How to live the sustainable idea

The Master’s in International Strategic Management is one of LUSEM’s flagship programmes. The programme is ranked among the top 100 master’s programmes in the world by Financial Times, and programme director Ulf Ramberg is constantly on the outlook for novel approaches to develop the programme to stay competitive.

I hope that the students on the “Living the sustainable idea”-track will connect the lessons in the programme with what organisations can do from a strategic perspective. The track ends just before the students start writing their Master’s thesis in the spring. They will then be better equipped to think about the implications of sustainability for business in their future career.
- Ulf Ramberg

This academic year, the MSc students at International Strategic Management were invited to join an extra-curricular track called “Living the Sustainable Idea”. Half of the students in the programme have accepted the challenge so far. Programme director Ulf Ramberg developed the track in collaboration with colleagues at the School like Ester Barinaga, a professor in social entrepreneurship and project manager Martina Oxling at the Sustainable Future Hub.

Ulf Ramberg, what is the extra-curricular track ”Living the sustainable idea” about?

”In essence, it is an extra-curricular track with a focus on sustainability issues that does not provide any credits, aiming at inspiring students. It culminates in a week-long project of the student's choosing. In our capacity as teachers, we aim to bring sustainability into our teaching in many ways, for example, through coursework, and case training. We really do try to get creative. I feel that the biggest challenge in sustainability teaching is to make the students reflect on which aspects that affect them, and what they then can have an immediate impact on. Our clever students already have thoughts about the future, but what can they act on right now?
To amplify the track, we have worked with Martina Oxling at the School’s Sustainable Future Hub and Ester Barinaga, a professor in social entrepreneurship. Their contributions will inspire the students and provide several perspectives on sustainability. The students get to think freely, without us teachers giving them a framework. It’s very much a free-form project where we balance the courses and this track.”

A new addition to the International Strategic Management programme

This is the first time Ulf Ramberg has tried something like this, and his ambition is to keep offering this track to International Strategic Management students.

“We will arrange more activities in the track, and the culmination of the project is that the students will choose a week to “live their sustainable idea”, and document it in some way. My hope is to see not just reports, but films, tangible objects or maybe something completely novel, and that we will be able to build a library of assets. A prize will be awarded to a student who has been specific about what sustainability is for them, and why they themselves need to change. But ultimately, I hope the track will impact their thinking and behaviour,“ says Ulf Ramberg.

Students will be better equipped to think about the implications of sustainability for business

“To launch the track, we had a kick-off on 9th November where we visited IKEA, Oatly, Botildenborg and Wihlborgs The companies are all in different sectors, giving the students several perspectives of sustainability. At IKEA, we got a closer look at their social entrepreneurship. Oatly had an environmentally sustainable perspective based on their products. Real estate is not always a sustainability-focused industry, but the Malmö based company Wihlborgs see themselves as region builders who are aiming for long-term sustainable growth,” says Ulf Ramberg.