Creative Sustainability Aalto University

Overview

The Creative Sustainability programme from Aalto University educates the next generation of engineers whose skill set extends beyond the traditional technical expertise to be able to participate in multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder innovation processes. Upon graduating from the Master's Programme in Creative Sustainability, graduates will have:

• Ability to incorporate systems thinking into problem solving. Graduates understand the interconnected and interdependent nature of the modern challenges and are able to suggest solutions from a holistic perspective. 
• Cognitive flexibility and design thinking. Thanks to the multidisciplinary nature of the programme, graduates possess a broad set of skills that enhances their creative problem solving abilities. 
• State-of-the-art and applied materials engineering knowledge. Graduates understand the principles of circular economy and are able to apply their engineering knowledge to the development of new sustainable materials.
• Extensive analytical skills. Graduates master analytical tools for sustainability assessment.
• Strong interpersonal skills. Graduates are able to engage in dialogue with experts from various fields as well as work as part of culturally diverse and transdisciplinary teams. 
• Strong understanding of sustainability management. Graduates are able to manage sustainability initiatives for society at large, for business purposes, and for the needs of other organisations. They have also gained an understanding of the way different organisational forms and work practices can support the pursuit of sustainability.

Career opportunities

Sustainability considerations arise in all business and industrial contexts and thus there are several possible career options for those with expertise in sustainability and material science. Graduates of Creative Sustainability from Chemical Engineering can find themselves, for example, pursuing one of the following career paths: 

• Working as sustainability and business development managers in industries facing and dealing with major ecological challenges (e.g. forestry, manufacturing, electronics, agriculture)
• Working in the development of new material solutions for circular economy
• Embarking on an entrepreneurial venture 
• Working in strategic and leadership positions in the public sector