The student-led SensAbility conference features an illustrious panel of guests and speakers
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Social Impact@WHU
Conscious awareness of the world around us –
Continued sustainable development of the School.
The environmental and social hurdles we are facing today cannot be overcome alone. Challenges like global warming, natural resource depletion, the wage gap, population growth, and pollution can only be resolved with collective support for the cause. We are an institution established upon the premise that education is vital to the further enhancement of society. We are therefore also tasked with the responsibility to give our students not only a traditional business education, but to imbue degree of conscious awareness of the world around them on a social and environmental level.
This website does well to illustrate WHU’s projects and pursuits under the lenses of sustainability and social responsibility, ranging from education, research, corporate networks, community service, and administrative efforts. We find it very important that the School developing sustainability is not just about checking the 'environmentally friendly box' but rather that we truly embrace the cause and that all members of the WHU community are involved in our sustainability efforts.
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Impressive 1st place result for WHU's sustainability research
In a new study conducted by the Rotterdam School of Management that analyzes how intensely business schools focus on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their research, WHU has ranked #1 in Germany and #11 worldwide. The Financial Times published the results of this analysis as part of a special report on responsible business education, evincing how important contributions made by business schools such as WHU can help realize higher levels of sustainability—not only for the economy, but also for the environment and the whole of society.
Environmental sustainability at WHU
"Greening" the campus –
Meeting high environmental standards.
In terms of environmental sustainability, recent infrastructural improvements to the WHU campuses in Vallendar and Düsseldorf enable WHU to meet the highest environmental standards. A sustainability check was carried out to provide the School with valuable insights concerning areas where WHU could make an even larger contribution to the sustainable use of natural resources. Together with the TSB (Transferstelle Bingen) of Bingen University we are looking for ways to create more efficient and environmentally friendly energy in the areas of heating, air circulation, lighting and cooling systems. These efforts are hoped to make our campus greener by reducing the amount of resources used.
WHU offers its employees an array of offers that support environmentally friendly transportation and in turn, increase the attractiveness of the working environment at WHU. Employees can choose between four environmentally friendly mobility options: ‘Jobticket’ for public transport (VRM Job ticket for Campus Vallendar and Rheinbahn Job ticket for Campus Düsseldorf), JobRad (bike and eBike leasing), the use of car-charging devices installed on Campus Vallendar that use 100% green electricity, and e-carsharing with the use of an electric car located on Campus Vallendar.
Since April 2020, WHU has a double charging station for electric cars with 2x11-KW charging power on Campus Vallendar.The charging station is powered with 100% green energy and is there to service the e-cars of the WHU community. The charging station may also be used by the local community meaning also non-WHU members.
WHU began using its first photovoltaic system on the roofs of buildings F, G, and H in 2021. The modules installed provide total power of nearly 58 kWp (kilowatt peak). Most of the energy produced is used by WHU itself. By using this self-generated energy, WHU will be able to reduce its CO2 emission by up to 30,445 kg/year. WHU is planning to install more solar panels on the roofs of more buildings over the next few years.
Study at WHU
Joining a sustainable environment –
Showing courage and commitment!
All programs at WHU are designed to foster personal growth and prepare our students for a managerial position in the business world. Therefore, an entrepreneurial attitude and responsible leadership are strongly encouraged and supported in the curricula. Ethics, responsibility, and sustainability have been integrated into the curricula and program designs, courses, and other learning formats since the School’s foundation. All WHU programs include semesters or modules abroad, which sharpen intercultural competence and raise awareness about global economic, environmental, and social issues.
Students are challenged on various social impact topics in numerous courses at WHU, such as Creating Social Value , Sustainability in the Food Supply Chain, Sustainable Urban Transport, Sustainable mega sport events: Oxymoron or reality? , Sustainable Entrepreneurship and New Business Development and Health Economics, Policy and Management.
Next to the undergraduate (BSc in International Business Administration) and graduate programs (MSc in Management, MSc in Finance, MSc in Entrepreneurship, MSc in International Business, Part-Time MA in Management), WHU offers Full-Time and Part-Time MBA programs, a Global Online MBA Program, a Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program and Executive Education. All the degree programs, as well as majority of the executive programs are taught completely in English.
