In these times when the world as we knew it has undergone instantaneous change, there is no better time to focus on changes that will make the world a better place for all and link the Covid 19 recovery with a transition to a low-carbon economy while addressing social inequalities at the same time.

This Carbon Literacy Training Programme equips you with the information and skills needed to make these high impact changes in your work for example research, teaching or consultancy work in order to reduce carbon emissions along with addressing multiple other SDGs. A certificate is given upon full participation and completion of the training.

The four session cover:

1. Positive Futures Scenarios and Climate Justice
2. Climate Science and the matching high impact climate solutions
3. Carbon calculation and individual action
4. Climate Change Mitigation: a systems approach
5. Your own Action Plan

This training was developed by Nottingham Business School (Nottingham Trent University) in collaboration with the UN PRME Champions, Oikos International and the Carbon Literacy Project. It also includes an introduction to En-ROADS developed by Climate Interactive in collaboration with MIT Sloan and Ventana Systems.

The Carbon Literacy Training for Business Schools (CLT4BS) was developed by Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University (NBS), UK in collaboration with the PRME Champions, the PRME Working Group on Climate Change, oikos International, and the The Carbon Literacy Project.

Led by Professor Petra Molthan-Hill from NBS and facilitators from all over the world, the next training will be offered for four consecutive Fridays in July, from 11:00 am – 13:00 pm CEST, beginning on Friday, 2 July.

Complete all four sessions and an assessment for a chance to become certified as Carbon Literate, after this you could go on to train others in Carbon Literacy.

Register for the individual sessions:

Friday, July 2, 11am CEST: Register
Friday, July 9, 11am CEST: Register
Friday, July 16, 11am CEST: Register
Friday, July 23, 11am CEST: Register

Learn more about Carbon Literacy Project

The Positive Impact Rating 2021 Report was launched at the virtual PRME Global Forum on 17 June 2021. The Positive Impact Rating supports fundamental change in the business school landscape by measuring schools’ societal responsibility and impact. It offers students a tool to select an education that prepares them as responsible business leaders and change-makers in the 21st-century.

47 business schools from 21 countries worldwide took part in this year’s edition of the PIR and over 9,000 students participated in the survey. 

The PIR is a rating conducted by students and for students. For the second time, students worldwide assessed their business schools on how they perceive their positive impact in the world. The data collection in the Schools has been organized and led by students’ associations, who distributed the PIR survey across campus to their fellow students.

Students provided an incredible wealth of constructive comments on how their schools can increase their positive impact. Students are very clear in what they want their schools to STOP doing: 1. Teaching outdated theories and models of economics and business; 2. Using single-use plastics on campus; 3. Employing staff with no knowledge, experience, or passion in sustainability; 4. Unsustainable food and catering services on campus; 5. Practices that continue to create waste; 6. Offering degrees without mandatory sustainability courses.

There is also a consensus on what they want their schools to START doing: 1. Putting sustainability at the core of teaching on economics and business; 2. Providing practical sustainability competencies; 3. Engaging with NPOs for courses, projects, and career options; 4. Creating social impact initiatives with local and global communities; 5. Empowering and supporting students to act for sustainability; 6. Educating all b-school staff in sustainability topics. 

The PIR is the first rating in which students worldwide assess their business schools on their positive impact. Sophie Charrois, President of oikos International and PIR Supervisory Board member, spoke at the launch event. She said that “more and more students all over the world seek an education that prepares them as change agents and leaders of tomorrow”.

The PIR was created by concerned business school experts together with global NGOs – WWF, Oxfam, and UN Global Compact. International student associations oikos, AIESEC and Net Impact are partnering with PIR, which is also supported by VIVA Idea (Costa Rica), Mission Possible Foundation & Fehr Advice, both from Switzerland.

UN PRME Global Forum, virtually from New York, USA, June 17, 2021

The Positive Impact Rating 2021 Report was launched today at the UN PRME Global Forum. The social impact levels of 46 business schools from 21 countries were announced by Prof Thomas Dyllick of the Positive Impact Rating Association and Sophie Charrois, President of oikos International.

