Locally-Based Sustainable Energy System, based on the promising models of Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) and Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE), for a given theme (e.g. eating and clothing care function) of a given African context (Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda). The role of local university’s professors is to collect info/data/images about own context and theme (household function) and to provide critics and additional info on concepts developed by the student.

LeNS is a 3 years project (2007 - 2010) funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropAid, European Commission, and coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano, aimed at the diffusion of Product-Service System design for sustainability teaching in world-wide universities; it is based on a learning by sharing mechanism and a open and copy left ethos (more info at www.lens.polimi.it).

For students ATTENDING the course, the exam evaluation consists of:

- a written exam about the theory treated during the ex-cathedra lectures (40% of the evaluation);

- an evaluation of the capability and the correctness in using the sustainability-orienting tools during the exercise conducted in class (done in group) (30% of the evaluation);

- an evaluation of the sustainability quality of the concept developed during the exercise (done in group) (30% of the evaluation).

If the evaluation of the written exam is below the passing mark, or the student was absent during the test, or the students wish to improve the achieved mark, she/he has the opportunity to do an oral exam (same as for the written exam 40% of the evaluation).

Final evaluation consists in the weighted average of the marks achieved in the written/oral exam (40%) and during the design exercise (30% + 30%).

For NON-ATTENDING students, the exam is made up of a discussion of a written relation about an existing sustainable Product-Service System (format will be available on BeeP), and of an oral exam based on the declared theory/bibliography.

Second edition

Patrocinio Nazioni Unite (DESD)

To be published. Included in: Vezzoli C. et al (eds.) Product-Service System design for sustainability