Inspired by the students’ passion for learning through case competitions in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), oikos Hong Kong decided to organize a Case Competition to promote sustainability concepts in the university. The team aimed to introduce the concept of sustainability consciousness as well as to enrich an individual’s experience and awareness of sustainable development. They started by brainstorming ideas to solve sustainability issues in a multinational corporation!

Anatomy of the project

Goal: The goal of oikos Hong Kong’s undertaking was to raise students’ awareness about sustainability issues in the commercial world. They also sought to strengthen action competence for sustainable development among tomorrow’s decision-makers. In oikos Hong Kong Sustainability Impact Case Competition 2019, a case regarding the global food processing giant, Nestlé, was chosen as the discussing material. The case was the winner of the oikos Case Writing Competition Corporate Sustainability Track.

Case: The case discusses Nestlé’s problems with modern slavery in its cocoa supply chain. The company faced allegations of using child labour in its cocoa supply chain in Ivory Coast and was also accused of failing to disclose this to customers. Some critics argued that Nestlé had to put more effort to eliminate child labour and be more transparent within its global cocoa supply chain.

Process: The Sustainability Impact Case Competition was opened for all students in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The event challenged candidates to apply their problem-solving skills about the current labour conditions in Nestlé’s supply chain. Dozens of university students participated in the preliminary round and 4 teams were eventually selected to compete in the grand finale. oikos Hong Kong invited 4 experienced professors specialized in the Sustainability Unit and the School of Business and Management to be the jury in this case competition. Their expertise ensured the contest to run smoothly. Their precious advice helped and encouraged the participating teams immeasurably as they continued developing solutions for a more sustainable community. After submitting their incredibly innovative and inspiring proposals, finalist teams were required to give a 15-minute presentation regarding the solution of Nestlé’s current dilemma. With such impressive performance, the honorary jury was having difficulties to select the winning team. The champion team is fast-tracked to take part in future oikos events.

The road to towards sustainability is not easy, but oikos Hong Kong in their own words “are determined to raise student leaders’ awareness of the current sustainability issues in the business world”. They believe tomorrow’s decision-makers can work hand in hand in creating a more sustainable future. A small change can make a big difference!

Reach out to oikos Hong Kong team at info@oikos-hongkong.org to learn more about their experience.

Check our Case Collection to find a perfect case for your competition!

The Sustainability Impact Case Competition in pictures:

Join the first St. Gallen Unconference on sustainability for oikos alumni and friends!

St. Gallen Unconference

Organised by oikos Alumni & HSG Alumni Sustainability Club

Topic: Sustainability & Business
When: 29th & 30th of August 2019
Where: University of St. Gallen,
Dufourstrasse 50, 9000 St. Gallen

Some alumni from the oikos International Alumni network along with the HSG Alumni Sustainability Club came together to organize the Unconference for members of both networks to meet, learn, and exchange knowledge and skills.

Unlike a regular conference, an Unconference is an event where the agenda is shaped by the participants, which creates space for peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and creativity, with a strong focus on networking possibilities.

If you are interested in joining and want to contribute to the Unconference by organizing a session such as a workshop or discussion group, go to our website and submit your application. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us via unconference.sustainability@gmail.com.

You can’t come to the Unconference? Then join us for the Alumni dinner on Friday evening.

We are looking forward to getting to know you and your ideas!

At the end of June, oikos management team members, Lenka (oikos Curriculum Strategy Manager) and J.Christopher (oikos Curriculum Research Manager), visited Siena, Italy in order to meet with a dynamic community of young researchers exploring different schools of economic thought, share oikos projects and new initiatives with them and to build new connections with like-minded organizations.  They took part in the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)/Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) pre-conference followed by the Italian Association for the History of Political Economy (STOREP) conference. J.Christopher organized an interactive session on pluralism in economics and Lenka presented the new oikos Curriculum Change Initiative. In this brief article, they share insights from the conferences and discuss the upcoming oikos curriculum project. 

Both events provided us with an amazing opportunity to meet young scholars and professionals who embrace new and critical ways of thinking about the economy. We not only had a chance to learn about research, projects and initiatives that bring fresh wind into mainstream economic thinking, but we also discussed oikos projects and further cooperation with groups like Rethinking Economics and the Network for Pluralist Economics. Based on feedback, support and inspiration we received from INET Young Scholars Initiative community and STOREP participants, we continue developing the oikos Curriculum Change Initiative. Its main purpose is to foster the transformation of economics and management education together with the oikos student community across the globe. We invite oikos members to develop true ownership of their own education and we would like to accompany them in the process of shaping and influencing what they are being taught. 

