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Aalto University School of Business has been accepted into the Champion group of the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) network, which operates under the United Nations. The admission to the two-year Champion term (2024-2025) demonstrates that the School of Business is on the right track in promoting sustainable development and responsibility in its work.

‘The School of Business signed the principles of the PRME network in 2008 and has, therefore, committed itself to promoting sustainable development and responsibility in its teaching, research, and other activities for years’, says Dean Timo Korkeamäki.

‘Our admission to the PRME Champion group shows that we have been consistently doing the right things. On the other hand, it also indicates that we are ready to share our own experiences with others and to improve ourselves’, he adds.

Sustainability in teaching and research

The Sustainability in Business research group has been active in the School of Business for three decades, conducting pioneering research while sustainability thinking and responsibility have shifted from the margins of business to becoming a central factor in business. No credible company can ignore corporate responsibility these days, and the knowledge related to business sustainability, responsibility, and its management is increasingly emphasized in the education offered by the School of Business.

Sustainable development is included in the learning outcomes of all Bachelor's and Master's programmes, and in the autumn of 2024, a completely new Master's programme called Sustainable Entrepreneurship, will begin. The programme complements the offerings of sustainability education, which already include the highly popular interdisciplinary Creative Sustainability Master's programme, to which business students can apply.

‘Our graduates often find themselves in positions within companies and other organizations where they can strongly influence the direction of development. We constantly strive to develop our teaching so that our graduates have all the knowledge and skills related to sustainable development and responsibility that are increasingly demanded in working life’, says Paula Schönach, the sustainability specialist coordinating the School of Business's PRME Champion work.

The promotion of sustainable development extends throughout the entire Aalto community and beyond. For example, starting from autumn 2024, all Bachelor's students from different fields at Aalto will be able to study a multidisciplinary minor with a  sustainability focus. Aalto offers students the opportunity to uniquely combine sustainable business expertise with studies in engineering, and art and design. The School of Business also offers studies in the field more broadly, as anyone can study the basics of sustainable business on an open and free online course produced by the School of Business.

‘Participating in the PRME Champion network is an excellent incentive for us to develop our work in the field of sustainable development and to learn best practices and approaches from other network members’, says Schönach.

PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) is a voluntary network of universities and business schools providing business education under the United Nations. Its goal is to promote responsibility and sustainable development in business education worldwide.

Read more about the new PRME champions: