Unique collaboration on sustainability between Hanken and upper secondary school students from Kauniainen

20 students are participating in the two-credit elective course, which consists of both existing Hanken lectures and customised workshops. The course focuses on economic issues in relation to sustainability, particularly in the food and textile industries, two industries that most people can relate to without previous business studies.

“The course is a way for upper secondary schools to keep up to date with the latest research in the rapidly changing field of sustainability. And thanks to the students‘ input, we can highlight challenges and issues that interest today's young people”, says Nikodemus Solitander, Hanken’s associate dean of sustainability and initiator of the pilot course.

Thanks to the course, students also get an insight into what it really means to study at a university.

“It is only through practice that students can understand the difference between an upper secondary school and a university and what skills are needed”, says Solitander.

Organising your own studies

One of the lectures during the course was Sustainable Organisation in Times of Crisis and was held by Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes, assistant professor of management and organisation at Hanken. The theme of the lecture was, among other things, how we humans organise ourselves regarding land and water together with other living beings on earth.

Antonia Lindstedt and Eddie Söderström from Gymnasiet Grankulla Samskola were two of the participants in the lecture. They agree that the best thing about the course has been the freedom to choose their own sustainable economy theme to work with. Lindstedt chose quality education on sustainable agriculture, while Söderström focused on energy and energy networks.

“I'm a bit of a physics nerd and am fascinated by energy. More specifically, nuclear power plants, fusion and fission, how you can create energy from very small particles and thus benefit the future”, says Söderström.

Lindstedt is not yet sure if she wants to study at a university after upper secondary school, but Söderström already knew before the course that he wants to continue at university level.

“The course has been a good way to get to know university studies. Hanken has been one of my options and I've got a pretty clear and good picture of what it's like here”, says Söderström.

Both say that the most important thing they have learnt from the course so far is how to find material on their own, such as academic articles.

“I have learnt a lot planning  my own studies. I look forward to seeing all the final projects we are now working on”, says Lindstedt.

Lifelong learning

According to Nikodemus Solitander, the course together with the upper secondary school in Kauniainen is in line with Hanken's strategy that emphasises lifelong learning.

“When it comes to lifelong learning, it's good not to focus solely on what happens after you graduate from Hanken. An equally interesting question is what happens before.”

The learning outcomes of the course include that students should be able to combine insights and knowledge about alternative ways of organising sustainable consumption and production, perform basic scientific work, and seek out reliable information.

“We want students to understand how the economy works in relation to sustainability and to realise that it is not enough to examine these issues from a purely economic perspective. Students also need to have a basic understanding of insights from other fields of science”, says Solitander.

According to Hanken's strategy, all new Master's programmes will be aligned with the EU's sustainability competences framework, Green Comp, which lists nine competencies necessary for the EU's green transition. Some of these competencies are also emphasised in this course, such as promoting nature, critical thinking and future skills.

Sustainability work in the future

Lindstedt and Söderström have both been involved in the Model European Parliament and have also worked on sustainability issues there. Lindstedt says that sustainability issues are important to her both as a consumer and as something to get involved in.

“From a consumer's point of view, fast fashion is something I try to avoid as much as possible.”

Söderström says that they talk a lot about sustainability in school, so the topic is always present in his mind.

“Sustainability is an important part of the future and my life. It would be interesting to work with something that supports sustainable development. It’s more fulfilling to save the planet than to destroy it.”

Text and photo: Jessica Gustafsson