Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS) at the FEBT

Our institution recognizes the importance of ERS perspectives both at institutional and study programme levels.

At the study programme level, we ensure that all students are exposed to subject matter dealing with ethics, social responsibility and sustainability. These topics are recognized in generic learning outcomes, which constitute the foundation of all study programmes offered at the FEBT. 

ERS topics are streamlined throughout the Graduate programme in business (GPB) in several modalities. Within some of the courses in different concentrations, ERS topics are a constituent part of the curriculum (e.g. IT Projects Management, Change Management, Quality Management, Strategic Management etc.). ERS topics are constantly represented through case studies, student presentations, and field visits. 

Furthermore, we recognize the value of service-learning (SL) in engaging students with ERS initiatives, which is why SL methodology is fully integrated into several of the GPB courses. Most notable examples include marketing concentration courses (Marketing Management for Non-profit and Public Organizations, Marketing Communications) as well as Event Management course in course of which students have been organizing charity events to raise funds for civil-society organizations since 2011. 

After successfully implementing service-learning pilot projects (through several courses in 2014-2017), FEBT and partners received funding from the European Social Fund for the Centre for Service Learning project. The goal of the project was to establish a centre for service-learning at FEBT and expand opportunities for students to undertake training at NGOs and civil society organizations with a social cause. Implementation began in the academic year 2018/2019 with six NGOs accommodating eight GPB students for internships. The long-term success of this initiative is reflected in the fact that today, we have 26 NGO partners, 20 faculty and staff acting as mentors in SL-SIP projects, and significant student interest in this course.

It should also be mentioned that FEBT’s ERS initiatives extend beyond the classroom. This is reflected through the efforts to induce societal changes, and evidenced by the excellent results of the Student Enterprise Incubator (SEI) in which, during the academic year 2021/22, nine start-ups from the University of Split have been mentored with the helping hand of both FEBT’s faculty members and partners from the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds. Out of nine start-ups, two are dedicated to addressing socially responsible and sustainability agendas (SEA-ID and Afforestation Platform).