PRME-Report: What we achieved and what we plan to do

Read about the TUM achievements regarding PRME and the roadmap for our sustainability journey.

Every fifth child worldwide has no access to clean drinking water. About 385 million children live in extreme poverty. More than 90 percent of the world’s youth breathes air that is harmful to their health. These alarming figures are amongst the reasons why TUM is committed to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

But what does PRME mean and how do we make and track our impact on these principles? PRME stands for Principles for Responsible Management Education – a platform bringing educational sustainability to over 800 business and management schools worldwide, including the TUM School of Management. Therefore, one goal is to contribute to solutions to the grand societal challenges, such as climate change, digitization, infrastructure, urbanization and food security.

What we already achieved

Since the TUM School of Management has become PRME signatory, we have been able to expand our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have launched new research initiatives, such as the TUM SEED Center. We have created new specializations within our degree programs, such as Renewable Resources, to broaden our interdisciplinary approach. We have also established our first PRME office. Over the next few years, the office will be scaled up to include at least one colleague from each campus and students, and we will qualitatively and quantitatively assess the focus on sustainability and SDGs in our teaching and research activities. Furthermore, we will define a core strategy and specific objectives for enhancing the sustainable impact of our institution.

Working on the Sustainable Development Goals

We have reinforced our purpose and commitment to society, responsible management education, and outreach, and have begun to track information on PRME-related activities (e.g., through Assurance of Learning). In the upcoming years, we will continue to embed PRME principles into our institutional strategy and improve methods for collecting and tracking information.

In 2020, we developed a code of conduct as a guideline to ensure a respectful and enjoyable environment at TUM School of Management. And our goal is to develop a coherent overarching sustainability strategy, deepening our commitment to the core values of PRME.

We have increased the focus on sustainability and sustainable development in our teaching modules. We also started assessing how our modules relate to sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals in a qualitative and quantitative way. Two student teams started developing a tool for measuring the sustainability of our teaching modules in the master’s and bachelor’s programs in Management and Technology. And together, we plan to expand these efforts even further in 2022.

How our research relates to sustainability

In the area of research, we have also begun to qualitatively assess, how our research relates to sustainability and sustainable development. In 2021/2022, we plan to establish this reference quantitatively as well. Moreover, we will develop a specific strategy to enhance the focus on sustainability in our key research areas.

Over the past three years, we have also entered into new partnerships and collaborations with sustainable startups and universities around the world to tackle major societal challenges. One example is the new SEED Center, which involves eight partner universities from the Global South and aims to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 7 – clean and affordable energy for all by 2030.

We are also working hard on improving our communication efforts and our dialogue with internal and external stakeholders. We already provide ongoing information on our latest research findings in the field of sustainability and sustainable development through conferences and lecture series, e.g. the Munich Lecture in Business Ethics. In addition, we promote dialogue on PRME-related topics within the university. For example, by initiating project studies for the assessment of the sustainability of our research activities and teaching modules, establishing forums, and enhancing the exchange of information between different departments and centers.

Image: Albert Scharger

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