Study trip to the University of Edinburgh

Armed with a wealth of professional and intercultural experiences, the master’s students in “integrated management systems” / “integrated management” returned home from this year’s study trip.

Sustainability is a module in the “Integrated Management Systems” / “Integrated Management” Master's degree programmes. What specific projects exist on this topic, and what experiences have others gained in this area? We found answers to these questions during this year’s study trip to the University of Edinburgh. There, we discussed the university’s sustainability management practices with the Department of “Social Responsibility and Sustainability” at the University of Edinburgh. This has a long tradition there; the university adopted its sustainability policy as early as 2000, and currently about 30 staff members are working to integrate sustainability topics into teaching, research, operations, and collaboration at the university; the university aims to be climate-neutral by 2040.

The “European Students for Sustainability Auditing” project, in which students from various European countries conduct sustainability audits at the University of Edinburgh, has provided us with important insights for our own internal auditing practices. Colleagues from the University of Edinburgh listened with interest to the presentation of our “Modular System for a Sustainable Campus” and our experiences.

Another highlight of the trip was participating in the two-day “World Symposium on Social Responsibility and Sustainability,” which was hosted by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Approximately 60 representatives from all continents of the world reported on their efforts to implement sustainable development. Markus Will presented our team’s research approach, titled “An Inquiry to Consider CSR in Integrated Management Systems,” and was awarded the “Best Paper Award” for it.

Congratulations on this achievement! Study trips also serve to get to know the country and its people. We didn’t miss out on that either—we visited Edinburgh, Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond, and much more, and returned home brimming with professional and intercultural experiences...

There will soon be another blog post about the study trip to Edinburgh by student Johanna Kluge on the HSZG’s “Hin und Weg” blog.

We would like to express our sincere thanks for the support provided for this trip by the PROMOS program and the “Student Services & International Affairs” division.