This action-based course offers learning-by-doing within the area of sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation and other topics related to the main theme. Students will work on a real-life project of helping others to engage in sustainable entrepreneurship and viewing entrepreneurship as new value creation for others (not only creating wealth for oneself).
Entrepreneurs and innovators are key players in reshaping the future, where sustainability isn’t just a buzz word but becomes a basic part of responsible behavior. As such entrepreneurship is critical to sustainability and therefore sustainability must be a main pillar of entrepreneurship. Sustainable practices when blended into businesses and organizations will have the potential to dampen the exploitation of the environment and society and position entrepreneurs and innovators as important change makers in their communities. The mix of innovation-entrepreneurship and sustainability is a strong force for the societal paradigm changes we need. This require instilling a new mindset in the minds of entrepreneurs and providing tools and methods to structure sustainable entrepreneurial work.
General information
“Sustainable Approaches for Entrepreneurial (Co)Action” course aims to increase the students’ awareness and their ability to consider, reflect, and act on sustainability issues through the lens of entrepreneurship and innovation. This provides the students with knowledge, skills, and decision-making logic that bring sustainability to their practices, entrepreneurial or otherwise. A mix of (guest) lectures, seminars, workshops, and hands-on project work covers a set of broad topics and subjects. Students will have access to labs and workshops at the Tracks environment and focus on real-world applications by building prototypes (physical or software) in a team-based format and engage in peer-to-peer exchanges, classroom exercises, and discussions. Sample topics are:
• Sustainable business models and value creation
• Design for sustainable behavior
• Environmental and social challenges and opportunities
• Systems thinking to better understand complex issues
• Prototyping potential solutions
• Innovation and technology for sustainable solutions
• Stakeholder engagement and partnerships
Prerequisites
We invite enrolled students across all Master’s and PhD programs at Chalmers interested to learn how to work through entrepreneurial and innovative actions in order to directly address sustainability concerns by focusing their engagement in self-defined project-work. Ad per policy of Tracks, alumni and professionals are also encouraged to apply. Background in areas such as design, prototyping, software development, and industrial engineering is desired but not necessary. Teams are required to have diverse academic backgrounds. As a project-based course, physical presence at the campus is mandatory. Therefore, the course cannot be taken on distance.
How to apply
Apply to all Tracks courses at universityadmissions.se/antagning.se.
At universityadmissions.se/antagning.se: Search for the course you are interested in by using the course code TRA330.
Applications must include a maximum one-page motivation letter (that you upload on universityadmissions.se/antagning.se) describing:
1. 3 sustainability-related challenges you are motivated to address [maximum 5 sentences per challenge]
2. What and how this course would contribute to your education and career path
Read more here.
Information on how to apply for alumni and PhD students can be found here.
Details
Teacher: Yashar Mansoor, guest lecturers, Prof. Karen Williams Middleton (examiner)
Course dates: Study period 1-2, 2025, Block C
Credits: 7.5 ECTS
Course code: TRA330
Application deadline: Open for application May 6-20, 2025
New Summer School in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Summer School in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a combined digital and in-person-week intensive training organised by Chalmers University of Technology, as part of the ENHANCE alliance, supported and funded by the EU. Students are being introduced to key themes connected to Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with perspectives from multiple stakeholders.