BUU44540 Grand Challenges 2025/26

(20 ECTS) 

Lecturer: 

Eleanor Saunders

Email: ELSAUNDE@tcd.ie 
Office Hours: By appointment, online only

Module Description

"We are all Learners. We are all teachers. By moving beyond the traditional hierarchy of the University and lecture theatre, we can create environments where all stakeholders are working together to meet academic objectives while solving authentic challenges”     CBL Guide, 2016

Challenge Based Learning (CBL) provides a clear and effective framework for learning while activity engaging in real world issues and providing tangible and feasible solutions to personally identified challenges. The framework is collaborative and hands-on, whereby all participants (students, lecturers, TAs, peers, stakeholders, and community) engage with Big Ideas, ask good questions, discover their collective capabilities, solve identified challenges, gain in-depth subject area knowledge, develop systemic leadership skills, adapt to learnings and feedback, and showcase their work.

During each step of the CBL process, participants document using text, video, audio and pictures. The module is held within leadership development theory that shapes the initial challenge formation by directing questioning from a leadership development perspective. A portfolio is developed according to evidencing leadership competencies, and the final presentation and essay relate the material back to leadership principles.

“Leadership is an action everyone can take. Not a position that a few people can hold”.  Paul Schmitz, Collective Impact Forum

The module is assessed through a competency based portfolio, a research and Evidence based plan, and leadership reflection essay. In addition participants design parts of the module through peer assessment and feedback strategies, and inviting and hosting their own speakers relevant to the challenges collectively chosen.

LEARNING AND TEACHING APPROACH

The module has two intertwined elements: CBL process and competency based leadership development applied in an autonomous vertical development journey. The two elements complement each other with CBL providing a creative structure for personalised leadership development that leverages the strengths of the individual business student; and leadership development providing a competency based touch point to ground the learning and give it immediate applicability.

The leadership development process draws on systemic leadership for creating global leadership capacity in the face of grand challenges. It utilises elements from Theory U blended with systems thinking. Understanding, deep diving, acting, and reflecting are core elements of both, although framed slightly differently and with the focus of Theory U on individual development while CBL and systems thinking are about collective learning and action.

The learning approach is competency based through participants taking agency over their own challenge (CBL process), development (competency portfolio), and learning inputs (hosting speakers and requesting lecturer inputs). In CBL methodology the teacher also becomes a learner, and the learner can be a teacher. In this context the lecturer and TAs are facilitators of the process, and learn with the participants adapting the inputs of the module as needed.

Learning Outcomes

There are 7 module level learning outcomes. Each outcome captures a leadership skill and is elaborated with a learning description. Competencies developed under each outcome are listed.

LO1 Leadership: Understand how to apply content knowledge of leadership competencies and theory in a challenge based context including the ability to:

• Identify challenges
• Draw on experience (existing knowledge), input (applied leadership theory), and information (research outcomes)
• Enact appropriate actions
• Capture learnings and reflect

LO2 Initiating transformation: Use own (or group) leadership and business capacity to prototype solutions through real actions to overcome identified challenges

• Leadership competencies:
  • Courage to start (and adaptively learn from success and failure)
  • Creative thinking
  • Decision making

LO3 Communication: Successfully communicate ideas, and facilitate conversations, to develop your research, goals, network, or empathy

• Leadership competencies:
• Engaging partners (team / others)

LO4 Collaboration: Foster networks that value personal growth, inclusivity, and creativity

• Leadership competencies:
  • Managing stress and conflict
  • Providing and receiving feedback
  • Negotiation
  • Building relationships

LO5 Self-awareness: Recognise own emotions, values, purpose and drivers and how these influence your leadership style

• Leadership competencies:
  • Being authentic
  • Using emotional intelligence
  • Taking agency

LO6 Synthesis: Develop logical connections between research, actions taken, work done, skills developed, and competencies built.

• Leadership competencies:
  • Reflective practice

LO7 Readiness: Prepare oneself to engage with grand challenges beyond graduation and be proactive in future business

 

Relation to Degree

While some of the theoretical content of this course will be new to business studies students, the module is integrative of the study of business, management and entrepreneurship that participants have developed over the previous three years and during their Senior Sophister year.  As such, it builds on participants’ functional knowledge of human resource management, finance, marketing and operations as well as strategy, organization theory and behaviour. 

The CBL process will provide students with opportunities to apply their functional knowledge to big ideas and develop these into challenges and actionable solutions. The lectures, workshops and assignments enable students to deepen their knowledge of the course content and to develop the core skills and competencies of leadership.

