(List #98) The Best from The Best (FT edition part 2)
Examples from the winners of the FT RBE Awards
Earlier this year, the winners of the Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards were announced. I was honoured to be invited to be a judge for the Best School Award, exploring how business schools had embedded sustainability.
Last week I shared some 9 tips on writing sustainability award applications (or for developing a sustainability strategy as one reader kindly suggested it could also be called). The tips are drawn from my observations reviewing the materials sent by the different schools.
Giselle Weybrecht
This week I’m sharing some examples that stood out to me from the winning schools this year. To read more about the winners, click here. For more on the awards click here.
1. Engaging Students at IESEG School of Management
In 2017 the Responsible Leaders program was launched to promote student engagement at IESEG in France. Every year, the School opens a call for volunteers from across all years and programmes to work on sustainability projects for the school and its ecosystem. Projects include waste management, gender, international mobility, student engagement, disabilities, mental health, etc. Students collaborate with different services in the school to lead these projects. Students have developed online pedagogical content related to CSR themes and even started a project to assign a tree to each student. They are also invited to present their own projects.
2. Interdisciplinary Approach at Vrije Universiteit School of Business and Economics
The interdisciplinary Masters in Science Business and Innovation at VU University focuses in on how science and entrepreneurship can reinforce each other, and how companies with different technological, economic and organisational challenges can collaborate. Sustainability is embedded into several of the tracks that students can choose from including one that focuses on developing and implementing sustainable solutions. This programme is jointly offered in collaboration with the School of Business and Economics, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science of VU.
3. As Part of the Core Curriculum at Aalto University School of Business
The Bachelor programmes at Aalto University School of Business in Finland incorporate a comprehensive basis of sustainability as part of all business education, build around two mandatory core courses. The opening course (Better business, better society 1) introduces the basics and sets the context of responsibility and sustainability in business. Thereafter, during the first year of their studies, the students learn the discipline specific dimensions of sustainability in various introductory courses of different areas of specialisation. The Better business, better society II course completes the outlines of responsibility and sustainability in business, especially from the view point of strategic management.
4. Supporting Future Research at Colorado State University College of Business
Business for a Better World is CSU’s shared community vision to create positive, sustainable impact through business eduction and research. One example of an initiative linked to this is entering its third year, the Business for a Better World Undergraduate Research Fellows programme matches undergraduates with research faculty, employing students to support B4BW-focused research. Students receive hands-on experience developing tools and analysing data and meet weekly as a community with research faculty to talk about what it means to be an academic researcher. In the last two years, 17 students and 21 faculty participated in this programme.
5. Open Dialogues at University of Oxford: Said
Our Oxford Business Networks (OBNs) are student-led networks - open to students of the MBA, EMBA, MSc in Finance and Economics, and MSc Law and Finance - which promote the exchange of ideas surrounding sectors that reflect the core values of the school. The Social Impact OBN builds communities of support, allowing alumni to ask the tough questions about current impact dilemmas, advocating for enhanced focus on impact leadership. Similarly, the Finance OBN is a highly active network, providing its 140 members with opportunities to focus on responsible business areas such as Impact Investing. The Climate OBN focuses on creating opportunities for deep discussions of sustainability, building a community of climate-conscious leaders, and providing networks, bespoke events, and connections with experts for students to explore career opportunities.
This week last year I shared this post
Giselle Weybrecht
As always, if you have any requests or initiatives you would like to share, please email me at gweybrecht@thesustainablemba.com. Thanks for following and have a great week.
Best
Giselle