Overview and summary

The Positive Impact Rating (PIR) is a rating conducted by students and for students. For the second time, students worldwide assessed their business schools on how they perceive their positive impact in the world. The positive impact of business schools goes beyond their contribution to business and the economy; it addresses the need for their positive impact for society.

“Business can be a force for good, and this is strengthened by students who are the next generation of business leaders. The PIR supports business schools to prioritize responsible management education – UN Global Compact and PRME principles strongly support these ambitions.”

Antonio Hautle, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Switzerland

The Indian trio of the S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (JPJIMR), XLRI – Xavier School of Management and Goa Institute of Management (GIM), and the University of Business and Technology Kosovo all achieved the highest level of the PIR as “Pioneering Schools”. They did this thanks to innovative community-based actions, environmental and socially responsible culture and governance, and a strong teaching focus on responsible leadership.

The data collection is organized by student associations, which distributed surveys across campuses. The PIR gives the students a platform to assess the positive impact of their own schools, providing a unique opportunity for their voice to be heard. 

Professor Dyllick said: “Business school rankings are often out of touch and distanced from sustainability issues. The PIR shows how student perspectives can shift the thinking of schools.”

The PIR is the first rating in which students worldwide assess their business schools on their positive impact. Sophie Charrois, President of oikos International and PIR Supervisory Board member, said at the launch event: “More and more students all over the world seek an education that prepares them as change agents and leaders of tomorrow. oikos International is proud to have been part of the PIR from the beginning to provide them with a global assessment of schools that focus on these competencies”.

The PIR was created by concerned business school experts together with global NGOs – WWF, Oxfam, and UN Global Compact. International student associations oikos, AIESEC and Net Impact are partnering with PIR, which is also supported by VIVA Idea (Costa Rica), Mission Possible Foundation & Fehr Advice, both from Switzerland.

The larger role of business schools 

Business schools are traditionally seen to serve students by developing their management competencies and to serve business organizations by providing them with educated talent, insights from research, and continuous education for their staff. Business schools thereby support business and the economy. Providing a positive impact on society has not been considered core to business schools. Still, demands for it have steadily increased in the past decade, as exemplified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and new demands from international accreditation standards. This new business school rating responds to these demands.

The ambition of this rating is to be a lever of change in the much-needed deep transformation of business schools. Rankings have become increasingly important, and this rating builds on this phenomenon by offering a new and hopefully better way to assess business schools in the 21st century.

What students want!

Students provided an incredible wealth of constructive comments on how their schools can increase their positive impact. Students are very clear in what they want their schools to STOP doing: 1. Teaching outdated theories and models of economics and business; 2. Using single-use plastics on campus; 3. Employing staff with no knowledge, experience, or passion in sustainability; 4. Unsustainable food and catering services on campus; 5. Practices that continue to create waste; 6. Offering degrees without mandatory sustainability courses.

There is also a consensus on what they want their schools to START doing: 1. Putting sustainability at the core of teaching on economics and business; 2. Providing practical sustainability competencies; 3. Engaging with NPOs for courses, projects, and career options; 4. Creating social impact initiatives with local and global communities; 5. Empowering and supporting students to act for sustainability; 6. Educating all b-school staff in sustainability topics.

Measuring the social impact of business schools

The rating survey asks students 20 questions in seven relevant impact dimensions: governance and culture of the school; study programs, learning methods, and student support; the institution as a role model and its public engagement. The overall PIR score of the business school is used to position the schools across five levels. The different levels refer to the developmental stage of the business school, rating it by a certain level of achievement. Business schools are provided with a defined social impact model and a tool that they can use for measuring their impact.

A tool for collaborative learning and action

The purpose of the positive impact rating is to enable learning at and across schools rather than creating a competitive ranking. A rating offers the safety of groups rather than individual ranks and intends to foster collaboration. Schools, therefore, are positioned in five different levels, where they are featured alphabetically. Students and the management of each participating school receive free online access to a dashboard featuring their school’s results across the different areas compared to the average of all schools. This allows them to actively work towards increasing their positive impact. Students, who have access to the same data, are empowered to collaborate with the school administration.

