DRAFT: Sustainability Team Challenge

All assessments of the Course

Overview of the Course

What is the subject context of the course?

In this course, students learn about key concepts in corporate sustainability and develop skills to implement them in the real world (case study «Coop»). The course prepares students for making well-​informed sustainability decisions in their future careers.

What should students learn and be able to do at the end of the course?

After the course, students are able to

• describe the role, potential, and limits of corporate sustainability for sustainable development.
• assess and critically evaluate the sustainability framework conditions of a specific company, identifying key fields of action.
• design and present concrete, actionable solutions for addressing a sustainability challenge of a specific company.
• make informed decisions and develop strategic recommendations in collaboration with peers.

Why was the specific assessment format chosen?

Over the years, the course has become increasingly interactive. This gave rise to the idea of challenges, as the aim is to evaluate and recognize the students› efforts. The guided intermediate steps during the challenge are intended to increase commitment.

How are students prepared for the assessment?

The course content and accompanying videos are available as preparation material for the end-of-semester examination.

For the Sustainability team challenges, there are subject areas with 16-20 students. These are supervised by a coach. The content of this groupwork in the challenge is graded through assignments and is not part of the end-of-semester examination, as not all students come into contact with all the content and the coaches prepare the group individually for the assignments.

Shared Experience

How many times has the assessment been conducted in this format?

Every Autumn Semester since 2021. Preliminary forms already existed before that.

What contributed to the success?

On the one hand, diversity, i.e. gathering experience and knowledge at different levels; the different roles that are involved and that students are expected to take on; and the varied formats, which alternate between frontal, self-paced and interactive teaching as well as individual and group work.

On the other hand, the tangibility of the topic with the «Coop-Case-Study for the Group Challenge».

What were the challenges and how were they overcome?

On the one hand, the complexity of the course with different phases and formats, which have a high workload and thus high resource requirements.

On the other hand, the group is graded as a group. This enables freeriding. At the moment, attempts are being made to counteract this with social control; i.e., the individual group members state at the beginning what their contribution to the group challenge is. In both group assignments, this is asked again afterwards.

Are there any further developments planned?

In the age of AI, tasks are to be increasingly integrated into on-site sessions again, with more focus on discussion and interaction.

Measures are already being implemented for HS25 to reduce the workload outside class , support the creative process more actively and to reduce coordination efforts among the team.

What tips would you give lecturers who are planning a similar assessment?

Good planning and forward thinking are an essential condition. During the team and individual phases, when students are being supervised by coaches, there is not much room for adjustment. This also requires a good introduction for the coaches.

Moodle as an LMS, including information, assignments and communication with students, is an important basis for the success of the entire course.