MBA Sustainability Management: Martin Vogl - Engine Sustainability

"What responsibility do I bear to shape one's life sustainably?" Martin Vogl asked himself this question after the birth of his son. For more than 20 years, the business informatics specialist has been working for Audi as a project manager in various areas of responsibility, first in IT, later also in product marketing. Since last December, Martin Vogl has been Sustainability Manager in Product Marketing.

For the family father, the task is a project of the heart for which he has prepared long and intensively: He attended courses on sustainable finance and agile leadership, among others. At the University of Cambridge, for example, he completed certificates in High Impact Leadership and Business Sustainability Management. Martin Vogl began giving lectures on sustainability at Audi. But he wanted to know more: "I started looking for a Master's programme on sustainability management. The reputation of the study programme was important to me," says Martin Vogl.

He came across the part-time MBA Sustainability Management at Leuphana Professional School. The programme was developed 20 years ago at the Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM) at Leuphana and is the world's first MBA programme for sustainability management. To this day, the programme, which can be studied part-time, is considered the largest and leading of its kind.

Martin Vogl is convinced by the combination of science and professional practice in the MBA Sustainability Management: "Sustainability is also an important and accepted topic in the automotive industry. Nevertheless, I sometimes have to do some convincing. With evidence-based study results, I can make sound arguments," he reports. Sustainability is also crucial for the success of the economy: "It helps the automotive industry to remain competitive. Especially in the long term, investments in this area will pay off," says Martin Vogl. Audi alone employs around 80,000 people.

Martin Vogl also lives sustainably in his private life and has built a low-energy house with a photovoltaic system for his family. His employer supports Martin Vogl during the two-year study period with educational leave, otherwise the family father continues to work full time: "It's exhausting and challenging, but it's worth it. Studying has opened the door to my new professional position. As a sustainability manager for product marketing, I deal with customer interests, market research and sustainable product development. It is important to me to do something meaningful. It's also about my son's future," says Martin Vogl.

Managing today for tomorrow: The MBA Sustainability Management qualifies students to implement sustainable development in an entrepreneurial way through a wide range of subject-specific and interdisciplinary study content. Through professional, personal and action competences as well as a broad network, the MBA opens paths to leadership positions and new career options. More than 800 students and alumni as well as numerous practice partners form the largest university network on the topic of sustainability management - their home is the Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM), which offers the MBA as part of the Professional School's continuing education model.