How the participating schools performed

In this second edition, students from 47 schools located in four continents and 21 countries participated in the survey. While the number of participating schools and countries remained comparable to the first edition, the number of student participants more than tripled. More than 9000 students responded to the survey.

The PIR 2021 edition features 46 schools. For the first time, there are business schools that have reached the top Level 5 (pioneering schools). At level 4 (transforming schools) the report features 24 schools. At Level 3 (progressing schools) there are 18 schools. In the spirit of reinforcing good practice, the rating does not feature schools that were rated below level 3. 

PIR as an enabler for business school development

This business school rating seeks to serve as a tool for continually improving the business school. It reflects the positive impact of the school as seen and evaluated by their own students. This is done every year anew, with successive generations of students evaluating and reevaluating their schools. Learning and development are enabled through the design of the PIR. By providing the assessment tool to the student organizations and school management, both are empowered to use the data in many productive ways. In addition, the PIR organization collects and communicates best practices from the best performing business schools in the rating.

A tool for social impact measurement

The PIR has a dual purpose. It is a comparative rating, but it also serves as a tool for social impact measurement and reporting. The design of the PIR offers all participating schools a private link to their school dashboard where the survey results are available in full detail. The PIR dashboard represents a solid basis for school management and engaged student organizations alike to define actions and strategies to increase the positive impact of their schools. Some schools have started to use the PIR as a measurement and reporting tool for reporting on their progress and social impact towards PRME (SIP Report), EQUIS (Self-Assessment Report), or AACSB (Self-Evaluation Report). Other schools have started to use it as a management tool for improving their social impact.

Visit the Positive Impact Rating Website for more information.

**The deadline for application was moved from 5 to 8 of August**

This article is part of a series of articles on oikos Co-Presidency. Here you can find information on how to apply to become a candidate. You might want to catch up with oikos Co-Presidency before reading:
Never Lead Alone: oikos shift to Co-Presidency – It offers insights into our decision to shift to Co-Presidency
Further reading:
Extraordinary oikos Legislative Meeting in August – The election process for the first ever oikos Co-President.

Are you ready to rise to the challenge of stewarding a global community of student change agents, together with your learning partner? Does the prospect of learning, growing, developing a multitude of leadership competencies and capacities ranging from the individual to the community and global economy level excite you?

Apply today to become the next Co-President of the oikos International! 

Application Term: 16.6 – 8.8.2021

Elections will take place during the virtual Legislative Meeting in August (prospective date: 15.8)

Duration of presidency: November/December 2021- December 2023 (2 years full-time, remote)

What the work of an oikos president looks like: 

As an oikos co-president, you will be working in a highly complex, ever-changing but also truly supportive environment. You will work with a colorful team of around 25 employees and volunteers from all over the world, mostly but not limited to our virtual office. In your role, the team will actively support you and they count on your guidance and facilitation to some extent. What’s new: There will be another co-president stewarding the organization together with you. You will be the first on e to enjoy this opportunity of holding the role together with a learning buddy in the pilot term of this new structure. Learn more about the co-presidency here.

As a co-president, you are a full time employee of oikos. You will be paid a net-salary of 2000 chf and your official travel expenses will be covered by the organization.

What you will do: a co-president’s core responsibilities:

As a president, your roles and tasks are very diverse and cover all aspects of the organization. Roles will be agreed upon between co-presidents, the sharpening and agreement will happen in an appreciative conversation after the election. Acknowledging that oikos is a complex organization, we assume that it needs this space to shape the roles together in close collaboration.

Next to several granular roles that are owned by either one or the other, there will be several roles that will/should be shared by both, eg. to better regulate long-term partnerships or help the presidents to navigate the whole community. Beyond this, each role is enriched to address oikos’ purpose and the personal development needs of the individuals.

Examples from the portfolio are..

