A new Master's in Sustainable Management and Technology

This year’s Specialized Master’s Days marked the occasion to introduce EPFL’s new joint Master’s in Sustainable Management and Technology, a degree that will prepare our next generation to spearhead the transition towards a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive economy and which is hosted by the multi-institutional initiative Enterprise for Society Center (E4S).
© 2021 EPFL

As our societal challenges become more and more complex and multidimensional, it is all the more important to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. Providing a transdisciplinary education is key to finding solutions to such challenges, notably in the areas of climate change and the digital and biological revolutions.

To address this need, three Swiss institutions of academic excellence, the University of Lausanne’s Business Faculty (UNIL-HEC), the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and EPFL, put their forces together and created a new Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Technology.

«This interdisciplinary Master’s program aims to train the managers of a sustainable economy.»      Pierre Dillenbourg

Similar to the other transdisciplinary Master’s programs, this new joint Master’s allows students to build theoretical, practical and social skills by encouraging interdisciplinary teamwork based on theory and real-life applications. This Master’s specially aims to build competences along three dimensions simultaneously and in a balanced manner: technology & innovation, economics & management, and tools & skills for developing sustainable solutions.

«Building a resilient and inclusive economy requires combining innovative technologies with the best insights from management, economics and social sciences. To achieve such a convergence, our Master’s program aims to equip future change makers with the corresponding interdisciplinary competencies.»      Jean-Pierre Danthine

The program will be taught in English and graduates will receive a Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Technology delivered jointly by UNIL-HEC, IMD and EPFL.

The new Master’s, which will open its doors to engineering and management profiles with a scientific background in September 2021, had its debut presentation at this year’s virtual event of EPFL’s Specialized Master’s Days. The yearly event, held in March and organized by the School’s Education Outreach Department in collaboration with the faculties, allows interested students to meet with program representatives and learn more about EPFL’s transdisciplinary education. These programs were designed to meet the increasing demand for experts at the intersection of emerging fields such as energy, data science, digital humanities, financial engineering, technology management or entrepreneurship.

As varied as these fields are, they all focus on one particular aspect: transdisciplinarity across the domains, a specificity put forward during the Specialized Master’s Days. Despite the virtual format, the faculties and organizers encouraged the exchange between prospective and current students, professors and members of the faculty to enable vivid conversations and shed light onto how future entrepreneurs and leaders can make a difference in these areas.

EPFL’s transdisciplinary Specialized Master’s Programs

All programs were presented at the Specialized Master’s Days from March 9 – 11, 2021. The sessions were recorded and are available on the webpage.