How Aalto University Built a Hands-On LCA Course for University Students
About Aalto University
Aalto University ranks as Finland's top university, bringing together science, arts, technology, and business to tackle global sustainability challenges. Ranked 8th worldwide in art & design and in the top 100 in several other fields, Aalto creates a unique environment where diverse disciplines converge to develop innovative solutions.
The Need: A Practical LCA Course for University Students
In 2024, Aalto University set out to launch a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) course for university students as part of their growing sustainability curriculum. Their goal? To equip students with both the theoretical grounding and hands-on skills needed to apply LCA in real-world contexts. That’s when they turned to Environmental Impacts Academy for support.
Assistant Professor Luana Dessbesell was tasked to develop a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment course, but was faced with a common challenge in academia: high expectations, limited time, and the pressure to deliver a high-quality course that meets both institutional standards and student needs. She needed to create a course that would give students both theoretical foundations and hands-on skills, but with her packed schedule and other responsibilities, building everything from scratch simply wasn't realistic.
Why Environmental Impacts Academy?
Instead of starting from scratch, Aalto University chose to license our ready-to-use LCA training materials, a fast, proven solution that met their curriculum goals without adding to their workload. Here's why they chose us:
Ready-made, high-quality content - Our comprehensive LCA training materials were already aligned with their desired depth of knowledge.
Earthster compatability - Our training materials include support for Earthster, the user-friendly LCA software that Luna wanted to use and had the educational licence for. Unlike many other LCA tools, Earthster allowed students to collaborate in real-time, making the learning experience much more practical.
Customization options - Even with tight deadlines, we worked with Luana to adapt exercises specifically for their bioproducts focus.
Expert co-delivery - We helped teach several key sessions, providing specialized expertise that enhanced the learning experience.
"I'm incredibly pleased with the licensing deal and the support we received. The materials were high-quality and comprehensive, and the adjustments we made to the exercises helped us better address the bioproducts focus. The co-delivery of sessions also ensured the course met the highest standards. My students were engaged and excited to learn about LCA, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive." — Luana Dessbesell, Assistant Professor, Aalto University
Poul Lindqvist and Assistant Professor Luana Dessbesell at Aalto University, celebrating the successful launch of a hands-on LCA course for students.
The Solution: Tailored, Turnkey LCA Course Materials
Through the licensing agreement, Aalto received:
Complete LCA training materials tailored to their bioproducts program
Customized exercises that aligned with their specific sustainability focus
Expert co-teaching for select course sessions
Access to Earthster software for practical, collaborative learning
Luana was able to launch a complete course in record time — without compromising on depth or quality.
The Results: A Practical, Engaging LCA Course
The result? A course that not only delivered academic excellence but also inspired students. By combining hands-on tools like Earthster with expert-led sessions, Aalto created an LCA course that students called both accessible and eye-opening.
“It’s my first time creating an LCA model, and the course has been great! The pace is perfect, starting from the basics and moving to more advanced concepts.”
— Student participant, Aalto University
Ready to Bring LCA Training to Your University?
If you’re a professor or academic lead looking to launch or upgrade an LCA course in higher education, our licensing model can help you save time and deliver impact. Just like Aalto University, you’ll get high-quality, plug-and-play content and expert support tailored to your program.
Want to bring the same impact to your classroom? Let’s talk about how our LCA training materials can save you time and bring real-world learning into your university’s curriculum.