Leaders and managers across sectors are facing growing demands to drive social and environmental sustainability forward in their organisations and respond decisively to a growing global crisis – but how can we do this? We live in an increasingly complex world. The sustainability challenges we face exist at a nexus of interconnected stakeholders, systems, and perspectives. How can we develop and drive solutions for the biggest challenges of today and tomorrow in a context of rapid change and uncertainty?

The SuM-HSG enables students to accompany their bachelor studies at the University of St.Gallen with a certificate programme that provides the tools and skills to understand and effectively tackle complex sustainability challenges. Through coursework and applied projects, students will gain hands-on experience making decisions, collaborating across sectors and generations, and building practical interventions to drive progress on sustainability from a systemic perspective.

Starting in fall 2024, the SuM provides you with the tools and skills to understand and effectively tackle complex sustainability challenges in your future career. You will learn to build partnerships, make decisions, devise solutions, and implement initiatives essential to driving progress towards a sustainable future. The SuM, granting 24 ECTS, is open to students of all bachelor’s programmes at HSG.

Application is now open until end of June!

Im Rahmen unseres Masterzertifikats Managing Climate Solutions – MaCS-HSG entwickelten HSG-Studierende über 3 Kohorten hinweg die Idee, das Dach der HSG-Sporthalle mit Solarpaneelen zu bedecken – finanziert durch 112 HSG-Studierenden, Professor:innen, Mitarbeitenden, Alumni und weiteren Investor:innen aus St.Gallen und anderen Teilen der Schweiz. Bis zur Umsetzung durchlief das Projekt viele Etappen. Entstanden ist sie in Kooperation mit dem Schweizer Solarunternehmen Solarify. Seit November 2023 produziert die Anlage Strom. Im Rahmen eines Festaktes und in Anwesenheit des Rektors der HSG, Prof. Manuel Ammann, der Regierungsrätin des Kantons, Susanne Hartmann, dem akademischen Leiter des MaCS-Programms, Prof. Wüstenhagen und einigen Studierenden aus den 3 MaCS-Kohorten wurde die Anlage offiziell in Betrieb genommen.

=> HIER weitere Infos im Video der MaCS-Studierenden

Anfang März wurden an der grössten Reisemesse der Welt, der ITB Berlin, in Zusammenarbeit mit der Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tourismuswissenschaft e.V. (DGT) die renommierten DGT-ITB Wissenschaftspreise verliehen. Dr. Adrian Müller (rechts im Bild) sicherte sich die Auszeichnung für die «beste Arbeit zum Thema Nachhaltigkeit im #Tourismus» mit seiner Doktorarbeit, in der er sich mit der Dekarbonisierung von Geschäftsreisen beschäftigte. Doktorvater Prof. Rolf Wüstenhagen und sein Lehrstuhl-Team gratulieren herzlich zu dieser Leistung.

We warmly welcome Dr Nina Schneider as a newly appointed senior lecturer of Managing Climate Solutions as of 1 February 2024 and wish her every success!

Dr. Nina Schneider has several years of experience in designing and implementing innovative courses in the fields of climate change, circular economy, and sustainability. After studying in Vienna and North Carolina as well as completing her PhD, supported by the European research programme Horizon 2020, she worked as a project leader and lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg. At HSG, she will teach in the Master’s certificate Managing Climate Solutions #MaCSHSG and will also take on the role of administrative programme manager.

Dr. Nina Schneider’s research on social acceptance of wind energy in Austria, Germany and Switzerland has been published in peer-reviewed international journals such as Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Energy Policy and Energy Research and Social Science. With her expertise and international experience, she will be a valuable addition to the research team at the Institute for Economy and the Environment IWÖ-HSG. The new senior lectureship is one of two positions created to fill the gap left by Merla Kubli, who took up a tenure track assistant professorship at TU Delft in September 2023. The second new appointment in Managing Climate Solutions will take effect on August 1st, 2024 – stay tuned!

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We warmly welcome Prof. Adrian Rinscheid as a newly appointed Assistant Professor for Climate Policy and Decision Making with Tenure Track as of February 1, 2024.

Prof. Adrian Rinscheid earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Administration from the University of Konstanz (DE) and completed his Ph.D. at the University of St.Gallen in 2019. His research focuses on the socio-political and behavioral aspects of global challenges posed by climate change, emphasizing inequality effects of climate change and public policies, and complex political processes related to decarbonization.

Prof. Rinscheid has extensive experience in qualitative and quantitative social science methods and is well-connected internationally. His work is published in prestigious journals across political science and interdisciplinary fields. As a lecturer, he prioritizes interactive discussions and effective integration of digital technology and in-person teaching.

Before joining us, Prof. Adrian Rinscheid was an Assistant Professor with Tenure Track at Radboud University Nijmegen (NL) since September 2022. Prof. Rinscheid will be working at the School of Economics and Political Science (SEPS-HSG) and will be affiliated with IWÖ-HSG.

125 years of HSG. At the end of the anniversary year the “Clicker” was unveiled on Dec. 4, 2023.  A sculpture made from recycled plastic, created by the English mixed media artist Lewis Davidson on behalf of the University of St.Gallen. Vernissage took place with talks and a panel discussion. Judith Walls spoke about the ecological aspect of plastic.

Curious to know what Judith Walls and Kerrigan Unter have been up to in terms of biodiversity data when it comes to unblocking the information flow to companies, NGOs, governments and civil society?

With this Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS) grant, they spent 18 months studying this topic, in collaboration with Luca Fumagalli and PJ Stephenson at the University of Lausanne, Maria Cecilia Londoño and Jorge Amador Moncada at the Humboldt Institute in Colombia, and Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu and Louise Sawyerr at the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research, University of Ghana.

From the business angle, they have been working with data from Spatial Risk Systems and Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) as data partners in this project.

The video explains it all!

Why does Austria have more than 1’300 wind turbines while there are less than 50 in Switzerland? Read more about this empirical puzzle in a new article published by Dr. Nina Schneider and Prof. Dr. Adrian Rinscheid:

• Qualitative content analysis and discourse network analysis of 808 newspaper articles.

• Identifying four distinct storylines used to delegitimize or legitimize wind energy.

• Delegitimizing storylines are more prevalent in the Swiss discourse.

• In Austria, there is more consistent support for wind energy in the public discourse.

• Conceptually bridging research on technology legitimacy and social acceptance of innovations.