"This program closes the gap between management and sustainability."
The newly launched M.Sc. Sustainability Management degree program will train qualified sustainability managers starting with the first class in October 2024. Students will learn how to pull the right levers along a company's entire value chain, for example to achieve politically prescribed emission reduction targets or promote social justice in global supply chains.
The School of Business and Economics at RWTH Aachen University, where this continuing education Master's program is academically anchored, is thus responding to the rapidly growing demand for sustainability experts on the German and international job market - and particularly in the industry.
In this interview, the academic director Prof. Dr. Thomas Lontzek explains why interdisciplinarity is so important when it comes to sustainability, what highlights the program offers and how it stands out from other offers.
Professor Lontzek, what was the goal in developing the M.Sc. Sustainability Management?
The Master's in Sustainability Management aims to close the gap between sustainability and management by providing students with knowledge and skills from both areas and combining these disciplines. After three semesters, graduates should have gained a broad understanding of the complex interrelationships between business, technology, environment and society so that they are able to implement sustainable solutions holistically in a wide range of industries and business areas.
What job opportunities do graduates of this program have?
Particularly in industrial and business enterprises, we are seeing a strong increase in demand for specialists who have the ability to view sustainability not only from a scientific perspective, but also to integrate it into a company's strategic path. The M.Sc. Sustainability Management promotes precisely this interdisciplinary understanding, which is why graduates can succeed in popular job profiles such as "Sustainability Manager", "Sustainability Consultant" or "Project Manager Sustainability".
What does "interdisciplinary understanding" mean in this context?
It simply means that you can think outside the box. At its core, interdisciplinary means being able to adapt different perspectives to a particular issue. To do this, you need to develop foresight and build up a certain level of expertise in various areas. For example, it is not enough to simply measure a company's carbon footprint but not be able to derive any action from it. It is equally inefficient to develop a sustainable technology that nobody can afford.
Precisely this interdisciplinary approach sets this program apart from other courses that only look at sustainability from the perspective of either management or science.
With the vision of an "Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Technology", interdisciplinarity has always been practiced at RWTH Aachen University. Cutting-edge knowledge from engineering and the natural sciences is applied to business problem areas to develop innovative approaches to future global challenges.
What are the highlights of the new degree program?
The program consists of four parts: the essentials, the electives, soft skills modules and the Master's thesis. The heart of the program is the elective area. Here, students can deepen their previously acquired knowledge from the focus areas of "Technology", "Transformation and Innovation" and "Analytics", depending on their individual interest. The program's standout feature are the labs. Students can choose to dive deeper into the topic of data-driven decision-making in the context of sustainability in the "Analytics Lab" or explore new business models and innovative technologies for sustainable development in the "Technology & Innovation Lab". In both labs, cooperation partners from industry create a strong hands-on learning experience, from which students benefit directly after graduation.
Thank you very much for the interview.
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