MA thesis supervision and teaching

On this page I detail my supervision and teaching experience as well as my teaching qualifications, peer review experience and funding applications.

Supervision

If you wish to contact me as a potential supervisor please do so. I believe that providing quality supervision is essential and will do my best to support you.

MA thesis, Universidad de Carlos III Madrid, (SS21) Understanding the potential of Renewable Energy Community to mitigate energy poverty: a Spanish case study
MA thesis supervision (SS24), University of Graz: Adoption of Aerosol Sealants for Residential Air Duct Energy-Efficiency Retrofitting: A Behavioral Reasoning Perspective
MA thesis supervision (WS24/SS25), Exploring Women’s Perspectives in the Swiss Solar Energy Transition, and Religious Identity and HRBA Adoption in International NGOs
MA thesis supervision (WS24/SS25), Religious Identity and the Adoption of a Human Rights-Based Approach in International NGOs

Teaching experience at a University level (for MA students)

NOMINATED for or the award categories of “Collaboration and Interaction” and “Engaging Courses” of the Teaching Excellence Awards 2025 of the University of Basel, 2025.

My course on Positive Energy Districts is also mentioned in the University of Basels 2024 report: https://www.unibas.ch/de/Aktuell/News/Uni-Info/Jahresrechnung-2024-der-Universitaet-besser-als-erwartet.html?mtm_campaign “Im Bereich der universitären Lehre bot die Universität 2024 ein grosses Spektrum an nachhaltigkeitsbezogenen Studiengängen. Auch konnten sich Studierende im Zertifikatsprogramm «Pathways to Sustainability» in Ringvorlesungen und etwa 200 nachhaltigkeitsrelevanten Kursen mit dem Thema Nachhaltigkeit auseinandersetzen. Schliesslich wurden dank dem Förderprogramm «Impuls» 2024 in sieben Kursen praxisnahe Nachhaltigkeitsaspekte integriert, sodass Studierende mit externen Akteuren Lösungen für nachhaltigkeitsrelevante Herausforderungen erarbeiten konnten, beispielsweise im Rahmen von sogenannten «Positive Energy Districts» (urbane Gebiete, welche mehr Energie produzieren als verbrauchen).”

To see my latest student work please click here: https://adamxhearn.com/ped-student-work/

Positive Energy Districts: A New Way to Realize a just Energy Transition? Seminar series (SS25), Basel University. Applied and granted IMPULS funding from the University of Basel Sustainability Office, and EPICUR/EUCOR funding resulting in hybrid teaching in order to make this available to students from other universities
Co-Lecture course (SS25) Sustainability and Worldviews University of Basel
Seminar series (WS24) Tools and methods for interdisciplinary research, guest lecture: Inter and transdisciplinary research- does it work?
Guest lecture and moderation session Climate Justice (SS25) : Basel in the World 74556-01
Eucor/EPICUR lecture series (WS24) Sustainability Assessment guest lecture (WS24) Theoretical frameworks for sustainability assessment (online)
Quality of Life and Sustainability, theoretical and empirical approaches Seminar series (WS23) for the Masters in Sustainable Development, Basel University. Co-teaching.
Positive Energy Districts: A New Way to Realize a just Energy Transition? Seminar series (SS23), Basel University. Applied and granted IMPULS funding from the University of Basel Sustainability Office
Ethics seminar as part of Qualitative Research Methods (SS21, SS22, SS25)
EU Climate Pact energy behaviour challenge seminar as part of Changing Individual Energy Behaviour, approaches and strategies (SS22, SS23, SS24)
Poster Design as part of the Research Methods in Social Sciences (WS21,WS22)

University Certificate in Higher Education; Hochschuldidaktik

I am currently completing the Certificate in Higher Education Practice ‘Learning, Teaching, and Assessing’ at the University of Basel, which is internationally accredited and part of the Staff and Educational Development Association, SEDA. The training allows me to give meaningful and professional feedback to support students’ learning, provides excellent teaching skills, and enhances my own learning styles.

To date I have completed the following modules:

Apr 2025 Special Interest Group Qualitätskultur Universität Basel (25F05019)

Mar 2025 Supervising Students – Dealing with Roles and Relationships (25F05014)

Mar 2025 Peer Observation (25F05004)

Jan 2025 Flipped Classroom and Other Ideas that Activate Learners (24H05019)

Dec 2024, Introduction to Zotero

Dec 2024 Designing digital activities for student engagement (24HS7012)

Jan. 2024, ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education, Opportunities and Challenges

Nov. 2022 Opening Higher Education- How to strengthen university teaching with open educational resources Module ‘Digital Literacies for Teaching’

Oct.2022- Feb 2023, “Teaching my first course”, valid as modules A and B of the Zertifikat Hochschuldidaktik.

Funding Applications

Named author on the SNSF proposal “What are the greening dynamics of religion? A multi-level analysis of religious environmental engagement in Switzerland” funded from April 2024 for 30 months (total budget approved:658533 CHF)

Applied and granted IMPULS funding from the University of Basel Sustainability Office 2023 for my co-taught seminar series (1000CHF)

Co-written multiple different proposals in a variety of international settings.

Peer review

I am a Peer reviewer for numerous journals such as ERSS, Energy Sustainability and society, human development and capabilities, Sustainable Development, Nature Communications, Smart Grids and Sustainable Energy, Discover Energy

Non-university teaching

Co-creation workshop for Climate Pact Ambassadors, March 2025 European Commission, Brussels.

I have extensive teaching experience, and completed my TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) diploma in 2010 with a grade A. Since then, I have taught children an adults English in a variety of settings, including as a volunteer in the Weihermattenschule (Grundschule), Bad Säckingen, Germany in 2019.

I have also got extensive teaching experience running weekend drum construction workshops in English, French, Spanish and German, which I have been doing since 2008.

EFHPA workshop facilitation, Barcelona: “Social media marketing workshop, preparing for success.” (15.12.2018)

1998-2001 Crew resource management facilitator, day workshops on safety and security within the aviation industry, for British Airways