CEMS Magazine | May 2011
Students from Bangladesh to Slovakia gathered for the oikos Spring Meeting 2011 on Sustainable Architecture at VSE in Prague
oikos’ mission is to strengthen action competence for sustainable development among tomorrow’s decision makers. With a learning-by-doing approach, oikos students implement sustainability-driven innovation and promote the integration of sustainability issues into research and teaching at their schools. Be informed - get involved - make a difference; our guiding motto. How does this translate into practice for CEMS students and Management schools?
Harriet Jackson
LSE Alumna & oikos International President 2011
Be informed
Make a difference
oikos events offer networking and learning opportunities for emerging issues which are rarely covered in Economics and management curricula. Student projects range from economic conferences and seminars to simulation games such as the international oikos Model WTO (www.modelwto.org). This year’s oikos Spring Meeting was organised by oikos students from CEMS Member School VSE Prague, and focused on Sustainable Architecture: Space for Living. Among other content, it offered visits to leading green architecture sites, workshops on how to make your campus computers climate-neutral, and sustainability careers workshops from oikos alumni.
The numerous student activities are complemented by international coaching programmes for change-makers and oikos academic initiatives in research and teaching. With its annual international Young Scholars Academies, e.g. in the field of Entrepreneurship (in cooperation with The Hub), Finance (with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment) and Development (in cooperation with the UN Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative), oikos has become an institution for developing future faculty in the field of sustainability and management. oikos also promotes excellence in case writing and teaching through its annual oikos Global Case Writing Competition. A new textbook featuring winning cases, including a case on CEMS Corporate Partner P&G, will be published in spring 2011.
Get involved CEMS-MIM alumna Clara Navarro joined oikos in 2004 after attending a CEMS Block Seminar about Sustainability and Marketing in St. Gallen. She participated in the first oikos Winter School (www.oikos-winterschool.org) and then joined oikos Cologne during her CEMS programme. As she moved to London to work for McKinsey on climate change, her oikos contacts were very useful, and she was happy to join the oikos Chapter at the London School of Economics & Political Science when she decided to study another Master's. In London she developed several student projects on sustainability and supported the oikos alumni work. After returning to her hometown in Barcelona she became an advisor of oikos Barcelona at ESADE Business School – a great opportunity to promote sustainability on a local level while being globally connected. Currently, Clara is actively involved with oikos alumni, participating in international meetings twice a year. The oikos network has proven to be of great help in her professional life and a great source of inspiration and valuable friendships too.
Overall, oikos is quickly developing as a leader in student sustainability organisations. If you are interested in learning more, contact your oikos chapter at the CEMS schools in Barcelona, Budapest, Cologne, London, Prague, Warsaw or St. Gallen. No chapter at your CEMS School yet? Create a new chapter. Contact us and make a difference!
For further information check http://www.oikos-international.org or contact Harriet Jackson at harriet.jackson@oikosinternational.org
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