Study at WHU
Joining a sustainable environment –
Showing courage and commitment!
All programs at WHU are designed to foster personal growth and prepare our students for a managerial position in the business world. Therefore, an entrepreneurial attitude and responsible leadership are strongly encouraged and supported in the curricula. Ethics, responsibility, and sustainability have been integrated into the curricula and program designs, courses, and other learning formats since the School’s foundation. All WHU programs include semesters or modules abroad, which sharpen intercultural competence and raise awareness about global economic, environmental, and social issues.
Students are challenged on various social impact topics in numerous courses at WHU, such as Creating Social Value , Sustainability in the Food Supply Chain, Sustainable Urban Transport, Sustainable mega sport events: Oxymoron or reality? , Sustainable Entrepreneurship and New Business Development and Health Economics, Policy and Management.
Next to the undergraduate (BSc in International Business Administration) and graduate programs (MSc in Management, MSc in Finance, MSc in Entrepreneurship, MSc in International Business, Part-Time MA in Management), WHU offers Full-Time and Part-Time MBA programs, a Global Online MBA Program, a Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program and Executive Education. All the degree programs, as well as majority of the executive programs are taught completely in English.
Putting theory into action:
Future Leaders Fundraising Challenge
Social responsibility –
Teaching leadership through experience.
The Future Leaders Fundraising Challenge is a one-week leadership course at the outset of WHU’s MBA Program. It is designed to teach leadership through experience, to introduce topics covered in the MBA Program, and instill in students a lasting sense of leaders’ social responsibility beyond their organizations. The students work in teams and face a different challenge every day. The ideas and the funds that the students raise during the week benefit children's rights organizations. Since its inception in April 2016, MBA students have raised around €400,000 for charity.
General Management Plus Program
Develop as a leader -
Create social impact.
Boost your General Management skills with the General Management Plus Program: By combining the WHU Management Essentials Program with the Capability Program, which we conduct in cooperation with BOOKBRIDGE, we offer you the opportunity to obtain a WHU Mini MBA certificate with 15 ECTS. At the same time, we empower you to transform yourself and your organization with purpose. You will enhance your general management skills in the areas of finance, leadership, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Facilitated by BOOKBRIDGE, you will establish a real-life and fully independent social enterprise in a deprived community during the Capability Program.
Learn more about the student clubs at WHU that address topics such as sustainability and social impact:
3 Day Startup
WHU Founders BootcampThis event aims to foster startup ideas and help participants find their cofounders by connecting the participants in small groups of four to six participants. The group works over the course of 3 days on their idea and pitches it on the final day. Unlike many other initiatives, this is not a conference but rather a handson bootcamp that not only aims to connect people but also to create something over the course of these three days. This makes the planning very different from other initiatives where the magic happens on its own, namely by the speakers giving speeches and participants networking.
Business Meets Tech
WHU's Tech InitiativeBusiness Meets Tech aims to connect the tech and business world on campus through internal education (two accredited tech tracks in Applied Product Development and Applied Data Science and workshops): particularly by the organization of a 24h hackathon as a preevent of IdeaLab! (most recently attended by 150 students from all over Europe), supporting the digitalization of processes at WHU: e.g. developing Moodle 2.0, managing VallerLunch, and building a network (connections to toptier tech universities and monthly events).
Diversity at WHU
Diversity and Equal RightsDiversity at WHU is a studentnetwork aimed at fostering diversityrelated topics within the WHU Community. The group provides information and guidance for navigating diversity and, thereby, supports students’ understanding of the topic and the university’s measures for becoming more diverse. The group organizes an annual Diversity Week, which provides the WHU community with various opportunities to learn about all dimensions of diversity, discuss current approaches, and get in touch with each other. In 2020 via a digital format, Diversity Week covered a record number of diversity & inclusion topics, featuring speakers such as WHU Alumna and German Diversity Award Winner (2020) Lina Maria Kotschedoff on “Diversity is an attitude not a management approach” and Apollo CEO Dr. Jörg Ehmer on “The Diversity Discourse”.
forumWHU
Wirtschaft in der VerantwortungEvery year, over 200 students from renowned universities in Germany and the EU meet with decisionmakers from business and politics on the WHU campus to discuss current topics from the fields of business, politics and society. The topic of 2020 was “Forward Thinking – The Decade of Change”. The event addressed questions such as “How do we want to shape our future?” And, “What do we have to do today to enable the life of tomorrow?” Speakers included Christian Wulff (Bundespräsident a.D.), Christian Lindner (Member of the German Bundestag) and Dr. Erich Vad (former security advisor to Angela Merkel).
