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The course

Why did you choose to study at the University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS)?

The Masters in Global Strategy and Sustainability is a degree that looks at business management and sustainability holistically – it was exactly what I was looking for!

What was it about the degree programme that particularly attracted you?

I have been passionate about sustainability for a while and I wanted to move into the sustainability sphere. This degree allowed me to do just that. In particular, the courses on consultancy, corporate responsibility and sustainable business practice, as well as the focus on social sustainability, made it the perfect fit for me and the career path I had envisioned.

Your career

Can you tell us about your career before and after graduating?

Prior to coming to Edinburgh, I had just finished my bachelor’s degree in marketing management while working as a Marketing Officer in a SaaS company in Norway.

Whilst writing my MSc dissertation, I applied for many different jobs within sustainability and was offered my current role as a Marketing and Sustainability Coordinator. The role combines the two fields I had specialised in and is an unusual role in Norway.

My degree enabled me to make the jump into sustainability.

How did your degree prepare you for your career?

My Masters gave me an understanding of the cross-section between business management and sustainability, as well as a wider understanding of the climate challenges we face. It also gave me a much better ability to critically assess current practices and measures from a sustainability perspective.

One particular highlight was getting to work with Johnstons of Elgin on the consultancy course. This allowed me to test my knowledge and gave me insight that I wouldn’t have got in an ordinary classroom experience. The combined experience gained through the consultancy course and my dissertation enabled me to apply for my current role.

Masters of Change

What notable changes has your degree enabled you to make in your professional or personal life?

The Global Strategy and Sustainability degree enabled me to make the jump into sustainability. Sustainability can still sometimes be seen as only an environmental problem, but the degree further enabled me to make my way into the sphere of social sustainability. It enabled me to see the connections between the bigger environmental and social issues concerning the climate challenge and its impacts on people around the world. In a business setting, especially in the EU, this is highly relevant as it is becoming increasingly mandatory to investigate supply chains from both environmental and social perspectives.

What are the changes you have been able to make in your chosen field, of which you are most proud?

In the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work with 20 subsidiary companies; working to align our goals and identify relevant measurement frameworks to create a roadmap. In DLVRY to date, I’ve created a procurement policy to reduce the risk of human rights violations in the value chain. We’ve also signed a contract tying the interest rate on DLVRY’s bank loan to ESG measures.

The biggest change is helping the rest of the company to recognise that sustainability is a series of active decisions, ultimately leading the company in the right direction. I am proud to have worked to make the business landscape in Norway more sustainable, and I hope to make even greater contributions to this field in the future.

How did your studies at the Business School help you to make those changes?

I wouldn’t feel comfortable in my role without the foundation provided by the University of Edinburgh Business School, especially considering I am the only person working explicitly within sustainability in my company. My studies gave me an exceptional breadth of knowledge that constantly influences my decisions and my work.

In addition to my studies, the Business School facilitated interesting conversations and discussions with my peers that provided me with learnings of equal importance to the material covered in class. This facilitation is something the Business School did very well, we had a lot of interesting conversations!

What key things that you learnt at the Business School do you still rely on today?

The organising for social change and the corporate responsibility courses gave me intricate knowledge of how our impact on the environment directly impacts and correlates with the social well-being of people in value chains. I rely on much of what I learned at the Business School every day.

The sustainability in context course was also invaluable as it gave me the opportunity to discuss and think about how sustainability is implemented in practice in different situations.

Course highlights and advice

What are your best memories on the programme?

On a personal level, some of the best parts were getting to know my classmates and making new friends. I also really enjoyed the programme’s business trek to Inverness which gave me insight into some interesting companies as well as the opportunity to see so much of Scotland.

What one piece of advice would you give to current students and recent graduates?

I would advise all current students to make the most of Edinburgh and Scotland – I miss it!

For recent graduates, I would advise considering roles that allow you to combine other fields with sustainability. You could even reach out to interesting firms and discuss the idea of implementing new roles or adjusting existing roles to include sustainability.