Christian Fuentes, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer

Could you describe the programme in Sustainable Service Management? 

"The programme offers a broad social science approach to sustainability and service management. In the programme, students learn about sustainable business models, environmental governance and social sustainability. In my course on sustainable consumption we talk about what sustainable consumption is, discuss how unsustainable consumption develops over time and, working on cases, learn how to promote more sustainable consumption.

The programme combines theoretical perspectives with practical case-based exercises to allow students to develop the necessary skills to assess the environmental impact of service activities, and learn to identify, analyse, assess, and communicate the different aspects with regard to sustainability of service activities in a societal context."
 
What sets this programme apart from other Master's programmes in the field?

"The programme is unique in its social science approach to sustainability and services. It takes into account not only environmental sustainability but also social and economic sustainability and combines research-based teaching with practical cases analysis. Students learn how to work with sustainability within organisations, how to assess environmental impact, and to develop sustainability campaigns to promote sustainable consumption. Very few, if any, sustainability Master's degrees can offer such a broad combination of competence and skill."
 
How does the programme meet the needs of the labour market?

"The job market for students with a MSc in Sustainable Service Management is global. Markets for students leaving the programme will be companies, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) where students can work as environmental protection specialists, compliance officers, social and environmental sustainability managers, sustainability communicators, or green marketers, an emerging job market in the service industry. The MSc also pinpoints market opportunities in the New Responsible Economy, offering support in developing the students’ own business ideas. Sustainability and transition management are virtually endless fields for entrepreneurs of the future."
 
What are you currently working on in terms of research projects?

"My current and past research projects look into the digitalisation of sustainable consumption. In my research team we investigate, in different ways, how digital tools – such as smartphone apps, webpages, online communities and social media – can enable more sustainable modes of consumption. In these studies, we set out to discern exactly what it is these devices accomplish, how they enable and shape the way consumers think and act towards sustainability."