• Tending the oikos community by listening in, making sure we are connected to the community, exploring new pathways and encouraging the chapters
• Stewarding the international team and taking care of forming & facilitating the  oikos Board and the Management Team. There are several organizational development initiatives that require our attention.
• Facilitating our international & global strategy development to guide and map the activities, impact and development of the oikos community around the world;
• Liaising with internal and external stakeholders towards fostering financial and non-financial partnerships and collaborations. This includes being in the (advisory) board of several partner organizations and representing the network at various international conferences, seminars, etc. Fundraising is a big part of this aspect;
• Overseeing, contributing to and advising oikos international initiatives like FutureLab, Curriculum Change Initiative or the LEAP Program and advising the organizing teams of community projects with an international scope
• Ensuring that all administrative and legal matters are running smoothly, and supporting the dedicated team members in these matters

Over the two years of presidency, you will grow and learn a lot, not only as a person but also professionally and as a leader. You will gain first-hand insights into how the wider network of sustainability and higher education works, where it is moving and how we at oikos have an influence that matters. On the ground, you will liaise and collaborate with key internal and external stakeholders working in the field of sustainability and foster relationships to key individuals and movements in academia and business. One thing is sure: your leadership competencies will be on test – and you will definitely grow beyond yourself on this fascinating learning journey!

What you should bring: Needed qualifications and characteristics:

• A proximity to and understanding of the oikos community, and the current needs, wishes, and topics of the network. We only accept applications from within the network.
• A passion for sustainability in higher education and leadership development with an understanding of how it relates to oikos’ Vision, Mission and purpose;
• an understanding of oikos’ organizational setup and general functioning;
• Ability and curiosity for leading in complexity: being able to navigate complex challenges and handle overwhelming situations for yourself and the team
• A willingness to learn and adapt (management skills, software packages such as Salesforce, website content management, etc.)
• Facilitation competencies and leadership skills
• Fluency in English in speaking and writing, basic knowledge of German is a helpful plus
• Exceptional communication skills and an ability to collaborate with people of different backgrounds and cultures;
• Experience with project management with an eye for detail.

How to apply?

It’s simple: Fill in the application form below, including 

• A motivation letter (max 2 pages);
• Your vision and action plan for oikos (max 2 pages);
• Your CV (max 2 pages);
• A brief introduction (about 150 words) and picture for the oikos website;
• A reference letter;
• A video of up to 3 minutes detailing your candidature

Need more information?

Check out the experiences of past Presidents on our social media channels.

We will host 2 info & Q&A calls in our virtual office on Friday, July 9 & Friday, July 16 at 5 pm CEST each. Do not hesitate to email us for further questions you may have.

oikos International is hosting the first ever oikos Curriculum Camp! The event will be in person in Sestriere, Italy from approximately August 23 to 28th.

What is it?

Curriculum Camp is a week-long gathering for teams working on projects related to sustainability in economics and management education.

Through the Curriculum Camp, we hope to support the development of participant’s knowledge and empower them to carry out their projects of producing a number of specific tools which can be useful to the oikos community in our work to integrate sustainability into economics and management education. At Camp, teams, including those formed at the FutureLab, will have a chance to develop their skills and really focus on their projects, working on the development of a single concrete output that can take your initiative forward. The event will feature an interactive program which will support the groups in further developing their projects, and will offer training sessions on specific skills such as educational innovation, interactive facilitation, and creative communication.

Topical Teams Participation

We’re looking for small teams of 2-5 people who are working on projects related to educational transformation in economics and management and have a proposal for a specific element of their project they want to develop at Camp. The squads formed at the oikos FutureLab are most welcome to join to continue their work, but we also welcome all kinds of projects and groups! They could be about topical subjects like sustainable finance, ongoing research projects like a curriculum review or survey, or more organizational projects like finding the most effective ways to communicate with universities. Projects that have existed for a while will have more to gain from Camp, but the event is also open to newer initiatives.

For Camp, we want your team to focus on one smaller task that could be realistically completed within a week. Maybe this task is creating a guide or toolkit, like the oikos guide to pluralist economics, or maybe it’s building a new website or finding an interactive way to communicate about your project. It’s okay if you don’t have your task 100% figured out already—Camp is here to help with that—but we want to make sure you already have some specific ideas to work on from the start.