IdeaLab!
WHU Founders' ConferenceThe IdeaLab! – WHU Founders’ Conference is one of Europe’s leading conferences on startups and entrepreneurship entirely organized by 12 WHU students. In it’s 20th year in 2020, it is renowned for offering a platform for the exchange of ideas and visions between students, academics, entrepreneurs and VC’s. Attendees appreciate the quality networking opportunities and meaningful connections which can be made here, such as the startup DailyDeal, which secured its first financing here and was later sold to Google for more than $100 million.
Saidia Consulting
Die Pro Bono Beratung an der WHUSaidia provides consulting services for socially engaged undertakings, e.g., voluntary and educational institutions as well as social startups. Through the combination of acquired business knowledge and practical expertise, students create further value for clients in a sustainable way. Recent projects include supporting the AMES Foundation in protection of some of the most endangered species in Africa and Children for a Better world in support of preventing negative effects of child poverty in Germany.
SensAbility
The WHU Impact SummitThis conference has been a unique platform ever since its inception, having hosted more than 250 international students, entrepreneurs, young professionals and investors. The diverse and exciting program includes inspirational speeches, handson workshops, a panel discussion, the pitch battle, and countless networking opportunities. Over the course of two unforgettable days, attendees from all over the world are inspired towards impactful economic behaviour and corporate social responsibility. The ninth SensAbility conference was held in March 2019 with the theme “Innovation – Driving Sustainable Consumption”. While 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, the 2021 conference with the theme “People, Planet, Profit – Business Redefined” is planned in a completely digital format.
SmartUp!
The WHU Entrepreneur NetworkThe mission of SmartUp! is to foster the entrepreneurial culture and network at WHU while helping its members acquire the knowledge and capabilities necessary to become better entrepreneurs. SmartUp! hosts regular oncampus workshops with experienced entrepreneurs, especially WHU founders, and organizes yearly tours to a selected set of startups from various industries.
Start-Up Academy
by Jugend gründet & WHUThe aim is to inspire students about entrepreneurship over a twoday event where participants learn more about the startup scene through interactive speeches, creative workshops, and networking opportunities. Around 200 local high school students from grade 10 onwards participate in our event free of charge.
TEDxWHU
Independently organized TED eventTEDxWHU provides a platform for revolutionary, inspiring, and creative thinkers. It is designed to stimulate dialogues through a TEDlike experience. TEDxWHU is an immersive, daylong conference with numerous speakers. The conference offers networking opportunities between speeches, as well as a Meet & Eat during which participants can interact directly with the speakers. The sixth conference in February 2020 was on the subject “Future 2020 – Anything is possible?”.
Tradity meets WHU
Gamifying EducationTradity works to improve financial education in Germany through: workshops, trading simulation for students (attended by 15,000 participants so far), cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education, and the organization of a conference with about 100 participants on finance, banking and programming each year.
WHU-Campus for ...
SeriesThis portfolio of annual conferences professionally organized by WHU students and/or faculty members is potentially the most visible sign of extracurricular academic student activity. Several of the conferences address issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
WHU Entrepreneurship Roundtable
An Initiative of MBA studentsThe Roundtable is a platform for MBA students to discuss business ideas, practice pitching, and receive expert advice about startups and entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Roundtable organizes worldclass events to establish a network and exchange between VCs, CVCs, founders, legal experts, and business professionals. The sixth Entrepreneurship Roundtable entitled “Mobile Banks and FinTech Startups: Transforming Financial Markets” took place in April 2019 at WHU Campus Düsseldorf. Speakers such as Doris Dietze (Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance) and Ulrich Coenen (Commerzbank) covered upcoming trends and technologies and their impact on traditional banks, banking startups and insurtech startups.
WHU First Responder e.V.
