Bregje van Veelen, teacher portrait

What is your academic background? 
My PhD is in Human Geography. Before that I studied Environmental Sustainability (Master) and Geography & International Relations (Undergraduate). My main topic of research is low-carbon transitions, and although most of my education has been in geography, I also often borrow ideas from sociology and political science for studying how transitions unfold and with what impact.

What courses are you teaching and what is your research about? 
I coordinate the LUCAS course Climate Change Politics and Economics, and the LUMES course Economy and Sustainability. As you can see, there is quite the focus on economics, which connects to research I have done on the role of finance in low-carbon transitions. However, my research interests also extend beyond economics. In recent years I have been researching two topics: 1. the phase out of fossil fuels; and 2. transitions in heavy industries, like steel. In both cases I have looked specifically at how workers and communities with close ties to these industries navigate these changes, and what a 'Just Transition' could look like.

What is the best thing about teaching, and what teaching methods do you use? 
Academia is often slow moving, and it can often take a year or longer to write and publish an academic paper. In contrast, in the classroom I can teach a topic and immediately get lots of interesting and probing questions about the material. 

Also, because we have such an international and interdisciplinary cohort, students' questions are always different, and at times help me gain a different perspective too. Generally, there is quite a big focus on understanding different perspectives in my classes. As we see 'in the real world', people can have very different views on environmental and climate issues and how to solve them. Parts of both courses therefore focus on how can we understand these different worldviews; what are the impacts of these different worldviews; and what happens when we think about problems and solutions differently? 

While both courses have regular lectures, to understand these different perspectives or worldviews we also quite often do interactive exercises. These focus for example on how different political parties would try to solve a particular environmental challenge, how investors might make 'green' investment decisions, and how countries approach climate negotiations at the annual COP. 

How do you integrate your research into the programme(s), and why? 
I integrate some of my research on finance and low-carbon transitions in both courses, for example by discussing how investors make 'green' investment decisions, including divesting from fossil fuels. 

Recently, I have written a short paper with colleagues on how financial institutions are reducing their commitments to climate action. We also cover this in both courses as part of discussing the broader political backlash to climate action, and what the impacts of this are. In the LUCAS Climate Change Politics and Economics, I also integrate some other aspects of my research on how energy transitions can be implemented in a way that is democratic and just.

What motivates you in your teaching? 
Within academic research there can sometimes be a strong focus on understanding and critiquing the way the world works. Teaching forces me to think more concretely not just about problems, but also about solutions, which helps to keep me hopeful for the future and motivated to keep working in this area. 

Connected to this, is seeing all the exciting things our graduates do after they finish. While none of us can solve major environmental and social challenges alone, knowing that there are hundreds (thousands?) of former students out there who are also all playing a small part in addressing these challenges is very motivational!

What do students need to be successful in LUMES/LUCAS? 
A genuine interest in the world around them, an openness towards different perspectives and experiences, and a willingness to actively participate in their own learning

Why should students choose LUMES/LUCAS? 
We have been teaching sustainability at LUCSUS for close to 30 years, so we have gained quite a bit of experience in the area!

Also, as all of the research done at LUCSUS focuses on sustainability and/or climate issues, students can be sure that teaching staff are not only knowledgeable about these topics, but deeply care about them too. 

Both LUMES and LUCAS have been designed with the core aim of training students to analyse and understand the causes and consequences of climate change / sustainability - they're not just buzzwords we've tagged onto existing programmes! 

Aside from the academic aspects, one of the real strengths of both programmes is the close bonds that students develop. For example, our student common room is full of photos of communal dinners and other celebrations. While much of this is due to the students' own initiative, as a department, we do try our best to foster this friendly culture among our students.

What do you want students to leave with after completing LUMES/LUCAS? 
An understanding of how the world works, how it could work differently, as well as ideas and motivation for achieving this.

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