Sustainable education at the Finnish universities of applied sciences: Sustainability focused Master Degree Program at Lahti University of Applied Sciences

The purpose of the paper is to introduce the sustainability focused Master Degree Program in International Business Management at the Faculty of Business Studies, Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Finland. As background information, there is a short overview to the sustainability and corporate social responsibility issues as a part of business studies at higher education institutions globally and especially at the Finnish professional higher education institutions (at the Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences). The paper is focused on presenting an international Master Degree Program that is focused on sustainable development and responsible business management in the international business context. The program aims 1) to create new business and find sustainability oriented business opportunities between Finland and emerging markets, and 2) to create sustainable growth on Asian and other emerging markets. In addition to the content, structure and teaching methods of the program, the paper gives some examples of previous sustainable focused research made by the students of the Master Program. These previous studies include issues such as use of renewable energy (especially business opportunities related to the wind but also other renewable energy sources), possibilities to decrease energy consumption (market potentials of eco-friendly cellulose insulation materials in India), and development of recycling and waste management systems, for example e-waste recycling and solid waste management in India and China.