The Blekinge Institute of Technology has announced the creation of a unique, one-year international masters program entitled “Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability,” based on The Natural Step Framework. The institute is located in Karlskrona, a picturesque city on the south coast of Sweden.

Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, internationally recognized for his contribution to the understanding of sustainability and founder of The Natural Step, Sweden, will be leading this course development.

The first class, of approximately 50-60 students, will enter the program in fall of 2004.

The program, conducted entirely in English, represents new capabilities in education and training for The Natural Step. For the first time, professionals in a wide variety of fields can receive deep education in The Natural Step’s sustainability Framework, an internationally recognized model for guiding strategy towards sustainability.

This masters program is offered at Campus Gräsvik, situated in a beautiful area close to the Baltic Sea and near the town of Karlskrona. The small, intimate campus setting allows for a focus on learning as well as relationship building between students from different parts of the world. Small class size ensures individual attention for each student as they progress through their studies.

The nine-month program is divided into four study periods. The first two will be primarily for course work, and will focus on topics including: The Natural Step’s framework, strategic management, planning hierarchy, and electives. Students will also be encouraged to seek out and identify their own specific interest in applying the framework. This will form the basis for a research project (periods three and four) and the completion of a thesis. The goal is to help students become strategic planners with a structured understanding of sustainable development.

At the end of this program, each masters degree graduate will:

• Have a thorough understanding of an intellectually strict, widely applicable framework for sustainable development (The Natural Step’s framework)
• Be able to apply the framework in a range of situations with complementary tools and concepts
• Have demonstrated an in-depth, sophisticated application of the framework through one major research project
• Possess a professional, pedagogical toolkit that includes a basic understanding of presentation, facilitation, and coaching techniques, team building and leadership skills related to organizational change

Extensive group work and learning will be encouraged throughout the program. Upon successful completion of the degree, a “Masters of Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability” will be granted.

Distinguished professors and instructors bring expertise and training from a variety of relevant fields including: environmental management, public policy, resource management, civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering, sustainable farming, sustainable materials, strategic consulting, economics, business, and organizational change.

This masters program will enable 50 or more leaders in the field to return to the professional world each year with skills shaped by a systems perspective on sustainability. Wherever these graduates apply their skills, they will be armed with a concrete set of tools grounded in The Natural Step’s framework, prepared to contribute to a more sustainable world.

For more information on The Blekinge Institute of Technology masters program, contact:

David Waldron
Blekinge Institute of Technology
371 79 Karlskrona, SWEDEN
david.waldron@bth.se

About The Natural Step
Since 1989, The Natural Step has been guiding companies and governments onto an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable path. An international advisory and research organization, The Natural Step works with some of the largest resource users on the planet to create new models of sustainable enterprise and tools designed to accelerate global sustainability.

For more information: www.naturalstep.org

About The Blekinge Institute of Technology

The motto of the Blekinge Institute of Technology is 'Quality and Concern'. The training and education offered at the Institute are of the very finest international standards. The Blekinge Institute is proud to offer top quality training and education in creative, modern surroundings, together with an exceptionally attractive environment strategically located by the Baltic Sea.

For more information: http://www.bth.se/tmslm