COSI courses get a 12! – Positive feedback at a glance

Following ‘Sustainability Challenges 1: Systems Thinking’ and ‘Sustainability Challenges 2: Specific Systems and Capstone Project’ courses, participants’ evaluations draw a clear enthusiasm for the multi-disciplinary approach and systemic educative approach. Hereafter are some quotes and testimonies from students:

* Extracted from the course evaluation report (SC1)

“Really interesting concept of joining three universities - this was my main reasoning for selecting this course.”

“Very interesting to interact with students from very different studies.”

“I LOVED to have professors from both CBS, DTU and KU!”

“Increased understanding of interlinkages between energy, food, waste”

“As a political student it was nice to be engaged with other academic directions.”

“Good selection of sustainability issues to focus on”

“Thanks for creating the course, business school (at least to me) has no future without sustainability as a system thinking”

“The role-play (maritime or aircraft industry) was a really good exercise, take more time for that and try that students are more engaged/prepared. It helps to understand the complexity of the topic and helps to find practical examples in discussions.”

“A very good course- the structure is well made”

“Everyone should know this stuff”

In a nutshell, one could say that positive feedbacks underlined some main aspects of the courses:

• A strong enthusiasm for the multi-disciplinary approach, both from a teaching and group work perspective
• A better holistic understandings of sustainability stakes and ways to interrelate them with individual backgrounds and thinking
• A well-organized academic program with relevant topic selection
• An increased awareness on the relevance of such systemic thinking in business and society at large

A new way has clearly been opened up. It is now time for COSI educators to refine and draw on lessons learned. Indeed, some critics have been raised on literature density over the restricted time period or on exam formats…  Some isolated shades of grey to correct in an overall colorful big picture!