Faculty, students and visiting scholars increasingly are drawn to understand and share knowledge on environmental issues in China. Environmental issues represent both opportunities and challenges in China, as elsewhere in the world. However, China presents unique considerations with regards to environmental protection related to several factors including economic transition and growth, environmental policy, energy production and consumption.
The Central European University entered the ENVERA partnership under the Erasmus Mundus Action 3 programme. One of the main outcomes of the partnership was the foundation of the Case Study Learning Forum.
This forum provides case study descriptions of sustainable development projects with an emphasis on corporate social responsibility for learning and transferability purposes. It allows researchers, students and practitioners to share practical applied research and case studies designed in part to document and assist socially and environmentally responsible Chinese entrepreneurs.
The case study template used by students and practitioners emphasizes capturing a well-rounded picture of businesses in terms of their economic, environmental and social profiles. Opportunities for students across the different partners to meet and exchange ideas and findings are critical to the success of the initiative. Hence, a faculty/student/practitioner network has been launched.
A key part of the Faculty/Student/Practitioner Network initiative is to establish a network of interested parties from varying backgrounds (researcher, activist, student, businesspersons, etc.) to produce and share interesting insights and narratives from endogenous, experiential and scientific perspectives. The purpose again is to create an interactive knowledge base from which sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in China can be better understood, supported, and implemented. Part of this “knowledge base” will be in the form of the case study learning forum, but also students are encouraged to apply their interests in China to their masters’ theses and PhD dissertation work.
Some examples of research on China by MESPOM scholars and students:
- Mengmeng CUI (MESPOM class’05) completed her research in China which culminated in her thesis entitled, “An Indebted Nation in Grand Development: The Emerging Concept of Environmental Justice in the Debate over Hydroelectric Development in Southwest China.”
- Zheng JIE (MESPOM class’06) completed her research on environmental education in China culminating in her Master’s thesis on outdoor education in Beijing.
- Workshop on China and Sustainable Development, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. December, 2008.
- Summer Course on China and Corporate Social Responsibility at Central European University. Summer, 2010.
