Courses in Sustainability
Yes
Sustainability course is
Optional
Description
Brief descriptions of select courses are listed below; full course descriptions can be found at: https://www.babson.edu/academics/graduate-school/course-catalog/
Graduate Courses
MOB 7529: Leading Sustainable Innovation (1.5 credits)
This course is focused on designing and developing sustainability-oriented innovations for growth.?
MFE 7500: Lewis Institute MCFE (1.5 or 3 credits)
The Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) offers students the opportunity to gain practical industry experience while working with professionals in the business community. The Lewis Institute MCFE is a consulting experience focused on social and sustainable enterprises.
EPS 9555: Public Policy Entrepreneurship (1.5 credits)
Public Policy Entrepreneurship is a 1.5 credit intensive elective focused on applying Entrepreneurial Thought and Action to answering questions around policy challenges at all levels -- local, regional, national, international.
EPS 7539: Future Trends in EPS Ventures (1.5 credits)
Changing industry and market forces create scalable, emergent markets for new ventures. Entrepreneurs and Corporate Innovators who can grasp future trends have a distinct advantage in being able to focus their efforts where opportunities and markets converge.
MOB 7548: Leading for Social Value (1.5 credits)?
This course will build on some of the most current thinking around the design, execution and assessment of "triple bottom line" leadership strategies.
MSM 6110: Global Entrepreneurship Experience (3 credits)
A travel study course to explore an international entrepreneurial ecosystem and to develop students' global mindsets as entrepreneurial leaders.
MOB 7518: Solving Big Problems (3 credits)
Big problems are those that if solved even partly will transform industries, change the way we live, and greatly better people's lives. This elective course is about the nature of big problems, the pioneers who solve them, and how they do so.
MBA 7502: FutureLab: Mobility Opportunities (3 credits)
FutureLab: Mobility Opportunities course offers students the opportunity to experience the action learning approach to real-world mobility issues and opportunities.
MBA 7503: FutureLab: Mobility Innovation (3 credits)
FutureLab: Mobility Opportunities course offers students the opportunity to experience the action learning approach to real-world mobility issues and opportunities.
FIN 7531: Impact Investing and Social Finance (1.5 credits)
On the micro level, students learn how to identify the capital needs of a diverse set of mission-driven businesses and initiatives, devise impact theses and strategies for a range of investors, and work in teams to source, research and pitch investment opportunities. On the macro level, students learn to analyze impact investment strategies of private and public entities from around the world, and examine what policies and practices are needed to accelerate these strategies to fund the Sustainable Development Goals.
MIS 7525: Agile Experimentation (1.5 credits)
In this course, students learn about the agile digital startup and follow agile principles to conceive and create an IoT solution with a clear value proposition that is focused on both economic and social value. AgileEx is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable innovations combining hardware and software elements. The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments and can participate in the development of innovative technological solutions with hardware and software components.
MIS 7535: Thought Leadership in Technology (3 credits)
A technology thought leader has a well-developed understanding and ways of reasoning about the impact of technology on business and society; can identify patterns of technological transformation; can critically evaluate emerging ideas, practices and technologies; and is sought after because of their ability to contribute to the conversation, inspire and lead change. As future managers, executives, entrepreneurs and consultants, graduate students in business should identify and walk their path towards technology thought leadership. Through research, reflection, peer critique, presentations and extensive writing, this course will help you develop a personal and critical understanding of technology in your area of interest, publish your insights, position yourself as an emergent technology thought leader, and promote your professional growth.
FIN 7517: Finance for a Changing World (3 credits)
This course will examine the concepts of 'going green' and sustainability in the context of finance and value creation.
MBA 7541: Building and Leading Conscious Business (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of the approach to business known as Conscious Capitalism, which challenges business leaders to re-think why their organizations exist and to acknowledge their company's role in the interdependent global marketplace and ecosystem.
EPS7543: Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Design in Sweden (3 credits)?
