Eleven business schools from Asia and the European Union discussed Curriculum Integration for Sustainability at the UGM Faculty of Economics and Business on Tuesday (September 12).
These 11 business schools include the Master of Management (MM) of the UGM Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Universitas Indonesia, and Universitas Trisakti.
Additionally, there are the International College of the National Institute of Development Administration, Srinakharinwirot University, and Naresuan University in Thailand; the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia; Universidad Pablo De Olavide, Spain; Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; Mendel University In Brno, Czech Republic; and the University of Agder in Norway.
The Head of the UGM MM, Professor Amin Wibowo, stated that this meeting aims to disseminate best practices in integrating sustainability aspects into the curriculum of the Master of Management programs worldwide through the Master Studies in Sustainable Development and Management (MASUDEM), funded by Erasmus+.
“This activity provides an opportunity to introduce the MASUDEM program as a collaborative effort between partner universities in Europe and Southeast Asia that supports the development of a sustainability-based curriculum,” he said.
Additionally, this meeting showed the best practices in sustainability curricula from various countries and provided an overview of the current situation at each collaborating partner university.
The MASUDEM program coordinator, Professor Anetta Chaplanova, from the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, explained that the project is jointly funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ program for capacity building in higher education, focusing on cooperation between European universities and universities in third-world countries.
“Our focus is on the Southeast Asian region, and in this project, we involve two Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia and Thailand,” Professor Chaplanova said.
“This collaboration is a partnership that we hope will provide skills, knowledge, and interest in the main focus of this project, the development of a master’s level curriculum in sustainable development and management.”
Professor Chaplanova explained that European business school partners were invited to conduct contextual studies to identify best practices in teaching sustainability management and development economics in leading universities worldwide to lay the foundation for improving or developing new programs at partner universities.
“We are developing a master’s program focused on sustainable development and management. Not only that, this foundation is also used to renew or enhance existing programs in this field at partner universities. We will then continue by implementing the updated curriculum, and before that, we also need to accredit these programs if necessary,” she said.
Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation, and Alumni Affairs, UGM Faculty of Economics and Business, Dr. Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo, stated that collaboration among business schools on sustainability curricula in the context of developing countries not only fosters cooperation between developed and developing countries but also encourages an understanding of sustainability issues.
“I think efforts are needed to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. The impact is not only for Master of Management programs in Indonesia and Thailand but also in other ASEAN countries and European countries. We want to learn about sustainability curriculum perspectives from European countries,” he said.
According to Dr. Sahadewo, the MASUDEM program can enhance the current collaboration opportunities between the UGM Faculty of Economics and Business and the University of Agder, specifically the ASEAN Master in Sustainability Management program. He believes that this interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary program can train students to become future leaders in sustainability issues within the context of ASEAN.
“I think this collaboration will provide knowledge to pursue and improve sustainability curricula. And once again, I hope that schools can share updates on curricula, not only in their respective countries but also in countries outside this network,” he hoped.
Author: Gusti Grehenson