Individuals Participation on the Transversal Team

We are also looking for a few individuals to help support the teams as a part of a “transversal team” which will bring various skills and experiences to the projects at camp. These individuals will be expected to prepare an activity or a short workshop which will train the other participants on one of the various areas relevant for successful project management and execution. We’re open to all kinds of skills that might be relevant, but some examples of what we’re thinking about include:
– Coaching
– Curriculum change campaigning
– Curriculum development
– Workshop facilitation
– Team development
– Science communication
– Artistic communication (Visual, video, design, other…)
– Mediation

When and where will it be?

Curriculum Camp will be held in Sestriere, Italy from approximately August 23th to 28th. Sestriere is in the mountains, about two hours outside of Turin. Participants will be encouraged to meet in Turin, Italy at the start of the event to travel to Sestriere together, but it is also possible to reach Sestriere individually by public transport.

oikos is planning to offer limited travel reimbursements to participants (approximately 200 euro per person) and will cover accommodation for the duration of the event.

COVID Precautions

Our team discussed a lot about the pandemic and are taking the situation seriously. We decided to launch a call as the current regulations project that tourism between EU countries will be allowed in August. As of today, there are no restrictions for movement within Italy, and no mandatory quarantine for people entering Italy from the EU. Italy has been opening travel to more countries outside of the EU, although it is possible some restrictions will still be in place in August. The event is conditional on changes in regulations.

We will require a negative COVID test from each participant at the start of Camp. Precise protocol about the on-site precautions will be shared prior to the event.

If you wish to join the event but do not feel comfortable meeting in person, are part of a risk group or have other constraints, let us know! We wish to make this event accessible and we may make online participation possible.

Application

Teams and individuals can apply for Camp with the link below. For teams, indicate a team leader who will be the main contact point. Keep your responses brief (about 250 words max)! To plan accommodation, we need to know how many people want to join from each team, so please let us know if anything changes after you submit your application.

Camp is organized by the Curriculum Research Squad of oikos International, a student group for sustainability in economics and management education. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Curriculum Research Squad by emailing J.Christopher, the oikos Curriculum Research Manager.

Selected groups and individuals will be notified on approximately July 15th. Any changes to the event due to the COVID situation will also be communicated at this point.

Applications opened on June 9th and will close on Sunday, July 11st

oikos was founded nearly 34 years ago as a Swiss association and over time there has been a lot of development & change work happening, both inside & outside of our student-led network. Only recently we embarked on taking several structural updates, which brought us a higher awareness of how certain hierarchical elements hinder us to live up to the democratic values we aspire for a sustainable world – values beyond representation and election.
At oikos International, we see our role in supporting the oikos community. With that in mind, we need supportive structures that enable us to nurture the diversity & thriving of the network. Our governance should be simple to understand, inclusive for all members and a role model for our chapters. At the same time, this is a moment to future-proof our organization in times of uncertainty and increased complexity: there is growing scientific evidence that leading alone is definitely not the way forward. How do we lead and learn together, what do collaboration and participation mean at oikos?

The role of the oikos president is to steward the oikos community and the international team while sharing the student experience of the community with external partners. Over the years, as the movement around sustainability gained in importance, the presidency has become a big responsibility with high workload & pressure. On the inside of oikos, decisions often have been handed over to the president, creating an unhealthy dependence and bottleneck between team, board and community. The question that popped up over the past years: Is our presidency-model still contemporary?  How could we possibly move towards practicing the more participatory leadership we are preaching, and making sure that knowledge keeps evolving in the organization? How to address the roles of the president in a more spacious way, making more air for leadership, strategic guidance, operational support, partnerships and experience-sharing?

The conversation started during the governance updates that made us grow into a truly student-led organization in 2018. It has been picked up again at the end of 2020, with renewed energy and elevated information a year after the transition. After consulting the team and advisory council, we would like to open ourselves to the possibility of 2 presidents, working together as stewards of the team & community, as learning partners towards a more sustainable world. 

Leading together: What does the new model look like?

