After finishing the core modules, IBSA students will chose their specialization at the second university. At ESSCA School of Management students can specialize in International and Sustainable Management.
ESSCA’s specialization in International and Sustainable Management combines the study of international management and topics related to sustainable practices in a globalized environment and provides the students with working knowledge and practical tools necessary in addressing and taking a lead on various social, economic, technological, and environmental issues. These skills are in demand in global, international, and national corporations, public utilities, international development agencies, NGOs, as well as government ministries and agencies.
This program is designed to educate students to become responsible business leaders. They will be able to apply sustainability-related knowledge in the formulation of responsible business practices and ethical management of people in organizations.The specialization in International and Sustainable Management offers interdisciplinary modules from multiple business fields and environmental engineering.
This module addresses the context of ecology and puts it in the perspective of economics. It draws upon the functioning of ecosystems and related ecological issues such as pollution and climate change. Main economic theories and concepts underlying ecological and energy economics, including the welfare theory, and theories of industry structure are treated in this module. Students will study different methods to value environmental goods and the functioning of different types of energy markets. The use of renewable energies and nuclear power as well as climate change issues will be addressed in a scientific manner.
This module focuses on analyses of different sustainable projects, business model strategies, and CSR practices. It gives a perspective on sustainability drivers, risk management as environmental and social impact assessment. Students will learn to incorporate sustainability into a business, outlines how to manage supply chains more responsibly and integrate stakeholders in decision making processes. This interdisciplinary module focuses on the policies of transformations to sustainability. Her, the students will learn how to translate socio-ecological theories into effective policies and practices for sustainable development. Throughout the module an international perspective of sustainable businesses and CSR practices will be presented.
This module is divided in two parts. Sustainable Supply Chain Management part focuses on incorporation of CSR principles into supply chain processes. It shows students how to develop sustainable policies and strategies for sustainable procurement by taking into account scarcity in supply and the demand of emerging markets. Topics such as risk management and supplier’s relationships and green logistics are also treated. The second part, Quality Management, is transdisciplinary because it addresses in detail all necessary standards (ISO norms) and other practices that need to be incorporated in all organizational activities.
This module addresses the growing impact of business on society. It shows how to take into account and address the needs of stakeholders such as employees and clients and establish a reputation as a company focused on sustainability. In the first part of the module the internal relations will be treated from the Sustainable Human Resource Management perspective. The lectures include topics on well-being in the workplace, inclusion and gender issues. In the second part of this module Sustainable Marketing shows the students how to promote environmental and socially responsible practices, products, services, brands and values. It will support students in understanding and creating sustainable organizational policies and practices.
This module constitutes an overview of the role of the financial market and its actors in sustainable development. It addresses ways of creation of values and financial assets in ways that shape real wealth to serve the long-term needs of an inclusive, environmentally sustainable economy. The module also studies financial instruments and methods that serve the development of sustainable projects and initiatives, environmental products and policies, under the goal of promoting a green economic transformation towards low-carbon, sustainable and inclusive pathways. Students will understand how financial industry participants integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their business or investment decisions and how national and international institutions could contribute to green transition targets.
Students of the specialization Sustainable Management will be assigned for a company-based project. This is a consultancy project during which the students will propose a solution to a real-life business problem related to sustainability presented by a company. Students will be working on the solution throughout the Spring semester.
Your third term (between June and September) will consist entirely of the all-important thesis dissertation. This period is typically completed at the university where you attended your specialization courses. To provide guidance and assistance as you prepare to work through this complicated project, each university offers a thorough, interactive three-day workshop that presents the requisite research skills, covering analytical, research and methodological techniques for the quality production of your master’s thesis.
The other main source of support will come from your thesis advisor. Thus, all IBSA students are required to secure a supervisors who will guide the construction of the master’s thesis; normally, choosing one of your university lecturers is the best and easiest option. This final project will count for 30 ECTS in your overall program credit total. We also suggest that IBSA students also consider an alternative approach to the standard route: it is always possible to write your master’s thesis in cooperation with a company. This will require identifying and contacting a potential target company and developing a customized agreement with them in order to complete your thesis project accordingly.
By completing this detailed research and writing work, you will delve deeper into your specialization area from the second semester, learn to cultivate critical reasoning skills, develop a scientific approach to empirical data, and develop skills in literature review based on investigative reasoning (examination of a hypothesis).