Contributing to a valuable communal livingWHU First Responder e.V. provides qualified emergency services from students who have taken an extensive fourmonth medical emergency training course, who volunteer as first responders to provide first aid before emergency personnel arrives. Members have treated a variety of medical emergencies since 2003 and can be reached via the usual emergency number 112 for internal emergencies. The group has a direct and immediate impact in Vallendar and the surrounding area. They are financed by donations which are used to purchase medical equipment and maintain active service, including the recent purchase of a new emergency vehicle equipped with a special signaling system and extensive medical equipment. The group also conducts three blood donation drives in Vallendar every year.
WHUSH
WHU Students HelpThe aim of the initiative is to “press pause” in a fastpaced world, to be grateful for what we have, and to encourage students to give back. A recurring event is the annual Christmas charity concert, in which students from the WHU community get together to perform a vivid music program. Donations collected during the last event went to the Koblenz children’s hospital. Regular projects concerning the community in Vallendar are also consistently on the agenda.
SensAbility - The WHU Impact Summit
THE 11TH WHU IMPACT SUMMIT IN MARCH/APRIL 2023
Ever since 2010, SensAbility - The WHU Impact Summit has been a unique platform for more than 250 international students, entrepreneurs, young professionals and investors. The diverse and exciting program includes inspirational speeches, hands-on workshops, a panel discussion, the pitch battle, and countless networking opportunities. Over the course of two unforgettable days, attendees from all over the world are inspired towards impactful economic behaviour and corporate social responsibility.
SensAbility - The WHU Impact Summit
THE 11TH WHU IMPACT SUMMIT IN MARCH/APRIL 2023
Ever since 2010, SensAbility - The WHU Impact Summit has been a unique platform for more than 250 international students, entrepreneurs, young professionals and investors. The diverse and exciting program includes inspirational speeches, hands-on workshops, a panel discussion, the pitch battle, and countless networking opportunities. Over the course of two unforgettable days, attendees from all over the world are inspired towards impactful economic behaviour and corporate social responsibility.
Research focus
At WHU there are a number of chairs and centers that focus their efforts and resources entirely on exploring subjects such as sustainability, responsibility, and ethics.
Center for Responsible Leadership
The Center for Responsible Leadership is research-based as well as practice-oriented and serves as a platform for interaction between companies and scientists. Its aim is to provide a basis for teaching and knowledge creation in the field of leadership, business ethics and entrepreneurship, and to create awareness for social responsibility and personal development.
Mercator Endowed Chair of Demand Management & Sustainable Transport
The Mercator Endowed Chair of Demand Management & Sustainable Transport is a significant addition in the fields of logistics and digitalization. It will provide the managers of today and tomorrow with the knowledge and tools they need to align their business success increasingly with the policies of climate protection.
Research & Publications
Our knowledge base –
Generating thought leadership through research and publications.
WHU is home to an expert faculty whereby professors conduct a diverse range of projects and studies, regularly releasing publications addressing and answering relevant questions on topics such as sustainability and social impact in all areas and sectors of management.
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In the media
Do you need an interview partner for sustainable topics?
Get in touch with us!
World Snowboard Guide, January 27, 2023 | Professor Sascha L. Schmidt (WHU Faculty)
Technology is fundamental to a sustainable ski industry
Stadionwelt.de, January 26, 2023 | Professor Sascha L. Schmidt (WHU Faculty)
Sports Venues 2019/2020
Deal-Magazin, December 16, 2022 | Katrin Mohr (WHU Alumna)
Katrin Mohr wird neue Geschäftsführerin des Digital Hub Cologne
Handelsblatt Online, December 13, 2022 | Thomas Mersch (WHU Alumnus)
Vordenker Gebäude: Umbauen für das Klima
Markenartikel Online, October 21, 2022 | Professor Nadine Kammerlander (WHU Faculty)
Normen für Nachhaltigkeit sind hilfreich
Solarify, October 16, 2022 | Professor Nadine Kammerlander (WHU Faculty)
Standardisierung als Hebel zur Umsetzung von Klimaschutz
PR Contacts
Contact our PR team –
Get in touch with our experts on sustainable topics.
Our public relations department is the interface between the business school and the public. For your interviews, we convey experts who will provide you with qualified information concerning various sustainable topics as well as studying at WHU.
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