Entrepreneurial leaders excel in acting with limited information, maximizing outputs from limited resources, and managing uncertainty in dynamic conditions. In this course, students will have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge and past professional experiences to practice these facets of entrepreneurial leadership in Stockholm, Sweden.
MBA7506 COVID Sprint (3 credits)
The Covid Sprint is an intensive five week learning and problem solving experience. The Sprint will deploy small teams made up of graduate and undergraduate students, Babson faculty members experienced in real-world problem solving, and subject matter experts. Each team will be paired with an organization or business, and will work to develop innovative solutions to mobility related challenges in the Covid 19 pandemic and its aftermath.?
Research Opportunities in Sustainability
Yes
Description
Faculty from across Babson's academic divisions do a wide variety of sustainability research. Students are encouraged to work with them to conduct research on sustainability issues, from climate change and ecology to supply chain management to social entrepreneurship. As an example, one student is currently creating a series of Babson-related case studies and profiles that tie to the UN Global Goals, and will be hosted on the Solutions Journalism Storytracker database.
https://solutionsu.solutionsjournalism.org/search
The Office of Sustainability offers funding to support student research in sustainability for conference presentations and other research initiatives. Finally, the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation offers "Inventureships" to place students into social or sustainable organizations for practical, hands-on research and professional learning, as well as "Board Fellows", which is an experiential learning program that places Babson MBA students and alumni as nonvoting members of nonprofit Boards.
Business & Social Innovation Intensity Track: https://www.babson.edu/academics/centers-and-institutes/the-lewis-institute/active-learning/social-innovation-intensity-track/
Inventureships:
https://www.babson.edu/academics/centers-and-institutes/the-lewis-institute/active-learning/inventureships/?
Babson Board Fellows Program:
https://www.babson.edu/academics/centers-and-institutes/the-lewis-institute/active-learning/board-fellows/?
School's environmental commitment 1:
First and foremost, Babson exists to educate the future business leaders of the world to create great economic and social value simultaneously. We strive to integrate sustainability into every aspect of our business and entrepreneurship pedagogy, and have a goal of ensuring literacy around the UN Global Goals with each of our students before graduation to ensure that this is the lens by which they will go out into their careers. We have been partnering closely with Solutions Journalism to create a Babson-related series of cases that showcase solutions to some of the world?s toughest challenges.
Both the Office of Sustainability and the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation offer a wide range of sustainability opportunities and programs, and support student engagement in sustainability, ranging from placing MBA students on non-profit boards and advising student startups that have social and environmental values to hosting Babson's annual Babson Sustainability Forum. The Lewis Institute offers a Social Entrepreneurship Intensity Track, our version of an MBA concentration, which features several dedicated sustainability electives, as described elsewhere. In addition to this dedicated sustainability concentration, we also integrate sustainability into the core required business classes, from cases involving social enterprises to the inclusion of social and environmental metrics in courses such as "Measuring & Managing Strategic Performance".
School's environmental commitment 2:
Babson has taken steps to practice what it preaches by reducing its own environmental footprint. Since our 2006 baseline year, we have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 35% through measures such as energy efficiency efforts, purchasing renewable energy, and electrifying heating and cooling systems. We have also reduced our material and waste footprints by integrating sustainability into our procurement process for large, institution-wide purchases. Some outcomes from this process have included standards for sustainably sourced food provided by our campus dining vendor, and single-stream recycling and composting. We involve our students in these sustainability efforts as much as possible. Reynolds Crossroads, one of our dining facilities, received an ASHEE Green Restaurant Star 3 Certification last year.
School's environmental commitment 3:
Babson also facilitates and promotes awareness around sustainable living for our staff, faculty, students, and alumni. For example, we have installed twelve electric vehicle charging stations and provided information about public transportation alternatives for a greener commute. We also promote healthy and sustainable dining, such as vegetarian and vegan meals and reusable containers.