Seminars Geosciences Honours College

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.
 

The goals of the honours seminars are to develop an interdisciplinary scientific attitude, to form an academic community, and to develop talent. When participating in the honours seminars the student will broaden their scientific knowledge, develop their academic skills, engage in social involvement, and enhance their personal development.

 

The honours seminar is the integrating factor within the Geosciences Honours College. Where all other honours components are either carried out individually or in small groups, the honours seminars glues together all years and all participating bachelor’s programmes, aiming for a truly multi- and interdisciplinary programme. Students are expected to follow the seminars throughout the entire 3-year honours college, meaning they meet on a near-weekly basis, allowing for a strong honours community.
 
Seminar projects vary every year and span one or two periods. The projects are set up to bridge scientific content, academic skills, and society, and aim to introduce students to all disciplines within the Faculty of Geosciences. Within the projects the students often work in mixed groups that include students from all programmes and years, enabling the students to expand their perspective within the geosciences and share experiences.

The honours seminars have been structured such that students can develop outside their own discipline. This means that students come into contact with subjects from all disciplines of the geosciences, which play a role in both the scientific and the social debate. Furthermore, during the seminar meetings attention is not only paid to the subjects themselves, but also to the intellectual context of these subjects. After taking a seminar series, the students are expected to see the differences and similarities between the different ‘geosciences fields’ and be able to place these in a wider context. They are also expected to have the skills and knowledge to follow content-based presentations in all these fields and to form a substantiated opinion about them.
 
The meetings are divided into a number of themes (which vary from year to year). One theme will be central for a number of weeks. In this way knowledge is deepened, while the themes across the year ensure a mix of subjects.

Geohouse is student-led. It is organised and prepared by the “Geohouse committee”, consisting of students of the Geosciences Honours College in collaboration with one of the full professors of the Faculty of Geosciences, under supervision of the Geohouse coordinator. 
  
Each meeting of the Geohouse debate series usually starts with an introduction by two speakers who each approach a certain theme, using their own expertise. During the Geohouse generally two honours students present a column on the subject. All participating honours students are expected to read the selected literature and hand in a question or discussion statement at least 24 hours before the debate, and to actively participate in the debate. Students are expected to reflect on the Geohouse debates in their self-reflection report and portfolio. The dates of the meetings will be provided via the Blackboard Geosciences Honours Community in due course.