The International Master's Summer School for Sustainability in Business 2017
The International Master's Summer School for Sustainability in Business (IMSS) took place 22:26 May 2017 at the Faculty of Management and Law, University of Bradford.
The IMSS is an innovative and exciting event designed to engage students through critical and experiential learning in the context of global sustainability.
The event includes research-led lectures on topics such as the circular economy, sustainable international challenges and strategy, ethical leadership and social marketing. It included a week long simulation, industry guest speakers and local company visits. We also included a guided tour of Saltaire Village, a UNESCO site, to give participants a historical context of sustainability and to experience first hand the Victorian model village that is part of Bradford’s Industrial heritage.
The IMSS 2017 had 45 participants from 17 nationalities across 4 continents including master’s students from five universities:
- University of Bradford School of Management
- Audencia Business School (France)
- Deusto University (Spain)
- Qatar University (Qatar)
- Ahlia University (Bahrain)
Student feedback was very positive and many students told us how they were inspired and full of new ideas about sustainable business models.
"To me, the intensity of the programme in which theory and practice came together seamlessly was the best aspect of the summer school.
This intensity made sure that the students, in a short period of time, had to process and understand the knowledge in order to be able to apply it in the simulation game played throughout the week…the international students, whom had not met before, had to work closely together in order to fulfil the tasks given...the programme deepened my understanding, but also inspired me to implement sustainability into my thinking process in regard to setting up new ventures, whereas before I was mostly focused on the economics.
Therefore, I am grateful for the mind widening impact the programme had on me.’
Arwin Pietre Bosman (Audencia Business School student and IMSS graduate
The Director of the IMSS, , commented:
‘This year we welcomed students from the Ahlia University and Qatar University, in addition to students from our European partners. We also have the first participant from industry.
The diverse makeup of the group enriched the experience of the event and bought the global impact of sustainable development to Bradford. We are delighted about the very positive feedback received from all participants and the excellent learning outcomes. I thank all contributors and colleagues for their tremendous work. The quality of the presentations was so high that the judging panel decided to give the award to both finalist teams.
This was a truly remarkable week and I hope will create a lasting impact on the participants’ understanding of sustainable business practice that they will take with them in their personal and working lives.’
