Creative Sustainability, M.A.

Students who enter the CS programme through the department of Design gain knowledge of leading design methods and learn to practice design in new, thriving contexts. They are expected to provide creative input into problem solving in multidisciplinary teams and challenge others with insights which draw on strategic design, co-design and systems thinking.

Multidisciplinary approach: Students learn to adapt knowledge, skills and new approaches to reach collaborative solutions based on ecological, economical and socio-cultural sustainability.

Systems approach: Students learn to use systemic thinking into problem solving and create new holistic understandings of complex situations and critical infrastructures in society. The emphasis is on global awareness within the context of local communities and simultaneous modification of different aspects of sustainability.

Design thinking: Students learn to apply creative problem solving methods and tools in facilitating dialogs, defining problems, generating ideas and obtaining solutions.

Sustainability management: Students learn to develop, support and manage sustainability initiatives for the society at large, for business purposes and for the needs of other organizations. Students also gain understanding of the way that different organizational forms and work practices support the pursuits in sustainability.

Project management: Students learn to manage multidisciplinary teamwork, and to promote sustainability in culturally versatile organizational environments.

CS studies prepare the students to work as sustainability experts in organizations that have a strategic view on transformation towards sustainability. These include the private and public sectors as well as a wide range of NGO´s. The student can develop expertise in different professional profiles which vary from research skills to the practical skills of management, leadership and design in different environments.

Design confronts new challenges in innovating for sustainable development. The CS programme teaches skills to meet these challenges through specialization and interdisciplinary work, while students simultaneously fulfill criteria for professional design. Graduates from CS programme are attractive targets for progressive local and international employers as well as prepared for independent entrepreneurial activity.

Students are granted admission to the programme through a two-phase process. In the first phase students are evaluated based on the application as a whole, including portfolio, previous studies, CV and letter of motivation. In the second phase, the most suitable applicants are invited for an interview, from which a smaller subset of applicants is offered a study place.