Expected learning results

ITA

Knowledge and understanding

The Bachelor Degree graduates in Earth System and Global Changes will possess profound knowledge and in-depth skills in the main sectors of the Earth Sciences, and will gain multi-disciplinary methodologies and technologies for the geological surveys; at the same time, the educational path will provide them further adequate competences of Earth Sciences that will cover geology, palaeontology, geomorphology, climatology, oceanography, meteorology, mineralogy, petrography, geological resources and their sustainability and impact, structural geology, geophysics, hydrogeology and geotechnique.

In detail, the course of study in Earth System and Global Changes will provide knowledge to:
- comprehend the main terrestrial geological processes, endogenous and exogenous;
- understand how Solid Earth has interacted and still interacts with the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere;
- comprehend how to analyse and face the geological hazards (of both natural and anthropogenic origin) and the impacts of climate changes on our Planet;
- understand how to use the methods of observation of the Earth, in both direct (geological and thematic surveys) and remote methods (satellite, radar, airplane, drone, etc.);
- comprehend how to identify, analyse and exploit the geological resources in a sustainable way.

The aforementioned knowledge and understanding capabilities will be obtained by attending the theory classes, the practical sessions in the laboratory (inside and in the field), the internship, and through the individual autonomous studies scheduled in the course of study. The theory and practice lectures, necessarily requiring an individual in-depth study, will provide the student with a further tool to widen their knowledge and perfectionate the comprehension ability.

Knowledge and understanding will be verified during the single educational activities, in both the exams and the intermediate written and/or oral tests. During these tests the student will demonstrate the level of preparation and the mastery of the language applied to different teaching sectors.

The writing of a final dissertation is also required: the degree of autonomy and the ability to think critically are among the main criteria for judging the final work, which therefore represents the moment of synthesis and verification of the learning process. In summary, knowledge and disciplinary skills of the students are, in some way, always tested during the year.

Applying knowledge and understanding

The Bachelor Degree graduates in Earth System and Global Changes will acquire theoretical and methodological capabilities, together with learning how to organize and develop field activities, with a strong multi-disciplinary approach in the Earth Sciences. By means of these abilities, they will be able to apply the acquired knowledge to:
- recognize macro- and micro-fossils, minerals and rocks, and understand their related environment of formation;
- analyse the processes of Earth elastic and anelastic deformation, surficial and deep, by means of geological field surveys, lab activities and observations by remote;
- comprehend the physical processes characterizing the dynamics of earth fluids, from the atmosphere, to the land surface, to the oceans;
- analyse the available palaeoclimatic models to perform direct comparison with the basic models of climatology;
- carry out geological field surveys, and monitoring and data acquisition (meteorologic, hydrologic, glaciologic-periglacial, geophysical, etc.), and develop thematic maps;
- assess the distribution of geological resources at the global scale, and define how these could be used within a vision of sustainability and environmental impact;
- apply methodologies for the analysis of the impact of global changes on mass transport, effects on ecosystems, hydrogeological circulation, subsidence at the global scale, isostasy;
- be able to plan emergency actions, analyse the residual risk, make environmental impact evaluations, interact on risk issues with the Italian and European civil protection, and with others agencies and organizations as well;
- be able to analyse the response of marine/terrestrial ecosystems to climate changes in the geological past (at both short and long terms);
- analyse and distinguish the main coastal environments and the processes governing their morpho-dynamic evolution with the aim of evaluating the effects of climate changes on both processes and morphologies;
- understand and solve complex problems in different inter-disciplinary areas; integrate, find and re-adapt known solutions to increasing problems (problem solving).

In addition to theoretical lectures supported by multi-media tools, practical and laboratory exercises, and the frequent field work activities, the expected results will be achieved, in detail, through the development of individual projects and case studies, internship activities, international experiences and the preparation of the final dissertation where the student will demonstrate his/her capacity to analyse a problem, develop a design concept, produce it and consider it in the context of today's research in the field of the Earth Sciences.

Making judgements

The Bachelor Degree graduates in Earth System and Global Changes will be able to develop autonomous capacities for the collection and interpretation of data, acquired during field work and in the laboratories, and their implementation to specific case studies, useful for making their own judgements.
In particular, graduates will be able to demonstrate:
- the ability to define their own critical judgement and sustain it in working groups, thus operating effectively as an individual within a team;
- skills and autonomy of judgement as regards the ethical implications and the professional responsibilities of geologist practice;
- the capability to identify the most correct methods for collecting data, sampling, and for the analysis of geological and environmental problems.

The autonomy of judgement is acquired by the students both through the problems posed in the written and oral practical exams and, additionally, in project work. It is verified during the oral exams, the discussion for the evaluation of the practical exams or in project work, during which the personal contributions of every student in the working group must be demonstrated. Eventually, this autonomy will be also verified during the elaboration of the dissertation thesis, that will consist of the presentation of an autonomous in-depth study, including the analysis, management and elaboration of geological data in a specific discipline of the Earth Sciences.

Communication skills

At the end of the course, the graduates in Earth System and Global Changes will demonstrate to have adequate competences and tools for the written and oral communication (in english language), with specific reference to communication and relational capabilities and to technical abilities useful to organize and manage working groups (soft skills). In detail, they will be able to:
- summarize the outcomes from case studies faced during the course of study, demonstrating attitudes to solve problems and to work in teams;
- respond to questions dealing with projects and/or studies;
- communicate in written and oral forms the experimental data and/or issues related to research themes of the Earth Sciences.

These objectives will be reached through diverse activities, as: a) practical internships in laboratory and in the field, also by reinforcing co-operation activities among the University and public and private companies and firms (practical projects, joint laboratories, etc.); b) presentations, addressed to students and researchers, of in-depth analysis on specific courses followed during the course of study; c) short texts and reports in different disciplines of the Earth Sciences; d) redaction and presentation of the thesis.

Learning skills

The Bachelor Degree graduates in Earth System and Global Changes will develop a high level of autonomy in learning and methodological approaches. This capacity will allow them to face further studies and/or continue their didactic path autonomously, thus keeping themselves continually updated in the technological evolution. Such abilities will be developed mainly when the student, in order to carry out study cases and the final written exam, needs to consult traditional bibliographic material, databases made available at University Aldo Moro, or research the Internet and the e-learning platforms. In addition, the continuous updating of the educational path will take advantage from the organization of seminars, held by Italian and foreign researchers and scholars, on the most recent issues in the field of the Earth Sciences.

The written and oral presentations of study cases and the final dissertation exam are the main moments when these capacities (learning skills) are verified. However, these will be preceded by other verification during the CdS, through the analysis of the career of the individual student, and the validation of the learning skills during the internship activities, and the in-house and field laboratories (these latter of crucial importance for the full education of a geologist).