Testimonials
I personally chose the Sustainable Economies and Corporations specialisation because the economy is a very important player in society and has a big impact on the environment.
- Previous education
- BA Spanish Language & Culture (Radboud University)
- Programme
- Sustainable Economies and Corporations
- Study start date
- Study end date
What do you like about the programme and why?
A great aspect of the Master's programme is that it treats a broad range of topics and issues (social, ecological, political and economic) that are currently of importance . Moreover, it facilitates (and encourages) the critical examination of these existing structures and institutions through various relevant theories.
The specialisations do not differ very much. However, I personally chose the Sustainable Economies and Corporations specialisation because the economy is a very important player in society and has a big impact on the environment. I think it can be very fruitful to critically look at our economic system and the way companies are managed, and see whether and how this can be improved to minimise the negative impact and how it can be redirected to contribute both to society and nature.
What do you think about the atmosphere in class?
Since the Master's is relatively small, and the specialisation even more so, you get to know most of your fellow students rather quickly. This means that there is a good environment in class, strengthened by the relationship with our teachers. They are very approachable and with most we are on a first-name base, meaning there is a low barrier if you have questions or want to ask for help.
What do you find most challenging in your Master’s?
The change from Bachelor's to Master's is substantial. Not only the workload is higher, but it is also of more difficult nature. While in my Bachelor's I sometimes got away with postponing the work until a few weeks before an exam, this is not the case in the Master's. It is hard work, but if you keep up with the lectures and readings every week it is definitely manageable.
Are you currently doing an internship and what is your thesis about?
For my Master's thesis, I currently have an internship with the (Dutch committee of the) International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Amsterdam. Here, I mainly work on research regarding responsible governance of critical mineral value-chains: minerals necessary for the energy-transition.
Additionally, I work with colleagues on responsible value-chains of soy and palm oil, but also on topics such as nature-based solutions and fighting wild-life crime. While it is a rather new experience working almost full-time in an organisation like this, it is simultaneously a great opportunity for getting an insight into the professional world and establishing where
Why do you think it is important that there are people with this degree?
While often considered separate and distant from each other, this Master's brings the environment and our society together. It allows for the critical examination of the interactions between mankind and nature, and the impact this has.
While climate change is impacting more and more both society and the environment, it is important to have people who can critically examine existing institutions and aid in the integration of social and ecological sustainability.
I am fascinated by the quest for change towards sustainability, ever since I was a student.
- Programme
- Sustainable Economies and Corporations
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Mark Wiering, and I am a professor in institutional environmental dynamics. This means I am studying societal changes towards sustainability in many ways. Sometimes there are clear accelerations in society and policy – think of the energy transition in the Netherlands - while changes elsewhere proceed awfully slow- take environmental problems of agriculture (e.g. water pollution and nitrogen crisis) as an example. Why is that? How are we speeding up and slowing down here? And how can we help, in terms of creating strategies and governance for transformations?
I am trained as a political scientist, with a huge interest in sociology. I have a broad range of research interests in environment and society, but mostly related to transformations in the water domain, agriculture and energy. I am the coordinator of the Master's programme of Environment and Society Studies and teaching mostly in the Master's programme: the courses Institutional Perspectives; Cities, Water, Climate Change and WEconomy.
I am giving advise - on a national level - as part of an advisory committee on fertilisers' management (for the Ministry of Agriculture) and on a local level as member of the programme board of the sustainability café in Nijmegen.
Why did you choose to study/work in this field?
I am fascinated by the quest for change towards sustainability, ever since I was a student. Societies, or 'we', are changing all of the time, of course, but why are sustainability transformations sometimes really accelerating? Is there always a need for a deep crisis or “shock event”? Or do change agents and their storylines matter a lot (innovative citizens, politicians, policy entrepreneurs)? Or is it the viability of the alternatives we create that matters most? The public support and social movements striving for change? Or all of these conditions together? A meaningful theory of sustainability transformations requires a broader view of sociopolitical change.
What are you currently doing your own research on?
I study two main topics: water governance - in the broadest sense- and renewable energy. Recently I am studying the role of citizens in the energy transition and the steps we take to create decentralised energy systems. Can we develop energy positive neighbourhoods, combining innovative forms of insulation, heat networks with local storage systems? How can we share energy in a better way, when some offer supply and others have a demand? How do vulnerable people respond to changing technologies and changing social practices?
Related to water quality, I am interested in the transitions of agriculture to reach the (European!) ambitions of clean and healthy water. Why is it possible that in Denmark agriculture is shifting towards more sustainability, making room for nature, while in the Netherlands we have difficulties to respond at all to fundamental problems? What strategies are useful to continue to work on sustainability?
What advice do you have for students making their study choice?
We will have scarcity of young people in the near future, so jobs will not be the main problem. Think of what topics really interests you, and how you could contribute to societal challenges. I am convinced that people that can align their engagement with their work environment have more fulfilling lives.
What is the best part of working with students?
Discussing sustainability themes with students, e.g. when they give shape to their Master's theses, always gives me energy and inspiration. I learn from the students in their creative ways to combine theories and create new perspectives.
What does your work in practice (outside your role as a lecturer/researcher at Radboud University) bring to your academic work, and vice versa?
My work for the ministry gives me a down-to-earth and realistic view of transformations in agriculture. My work with citizens groups in the energy domain and with the board of the sustainability café in Nijmegen gives me inspiration, hope and new ideas on how a sustainable society should look like.