Leuphana Sustainable Entrepreneurship Certificate (L-SEC)
Societal grand challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, demographic change, globalization and other mega-trends are often complicated, complex and chaotic. Yet decades of scientific research provide society with a vast array of relevant theories and methods to effectively address them in practice. The primary obstacle is not a lack of awareness and knowledge, but a lack of empathic, coordinated and collaborative action trying to solve society’s grand challenges. In this regard, the Leuphana Sustainable Entrepreneurship Certificate (L-SEC) intends to fill the knowledge-to-action gap by developing student’s entrepreneurial competencies, sustainability competencies and emotional competencies. In line with the Leuphana university mission, the certificate program strengthens students’ individual capacity to act as change agents for societal transformation. Students can either chose to acquire L-SEC by starting with the problem space of sustainability challenges and developing entrepreneurial solutions. Alternatively, they might join the program with an idea, therefore starting in the solutions space and looking to refine this idea and develop a successful change initiative for sustainability.
Master-level students at the Leuphana University have the opportunity to follow three consecutive courses (15 ECTS) as part of their Complementary Studies. The Sustainability Entrepreneurship Certificate is a voluntary, study-integrated offer for all Master students at Leuphana University. The certificate indicates the acquisition of relevant competencies that enable the active engagement and critical reflection of societal transformation processes in diverse contexts, including the pursuit of personal entrepreneurial projects.
L-SEC offers a continuous and coordinated learning experience. The course modules were in designed to allow students to progress with their business concepts or innovation ideas over 1.5 years. L-SEC offers an inclusive learning atmosphere to co-create, experiment and innovate new sustainability ideas in practice. The program offers guidance and mentorship to develop your competencies for becoming future changemakers in society.
The L-SEC program offers:
- A hands-on experience to develop an entrepreneurial skill-set for tackling sustainability problems in innovative ways.
- Combining experiential and reflective learning as part of your regular study program
- Gaining a basic introduction to theories and methods of sustainability and entrepreneurship research
- Acquire sustainability competencies for solving sustainability problems and fostering sustainable development.
- Acquire entrepreneurial competencies for proactively identifying, developing and exploiting opportunities for new solutions.
- Acquire emotional competencies for recognizing, interpreting and constructively responding to your own and other people’s experiences.
- A certificate strengthening your future job applications.
In order to be granted the L-SEC, students need to successfully finish one course in each of the three different Modules of the Complementary Studies. L-SEC is flexibly designed; hence students are able to take modules in order of personal suitability instead of having to follow a linear certificate process design.
Currently available courses are:
| Semester | Modul in the complementary Study | eligible course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
Winter term Understand & solve | Engaging with Knowledge and Sciences | Designing for Future Impact: End-User Integration, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (English) Developing entrepreneurial solutions in the context of HEYHO (English) | 5 CP |
Winter term Create & experiment | Connecting Science, Responsibility and Society | Experimentation for Sustainable Business Models (English) Social Innovation Thinkaton (German) | 5 CP |
Summer-term Reflect & relate | Reflecting on Research Methods | Measuring the impact of sustainable ventures: A practical application of impact logics & measurement tools (English) ·Impact NOW! Innovation Hub Management (English) "From walk and talk to WALK THE TALK. Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset" | 5 CP |
Note: Course titles are subject to change!
Language: The LSEC certificate program can be studied in English.
The certificate is fully supported by the faculty but the administrative procedure for issuing of the certificate is still in process.
All students studying at the Leuphana Graduate School (Master-Level) are eligible for the L-SEC program. No additional application documents are required. Interested students can register for L-SEC by sending an email, including their NAME and STUDENT NUMBER and PREFERRED STARTING MODULE to: steffen.farny@leuphana.de
We accept a maximum of 40 students per year.
