PRME and oikos announce the opening of the LEAP Researchers Cohort 2024. Join a global community of early career researchers committed to driving positive change in the world through sustainable business practices. The LEAP Researchers Program is designed to bridge the skill set development gap in today's workforce, addressing social, economic, and ecological challenges.
This year’s LEAP Researchers Program is a collaboration between the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) – the largest organized relationship between the United Nations and management-related higher education institutions – and oikos International. Business leaders are undeniably one of the most important agents to create sustainable positive development for the world. This program aims to combat the skill set development gap, which is needed to address current global challenges including social, economic, and ecological dimensions. It aims to inspire a new paradigm of leadership and equip emerging academics with the skills to co-create meaningful change.
What does the LEAP Researchers program bring to its participants?
- Connection, collaboration and joint learning with like-minded early career researchers from around the world tailored to participants’ needs and wishes. The group will co-create their own learning process and shape the sessions together with the facilitators to build supportive social interaction.
- Individualized and peer engagements with coaches throughout the process to aid development towards achieving meaningful change.
- A community of practice that allows for implementing what participants learned through supporting university students’ projects and facilitating change at their institutions. Most of the projects aim at embedding sustainability into the core of economics and business education. (Examples: student driven curricula reviews, course co-creation, campaigning, raising awareness on sustainability, etc.)
Who is welcome to join? What is the time commitment?
The program is aimed at Master and PhD students, or post-doctoral researchers who address sustainability challenges in their research and/or teaching and have a high motivation to develop personally and professionally. Furthermore, this opportunity aims to seek out individuals with the intrinsic motivation to improve their own understanding of creativity and pedagogy towards the overall pursuit of sustainable development. The vision of an economic system that respects ecosystem limits and serves society should be close to participants’ minds and hearts. The majority of participants will have an economics and/or business background; however, participants from other fields are also welcome – diversity in knowledge and experience has been highly appreciated by the previous participants. Therefore, the program is open to participants from other disciplines and to more senior participants. Participation is free of charge.
LEAP Researchers 2024 in a nutshell:
- 9-month leadership development program for 50 early career researchers, from March to November 2024
- Monthly group online sessions tailored to participants’ needs, personal development themes alternate professional ones
- Individual coach per every participant and the possibility to start a peer group coaching
- Possibility to support university students in their sustainability-oriented projects
- Minimum time commitment: 4-5 hours per month
- Participation is free of charge for everyone
- Application deadline: 29 February 2024