Principles for Responsible Management Education
FROM PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE – RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
Leuphana is part of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, which is supported by the United Nations. At Leuphana, the initiative is based in the School of Management & Technology and aims to shape management teaching and research from there.
DRIVING CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
“Responsible management education provides students with the knowledge and skills that are urgently needed to drive sustainable change in the economy,” says Prof. Dr. Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich. She teaches at the Faculty of Management and Technology at Leuphana University and is also responsible for implementing the PRME initiative.
Around one third of all students worldwide study economics, management, or law. With 70 million graduates annually, these subjects represent the largest field of study at universities (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2024). Students in these fields thus are an important lever for pushing the transformation toward greater sustainability in the economy.
EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Sustainability-focused education for future business professionals at universities is therefore essential if we want to bring about change considering the climate crisis or social injustice, for example. For this reason, Leuphana has been a member of the PRME initiative by the United Nations since 2019.
But what exactly is the initiative about?
The PRME initiative was founded in 2007 and has since become the largest organized connection between the United Nations and higher education institutions active in management education. In addition to Leuphana, over 800 universities in more than 90 countries are members of the PRME initiative. The initiative promotes seven principles: Purpose, Values, Teach, Research, Partner, Practice, and Share. The integration of sustainability and responsibility into teaching and research in management and economics is at the core of the initiative.
WHERE DOES LEUPHANA STAND?
Since joining the PRME initiative, Leuphana has put the PRME principles into practice in teaching and research. The focus is placed on integrating sustainability into the curriculum, promoting interdisciplinary research, and establishing partnerships with companies and other universities. The regular “Sharing Information on Progress” reports, of which Leuphana has already published two, document the university's commitment to and implementation of the PRME principles.
Prof. Dr. Hannah Trittin Ulbrich and her team are responsible for implementing the PRME goals at the university. Learn more about PRME at Leuphana in the interview with Prof. Dr. Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich and do not hesitate to get in touch.