从教室到公司：为可持续性学习带来新的思考必威体育2018
与当今的可持续性问题相比，很少有问题给公司高管带来更大的困难。必威体育2018复杂而迅速变化的科学，多个利益相关者的议程，社会中断和政策不确定性与出现的每个问题造成了独特而不断变化的环境，对任何领导者的专业经验和教育征税征税。饼干切割方法行不通，并且能够进行系统和跨文化思考的能力均能溢价。
Such challenges call for fresh approaches to preparing leaders to implement sustainable business solutions, and for creative cross-sectoral partnerships to address today’s problems. In order to meet these challenges, we need innovation in educational curriculum and training that reaches beyond the classroom and engages business leaders more directly to help students understand contemporary realities and apply their knowledge to improve both living standards and planetary conditions.
Seeking the fresh insights that come from innovative collaborations, the University of Michigan’sErb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterpriseand theWorld Environment Centerrecently announced a new partnership to provide graduate students with direct access to senior level sustainability executives of global companies in WEC’s membership and business networks. Through this partnership, students will obtain direct experience on how companies evaluate and apply sustainability-related data and formulate decision-making options.
The program, called theErb/WEC Fellowships, will be supported byIBMas part of the company’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability and developing next-generation skills for the 21st-century workforce. IBM was recently recognized for the second consecutive year as the greenest company in the U.S., according to the《新闻周刊》 2012年绿色排名调查，并且正在与WEC和其他公司合作，以解决重大的可持续发展挑战。必威体育2018
WEC’s business model is unique in its “direct, on-the-ground” application of sustainable development strategies and practices in developed and emerging markets. It convenes customers and suppliers to solve problems, helps integrate sustainable development into business operations and assesses business relevant strategies and processes across multiple sectors.
ERB/WEC研究员将通过确定潜在的演讲者来在WEC的思想领导力创新圆桌会议中发挥积极作用；综合研究；参加演讲者；向专业可持续发展社区准备课程材料和沟通；必威体育2018并开发有关圆桌会议结果的文章，博客和社交媒体沟通。然后选择参加的学生将准备适合发表的研究论文。
WEC与ERB Institute的合作伙伴关系将其出版物的建议付诸实践，净影响为“Business Skills for a Changing World: An Assessment of What Global Companies Need from Business Schools。”该报告基于IBM和Roche主持的2010年WEC圆桌会议，在该圆桌会议上，全球公司，学术界和非政府组织的代表开会了讨论可持续性的教学，市场需求以及两者之间更好地保持一致的机会。必威体育2018净影响和WEC进行了深入的访谈，并在各个地理区域的不同业务部门中进行了大约35位高级可持续性高管进行了深入的访谈。必威体育2018
The report includes a review of the skill sets required of new MBA hires who plan to work in companies that are actively implementing sustainability programs. According to the executives interviewed, the balance between inward-looking technical and management skills, outward-focused communications, and customer and stakeholder management skills is a priority for nearly all companies represented in the report.
Specifically, global companies are seeking skill sets such as: understanding of systems thinking and the management of complexity; the role of global management systems; the relationship between risk mitigation and cost savings; the relationship of sustainability to science and innovation; the application of life cycle analysis to products and business processes; interpersonal skills across multicultural project teams; and communications skills with customers, external business partners and stakeholders.
Erb Institute MBA/MS students presently benefit from an interdisciplinary approach and breadth of faculty expertise that answer many of the needs highlighted in the WEC-Net Impact report. The Erb/WEC Fellowships will add to that experience by bringing them practical and focused experience with the business planning process. Formed in 1996 and now numbering about 90 current students and over 320 alumni, Erb’s three-year dual-degree program was among the first educational efforts to bring together business and environment and stands as the largest dual-degree program in student and alumni head count. Students earn an MBA from Michigan’s highly rankedRoss School of Business这是唯一在阿斯彭学院（Aspen Institute）在全球MBA课程中的社会和环境内容排名中唯一进入前十名的学校。
Concurrently, the students earn a Master of Science (MS) from UM’s自然资源与环境学院（SNRE）本身就是美国顶级环境学院。MBA/MS学生补充了特殊的可持续性必威体育2018内容和其他培训，毕业于一系列技能，知识和观点，与WEC-NET Impact报告的建议密切共鸣。
与课程内容一样重要，可持续业务的动态和新兴领域不能仅在课堂上掌握。ERB的学生为奖学金带来了丰富的基于行动的学习经验，该研究金在罗斯学校著名的多学科行动项目中获得了奖学金，并且在长达一年的基于现场的硕士项目中，他们与客户组织一起完成了MS学位的一部分。此外，由于他们已经参加了三年的MBA/MS计划，因此学生完成了两个暑期实习，可以在寻求全职工作之前进行更大的探索和专业发展。同样，ERB/WEC奖学金将为学生提供其他基于动作的学习机会。通过与高级可持续性高管紧密合作，讨论他们最紧迫的问题，学生将更必威体育2018深入地了解解决组织背景下的可持续性问题的复杂性，以及对他们将来成为有效变革代理所需要的更清晰的理解。
In turn, the insight and commitment that the graduate students bring to the fellowships will advance WEC’s objectives by assuring that Roundtable agendas, discussions and outputs are informed by the thought leadership of one of the world’s top academic sustainable enterprise organizations. The students will follow up the meetings by researching major questions that arise and publishing white papers that will share learnings widely and set the agenda for future research and discussions.
对于WEC成员的高管，他们需要快速而很少有时间深入研究问题，他们将获得聪明，坚定的研究生制定数据，确定先例和相关研究而产生的好处；跟进圆桌会议期间出现的问题；并发布发现以确保共享学习。双方也希望，WEC的公司领导者将把MBA/女士视为适合其招聘需求的人才库。
As sustainability becomes more complex and challenging, so must the education models we develop to meet those challenges. The Erb/WEC Fellowships represent but one step in that direction, training the sustainability managers of tomorrow. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of the Roundtables and of this innovative partnership.
书籍和树的图像Oleksiy标记通过shutterstock
