Social Enterprise

Sustainability and Climate Solutions

The Global Higher Education Associations for the 21st Century (GHEA 21) and the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College, in collaboration with faculty at other GHEA 21 institutions, offers the Certificate in Sustainability and Climate Solutions. The Certificate can be earned by undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in participating universities. The Certificate is grounded in project-based learning and features global classrooms including students from Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Ghana and the US, among other countries. Students also meet locally and in-person with faculty co-instructors to develop their work.

This Certificate provides leadership training in the critical thinking and skill sets for exploring solutions to today's pressing sustainability and climate challenges. It offers theoretical perspectives and concrete tools designed for students from all disciplines—the arts, natural and social sciences, the humanities--who may want to pursue work in topic areas ranging from climate action, to toxic and plastics pollution, to biodiversity protection and nature-based solutions. It is designed as a low-cost plug-in for universities around the world seeking a program of study in leading social and environmental change . If you are a student at an institution that offers the courses below, please APPLY HERE.

About the program:

The core of the program is offered through GHEA 21 Collaborative Courses. These project-based courses feature global classrooms -- synchronous global webinars-- with students attending from participating universities worldwide. The course may also meet weekly in-person with their local co-instructors to drive their course projects. This means that to earn the certificate, students must be enrolled in a participating university. To find out if your university offers access to the GHEA 21 Collaborative Courses, please contact ebangood@bard.edu.

Students earn the Certificate by completing this course sequence:

Researching Climate Solutions (GHEA 21 Online Course)
Social Entrepreneurship (GHE 21 Network Collaborative Course or GHEA 21 Online Course)
Two other course designated as a Sustainability and Climate Solutions Certificate Course at a GHEA 21 institution.

See the Course Descriptions Below.

To learn more about the certificate, please contact the Director of GPS, Dr. Eban Goodstein, ebangood@bard.edu. Please APPLY HERE.

Who chooses the Certificate in Sustainability and Climate Solustions?

Have you ever thought about ways to help solve some of the world's biggest challenges? This Certificate introduces students from all disciplines-- arts, communciation, design, natural science, social science, engineers and others-- to the skills and mindset needed to drive solutions to sustainability and climate challenges.

GHEA 21 COURSES in the CERTIFICATE

Researching Climate Solutions. (CORE) The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals highlights 17 key areas for global progress, ranging from food security to women’s empowerment to climate change action. One way to achieve these goals is through social enterprise: for-profit and non-profit organizations whose mission is to advance one or more of the SDGs. This collaborative, cross-institution course explores the global drivers of change that led to the UN SDG’s, with a particular focus on Social Enterprise solutions. The course combines in-person instruction with a global classroom, where students convene each week in a common zoom space to share ideas. Participating schools have included BRAC University in Bangladesh, the American Universities of Central Asia (in Kyrgyzstan) and of Bulgaria, Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, Bard and others. The experiential component of the course engages students in conducting shared research projects on local enterprise ecosystems focused on solutions to the SDG’s.

Social Entrepreneurship. (CORE) In this course, students develop their own ideas for non-profit or for-profit businesses that work to solve social and environmental challenges. The course combines in-person instruction with a global classroom, where students convene each week in a common zoom space to share ideas. Participating schools have included BRAC University in Bangladesh, the American Universities of Central Asia (in Kyrgyzstan) and of Bulgaria, Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, Bard and others. Past certificate courses have incubated powerful social business ideas in Bangladesh and the US. The course culminates in a “shark tank for sustainability” among and between teams from the different universities. The course includes readings and discussion focused on social issues related to entrepreneurship: drivers of change, from decarbonization to AI; delinking growth from material throughput; urban-based innovation ecosystems; social obstacles to risk taking; working on multi-disciplinary teams; language, power and gender dynamics in entrepreneurship; deconstructing the archetypes of entrepreneurship.

Leading Change for Sustainability. (ELECTIVE) This course focuses on how to create progressive change with an organization. Student teams develop and advance proposals for organizational innovation within their university or their workplace. Examples might include net zero global warming goals, expansion of local food offerings, improved daycare or transportation for students and workers, or improved recycling system. The course combines in-person instruction with a global classroom, where students convene each week in a common zoom space to share ideas. Participating schools have included BRAC University in Bangladesh, the American Universities of Central Asia (in Kyrgyzstan) and of Bulgaria, Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, Bard and others. Past certificate courses have incubated powerful social business ideas in Bangladesh and the US. Topics include leadership skills; critical conversations; understanding why change fails more often than it succeeds; key factors that drive successful organizational change; the role of the change facilitator; and tools for designing and facilitating processes that bring forth the group intelligence.