Students in the School's court yard — The students' opinions are important for the School's development.

Photo: Carina Gran

Students rate the School’s positive impact

Published

18 June 2021

at

When the second edition of the Positive Impact Rating was presented yesterday, the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg once again positioned itself as a "progressing school". In this international evaluation, students at business schools evaluate their own university based on its positive impact on society, in order to develop education, research and other operations.

“The students' assessment makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing development of the School. Their comments confirm much of what we do, but their demands are tough, and that encourages us to do more. Our greatest opportunity to influence society is through our alumni. It is important that they bring with them knowledge and tools to be able to handle sustainability challenges and make important contributions to a sustainable society”, says Marie Stenseke, Deputy Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Law and responsible for sustainability issues.

Integration of sustainable development

The Positive Impact Rating (PIR) is based on students' perceptions of their university and its positive impact on societal development. This has become increasingly important, not least in view of the objectives of the UN's 17 global sustainability goals. Impact on society has also become increasingly important in other evaluations of business schools, for example in EQUIS and AACSB, which are two of the international accreditations that the School of Business, Economics and Law holds.

Since 2013, sustainability has been included in all undergraduate programmes at the School, including three mandatory sustainability days - “Sustainability Days” - with a focus on challenges, responsibilities and solutions. The curricula for all programs include learning objectives linked to sustainable development. The goal is an integration of sustainable development in all programmes at both undergraduate and advanced level, with the ambition to be at the forefront in comparison with corresponding programmes nationally and internationally.

Key aspect for students

The students who participate in the survey rate their higher education institutions in a number of areas, including governance and culture, programme offerings and course content, public engagement and how well the school serves as a role model in the area of sustainability. They also state in free text what they want their own university to stop doing, continue to do and start doing. The students at the School of Business, Economics and Law appreciate the mandatory sustainability days and that sustainability is included in courses, but want to see an even better integration of the sustainability perspective in all courses.

“It is clear that sustainable development is a key aspect for students today when choosing their university. We are proud of the students for continuously pushing the School of Business, Economic and Law to become a more sustainable school and give the students the tools and knowledge they need to do their part in dealing with the biggest challenge of our time – the climate crisis. We hope this means that the School will take direct action to improve the sustainability of the School to meet the demands of the students, and to do their part in contributing to a more sustainable society”, says Olivia Lind, Vice President of the Student Union of the School, HHGS.

About the Positive Impact Rating (PIR)

The Positive Impact Rating was initiated in 2017 by a large group of academics and institutional leaders from the management educational field, with the intention to support fundamental change in the business school sector with regards to the schools' societal responsibility and impact. Anders Sandoff, senior lecturer in business administration, and Mattias Sundemo, environmental coordinator, from the School of Business, Economics and Law participated in the development. The ambition was to support a development of business schools regarding their responsibility and impact on societal development. The purpose of PIR is partly to function as a tool for students before selecting a university, but above all that business schools should develop by learning and taking inspiration from each other. The non-profit association PIR is based in Switzerland. The collection of data takes place with the help of student organizations at the participating business schools.

This year's PIR was presented on 17 June under the UN initiative PRME's (Principles for Responsible Management Education) Global Forum, which is arranged digitally together with the Global Compact.

47 schools from 21 countries on four continents participated in this year's survey. A total of 8.800 students participated. 137 students from the School of Business, Economics and Law participated.

Link to the rapporten