Thanks to the financial support of SBFI, the curriculum change team will be able to run several projects. The oikos Curriculum Change Academy will be a 3-day workshop for students, junior lecturers and faculty, developed and facilitated by oikos student members. Its main purpose is to reflect and learn about innovative economics and management programmes which are designed to address current global environmental and social challenges. We will be discussing and testing new teaching methods and theoretical approaches in economics education. Getting inspired by good practice, we will develop strategies on how to implement similar programmes and methods at our universities. 

In order to accompany students who want to develop and implement curriculum change projects at their universities, we will establish and facilitate student working groups and constantly work with their members online and onsite. The working group members will learn about curriculum change practises and apply them in their concrete projects.

Those interested in research activities will have a great opportunity to analyze economics and management curriculum worldwide while learning and applying various curriculum research methods. We will accompany students in the process of analyzing as well as publishing and presenting their research outcomes. 

Furthermore, participants involved in the Curriculum Change Initiative will be offered specific coaching provided by LEAP and Alexandra (oikos International Project Manager). 

The oikos Curriculum Change Initiative is about students and for students. It responds to an increasing interest of oikos members in shaping their curriculum and is inspired by chapter activities in this field. We would like to cordially invite all oikos community members to join the Initiative. Why get involved? You can influence hundreds of students who take the economics and management courses at your university. You have a long term positive impact not only on your peer students but also on professors, young scholars, university administration and top management. You can shape the process of how education is developed by adding a bottom-up perspective to it. Through starting a creative conversation with your university you inspire other students and universities worldwide to follow a similar path. Interested? Feel free to contact Lenka and J. Christopher, we look forward to working with you!

This July, meet our dedicated, hard-working organizers of the Germany Meeting 2019. In this brief letter, they describe how the team came together, divided up tasks and then worked day in and day out to ensure that everything went well at the meeting. 

The café around the corner of our university was crowded and dark, twelve curious faces squeezed together at two tables in the corner, dull murmuring and slow beats coming from the speakers filled the air. Everyone seemed a little nervous, not knowing what was going to await them in the upcoming six weeks. Since most of us had just joined oikos, the earliest challenge was to get to know each other so that we would build up a certain team spirit. The first point on the agenda: finding a headline for our Germany Meeting. Questions were being thrown into the room: What is it that we want to communicate and achieve with this meeting, broken down into a catchy phrase? Slowly, the ice began to break, awakening the spirit and motivation in each one of us. Slogans were being suggested, changed, thought about and eventually voted on. After an intense ninety minutes, having left our heads smoking like little volcanos, the title for our Germany Meeting finally stood: Take the lead for change- US for a sustainable future. This rather nerve-wracking upbeat to the planning made us realize: first of all, the team spirit was definitely there, developing each minute and everyone was here for the right reasons. And secondly, we underestimated the time that is needed for planning and organization of such an event.

We had divided our team into five different domains the week before: There was the program that had to be worked out and well thought through, the participants had to be contacted, informed and taken care of during their stay in Cologne, of course, the finances needed to be calculated and potential sponsors had to be contacted. Logistics had to be taken care of and the event itself had to be promoted on various social media platforms. Every week we would come together to update each other on the progress being made. Weeks went by quickly whilst every one of us fulfilled their tasks as well as they could.

When it came to another Wednesday meeting up at the cafe, a look on the calendar left us with a little shook: the Germany meeting was no longer a distant vision in the future, it was right in front of us, only two weeks away to be exact. We could feel a shift in the team spirit, slight panic replaced the calmness of routine. It was rapidly clear to us that we had to organize ourselves differently, bringing in new energy for the final countdown. So, we ended up dividing our members according to the different events taking place during the meeting rather than according to work groups.

We made sure that every member got the chance to find its strongest feature and contribute accordingly to the organization of the event. We trusted each other and each of us took on certain responsibilities. But the small crises we experienced also taught us that, when it comes down to it, we have to stand behind the whole thing as a team, think as a team and always represent the team, meaning that no one should feel like they are carrying the weight of it all on their own two shoulders. It was certainly something special to see people coming together, putting their best efforts and growing with their tasks each week. We channelled all the motivation into a strong team spirit that never stopped growing, leaving us more connected than we could have ever imagined on that first Wednesday in the café.