Workload

Content	Indicative Number of Hours
Lecturing hours (including workshop style lectures)	40
Preparation for lectures (Reading of assigned materials and active reflection on lecture and course content and linkage to personal experiences)	60
CBL Assignments (including portfolio development)	200
Leadership assignments (including learning log and seminars)	100
Assessment preparation	40
Total	440

Textbooks and Required Resources

Required core course textbook(s):

• Kim Polman et al, Values for a life economy. Reboot the future, (2022)
• Lesley-Ann Noel, (2023) Design Social Change

General Supplemental Readings:   There are a range of readings drawn from relevant academic and ‘grey’ literature which will be provided to students via the Blackboard site. 

Key concepts can be found in:

• Otto Scharmer (2009) Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges
• Digital promise (2016) CBL guide https://www.challengebasedlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CBL_Guide2016.pdf
• Meadows, D. Thinking in systems: A primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green. (2008). https://wtf.tw/ref/meadows.pdf

Student Preparation for the Module

The main preparation for this module is the completion of the Business programme to date, coupled with an interest in leadership development and courageous challenge tackling. Students are also encouraged to begin to think about what values they hold and their own belief system in terms of approaching global challenges and leading for the future.

Course Communication

Please note that all course related email communication must be sent from your official TCD email address. Emails sent from other addresses will not be attended to.

All module materials (lecture slides, readings, assignments, etc.) will be available on Blackboard and students will be required to submit their graded assignments, as well as any in-class assignments, through Blackboard.  Questions regarding module assignments, test or other requirements must be posted on the designated discussion board to facilitate group communication and learning.  Emails to the lecturer’s direct email address should only be for arrangement of a one to one meetings, or questions of personal relevance to the student.

Assessment

Semester	Assessment title	Individual / group	Components	Grading method	%
1	Evidence based plan	Either – participants choose to work individually or in a group of their choice	Investigation review Evidence based plan	Examiner / lecturer	35%
1 & 2	Hosted session	Group (Assigned hosting group by the lecturer at the start of the semester)	Deliver or curate a session for the class.	Peer review Lecturer grade 50/50	5%
2	Leadership essay	Individual	2000 word essay on personal understanding of leadership development	Examiner / lecturer	25%
2	Portfolio	Either – participants choose to work individually or in a group of their choice	Presentation Q&A Portfolio	Presentation with Q&A - Interviewer Portfolio review - Examiner / lecturer	35%

Assignment details provided in the first scheduled seminar of the module.

Note: Student hosted lectures:

There are student hosted lectures across the capstone. Students self-select into groups at the start of the course, and they will have to work with these people to prepare and deliver the lecture / workshop. It can involve inviting a speaker, or it can be a workshop for cross fertilisation of skills.

The first student lecture is about research skills and delivered by students who have participated in appropriate prior courses as determined by a survey. The remaining lectures are open to the students to decide the themes in conversation with the lecturer to ensure cross cutting themes that engage the full cohort. The lecture cannot be solely related to the students Action. It can either focus on the overarching big idea to bring new stimulus to the topic, or on competency development that will benefit all learners.

Late Submission Policy:      

It is imperative that each student in this small cohort engage with the module continuously. If a student misses up to one third of the module, they will be deemed non-satisfactory, and a report will be sent to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. This may mean they will have to repeat the year (see paragraphs 24-25 of the Undergraduate Calendar: https://www.tcd.ie/calendar/undergraduate-studies/general-regulations-and-information.pdf)

Students unable to participate for medical reasons must inform the module leader as soon as possible, and produce a medical certificate to the Trinity Business School .

Supplemental Assessment:

No supplemental is provided.

Biographical Note

Eleanor Saunders is an Adjunct lecturer of innovation at Trinity College, Dublin. Her focus is on innovation development for sustainability and education, with a background in entrepreneurship and leadership.

Eleanor is known for developing the learning pedagogy for systemic innovation and designing this into a summer school, leadership development programme, and masters of innovation for EIT Climate-KIC. Over 60 Masters programmes were launched across Europe using this structure, and more than 30 different Universities have been involved in the roll out of elements of Eleanor’s programmes, including TCD who have hosted the Climate-KIC leadership development journey since 2017. She also sat on the DGEAC EIT education forum advising on EU wide masters strategy for innovation implementation, and designed the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) training curriculum for EU teachers delivered across three of the EIT KICs (RawMaterials, Food, and Climate)

Currently Eleanor facilitates the innovation work group for the World Banks Adaptation Fund advisory board, is an assessor for EU funding awards for Innovation development to HEIs across Europe, facilitates leadership development for the global SheLeadsChange programme and C40 women for climate, and delivers innovation and business coaching to start ups from Imperial College London.