Education
Towards more sustainable tourism – lessons learned in Vietnam
Published : 15.05.2023
Sustainability in Finance, the SuFi-project, brought together finance educators, Vocational Education and Training (VET) students and teachers, and actors from the finance sector within the Central Baltic region. The aim was to
- match employment demand
- enhance competitiveness, work opportunities and mobility
- enhance new required competences among business graduates
The project resulted in a Sustainability in Finance course (15 etc) consisting of three modules: Sustainable development and climate change (5 ects), Sustainable finance (5 ects) and Future megatrends and vocational competences (5 ects).
Baltic Region finance sector’s look on sustainability competencies
During the project, a survey was implemented within the finance sector in Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Åland Islands (total 221 responses). According to the survey, the top three sustainable finance competencies are
- to understand relevant driving sustainable forces
- to think and operate with a long-term perspective
- to communicate sustainable financial information in a meaningful way
Thus, in the Baltic Region’s finance sector, there is a need for understanding both a more holistic view of the market as part of society as a whole, and also the meaning of long-term horizons. The competencies that the financial sector respondents found important for vocational business graduates in future work were used as an input when planning the core content and learning outcomes for modules.
Sustainability in Finance online
The online Sustainability in Finance course was developed and piloted during the SuFi project. It provided new tools and ways to cooperate with different educational institutions and students with heterogeneous backgrounds. An online course can serve as a practical example of teaching/learning initiatives for a more comprehensive implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with the focus on VET key competences in the field of business education.
The modules piloted in the project were very popular and have found their way into a degree program. The course was piloted two times during the project and total 416 students participated. The module Sustainable Finance is offered as a part of studies in Responsible Business at Haaga-Helia. The whole course will be an open UAS course offering next year.
Welcome to world of Responsible Business
The SuFi project mainstreamed sustainability issues in business education for VET. Every information gained has been shared through the project website, publications, and newsletters to stakeholders through the SuFi project’s communication channels and identified events. The project has published students´ master theses and scientific articles.
You can take a closer look at the Sustainable in Finance course in Moodle.
Moodle:
- Choose: Log in as a quest
- Choose Sustainability in Finance (SuFi) project
- Choose modules: Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Sustainable Finance, Future Megatrends and Vocational Competences
Haaga-Helia coordinated the Interreg Central Baltic funded Sustainability in Finance (SuFi) project during 2020-2022. Project partners were Liepajas State Technical School, Tartu Vocational College, University of Latvia, University of Tartu and Åland University of Applied Sciences. Associated Partners were Bank of Åland, Finance in Finland and Finance Latvia Association.
Project publications
Hanni, V. & Mustikainen, M. & Siirilä, J. 2022. Teaching Sustainable finance. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
Lankinen, H. & Siirilä, J. 2021. Using learning design tools in online module planning. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
Margeviča-Grinberga, I., Lake, S., Pigozne, T., Siirilä, J. & Surikova, S. 2023. A pedagogical framework to promote sustainable financial literacy in competence-based vocational secondary education and training: The SuFi project case. Aula Abierta, 52, pp. 61-70.
Siirilä, J., Surikova, S. Margeviča-Grinberga, I. & Pigozne, T. 2022. A Needs Analysis for Embedding Sustainable Finance Competences into Vocational Business Education in the Baltic Region. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 13(2), 185–204.
Siirilä, J. 2020. Sustainable future is made of responsible choices. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
Siirilä, J. & Annica Isacsson, A. 2020. The importance and meaning of sustainable finance. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
Siirilä, J. 2021. Road to twenty-first-century economics. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
Siirilä, J. & Salonen, A.O. 2021. Systems Thinking: The Story of a Can of Cola. Haaga-Helia eSignals.
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