Thursday, December 19, 2013

Apply Now for Master's Programs in Sustainability & A Brief History of My Recent Life


Applications are open (through Jan. 15) for two amazing sustainability master’s programs in Sweden – MSLS and MSPI (details below). Please share with anyone you think might be interested in a transformative international experience.  Here’s a quick run down of mine:

The genesis of this blog was one of these programs that I attended eight years ago.  (It was those ancient days before Facebook and Gmail were really things, and I was emailing friends & family about this amazing experience, when I realized: this is why they invented blogs).

The experience changed my life. 

It tied together all of the things I’d been trying to do for years to assemble a career in the sustainability field. It gave me a great framework and opened my eyes to whole new worlds, new ways of thinking, amazingly exciting areas of theory and research.

I met my wife. 



It tapped me into an incredibly dynamic, engaged, welcoming, and exciting international network of sustainability leaders. I met ‘gurus’ whose books I had loved and who I never figured I meet. They became thesis advisors, mentors, and friends.

We got a puppy. 


It led directly to exciting jobs and projects with huge sustainability impact, and endless opportunities for learning and growth. We got to present at conferences, meet incredible leaders. 

We had a baby.

The program left me with lifelong friends, and every since I’ve been able to look up fellow alumni in just about every part of the world, get introductions, crash in guestrooms, and make more lifelong friends.

We have a shared language and a shared understanding about the big challenges society faces, and the unbelievably exciting solutions that have the potential to improve quality of life for everyone, now and in the future.

Please check out the details below if you’re at all interested, and share with anyone else you think might be – maybe some recent college grads, or a friend thinking about a career change, or someone looking to incorporate some bigger-picture meaning into their current role, or someone already working in a sustainability-related field, who might want to recharge and get re-inspired...

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Sustainability Master’s Programmes at the Blekinge Institute of Technology

The Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) is a top ranked sustainability research and education institution currently recruiting talented, early to mid career professionals for its cutting-edge Masters programs. BTH is located in the beautiful coastal city of Karlskrona, a UNESCO world heritage site on the southeast coast of Sweden.

There are two MSc programs available, both suited for early- to mid-career professionals from around the world (the 450 alumni have come from 69 different countries), and taught in English.
The Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) program is a one-year program founded on the basic premise that a "whole-system," trans-disciplinary approach is needed to deal with the sustainability challenge.  Two integrated streams are the focus: 1) a framework for strategic sustainable development; and 2) organizational learning and leadership required for sustainability decision-making. http://www.bth.se/msls
The Master’s in Sustainable Product/Service System Innovation (MSPI) program is two-year program designed for students wishing to combine engineering competence with sustainability knowledge to help deliver new product and service systems.  Specifically, students learn to analyze sustainability challenges for an organization in a scientific manner; introduce a strategic perspective on sustainability to a company’s product innovation process; use new methods and tools to work with sustainable product and service innovation in industry; and support a transition towards a more service-oriented economy.  More info can be found at: http://www.bth.se/mspi
Both programs are delivered in a non-traditional educational setting through experiential and holistic learning methods.  Tuition is 100,000 SEK (about US$15,000), and is paid by the Swedish government for EU and EEA citizens.

Applications are due January 15th, 2014.

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"The question of reaching sustainability is not about if we will have enough energy, enough food, or other tangible resources - those we have. The question is: will there be enough leaders in time?"

-- Dr. Karl-Henrik Robčrt and Dr. Göran Broman program co-founders.

Stay going.
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