We aim to have a co-presidency with a 2 years-mandate for each president. The presidential elections will happen on an anual basis in spring, where the community choses the president entering at the end of the year. This allows for a one year overlap between the two presidents’ terms, thereby increasing the continuity, while maintaining the dynamic and improving the efficiency of the handover from the outgoing to the newly elected presidents. We are also considering an internal name shift for the position of president as a way to express our relation to the community (e.g. towards ‘steward’), though we acknowledge that there might still be a need for a more conventional description for outside partners.

We aim to lower the working hours for both presidents to between 70-80% in the long term (from 100%), considering the unsustainability of a 42+ h work week. The arrangement, coordination & split of roles between presidents will be a mix of concise and clear, granular roles and adaptation to context and talent. In general, we will follow a rule of thumb: 1st year presidency: more community/inward focus, 2nd year of presidency: more outward/partners focus. Read more about the roles below.

How does the transition happen? 

After enabling this movement with a constitution update at the beginning of the year, we will start the co-presidency with a pilot at the end of 2021, running the process as envisioned for the years to come except for an additional legislative meeting in Autumn. 

There will be an extended report to the community at the end of 2022 by the two presidents, which will help us to sharpen the procedure and evaluate if this is a helpful approach for us. 

More questions? Here some answers:

What are the Roles of the 2 presidents and how to agree on that?

There are several granular roles to cover as a president, many of them currently can only be attended by stretching the working hours and running from meeting to meeting. Having clarity about these roles and potential additional roles (there might be new roles as we free up certain capacity, eg. community tending, fundraising) will allow a redistribution once the new president joins. The sharpening and agreement of roles will happen in an appreciative conversation, acknowledging that oikos is a complex organization and needs this space to shape the roles together in close collaboration.

Next to several granular roles that are owned by either one or the other, there will be several roles that will/should be shared by both, eg. to better regulate long-term partnerships or help the presidents to navigate the whole community. Partnerships in general should be maintained with a person over the 2-year term, and supported by a long-term employee. Beyond this, each role is enriched to address oikos’ purpose and the personal development needs of the individuals.

The concrete portfolio of roles will be presented at the legislative assembly, when the new president gets elected. 

How do we aim to fundraise for the second president?

We will explore several paths at the same time, e.g.

• Adding budget to existing grants in the next period (eg. P4NE)
• Introducing an oikos Steward Scholarship: this Autumn, we will start a crowdsourcing with multiple stages, framing the presidency as a learning journey. He different barriers in the campaign will include salaries – co-working space – travel to chapters and other things
• For 2021, the available budget for the new community role will be partly allocated to a role of the president, easing the process 

What is the legal situation?

Having 2 presidents is possible thanks to the neutral formulation in the new constitution. The new model will be added to the guideline and elaborated in a field guide. There are no further changes needed that have to be voted upon by the community, but we aspire to communicate as transparently and clearly as possible and value the perspectives of our members with highest priority.

What’s the timeline?

• Check for consent with oI team & advisory council (beginning June)
• Call for an additional Legislative Meeting, incl. call for application (mid-June)
• community-wide communication efforts, incl. onsite meetings in Summer
• Legislative Meeting & election of president before September (mid-August)
• Stepping in of co-president in Nov/Dec

Excited about these developments? We are soon opening the application process for a new co-president and you will be able to apply and become a candidate in the upcoming election. Otherwise, if you wish support us to make this possible, you can do so by donating here. 

Of course we are always happy to elaborate on further questions! Just write us an emailand we can find answers together.

This article is part of a series of articles on oikos Co-Presidency. It offers insights into our decision to shift to Co-Presidency. For further reading:
Open Call: oikos International Co-Presidency 2022-2023 – Do you wish to be a candidate? Find out how to apply.
Extraordinary oikos Legislative Meeting in August – The election process for the first ever oikos Co-President.

We are delighted to announce that oikos Nottingham joined our big oikos family! Nottingham joins London and St. Andrews as the third oikos chapter in the United Kingdom.

We send the warmest of welcomes to the new chapter and look forward to the future sustainable projects at their university’s campus.