The Age of Sustainable Development course begins

I recently began a 14-week online course delivered via the Coursera online learning website. The course is taught by senior UN advisor and Director of the Earth Institute, Jeffrey Sachs.

The course is delivered via a series of two hour online lectures, on average four to five each week. These are interspersed with questions and at the end of each week there is a quiz. To continue to the next week attendees need to achieve a score of at least eight out of 10.

Week one provided an introduction to the concept of sustainable development. Week two looked at inequality across the world (convergence/divergence, measuring inequality, global incomes). Week three provided a brief history of economic development, offering insights into why the world faces different levels of economic growth. And week four analysed the history of inequality, investigating why certain countries remain in the low-income country bracket.

I’ve found each week absolutely fascinating and thought provoking. Jeffrey Sachs explains this highly complex subject in a very accessible way, and I’m eager to complete the course. I’ll post another update on what I’ve learned in a few weeks time.