Sustainable RSM Sustainability Coordinator Joey Johannsen said, “we are very proud of the dedication and time these volunteers have invested as members of the KPMG-RSM Sustainability Master Thesis Award selection committee.”
In the photo: (From left to right), Back Row: Anouk van der Laan, Matthijs van Huijgevoort, Linda Bos, Front row: Borislava Doleva, Nora Malm, Sophie Huziker, Lukas Muche, Simon Norris, and Florian Böhm
The committee is composed of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University students in MSc Programmes. They are coached by Associate Professor Frank Wijen and coordinated by Sustainable RSM Student Assistant, Anouk van der Laan. Committee members were initially selected in the autumn of 2015, through a written application process. While their study backgrounds vary widely, ranging from Management to Global Business & Sustainability to Strategic Entrepreneurship, the students all share an intrinsic passion for sustainability and identify with the aim of improving sustainability education. The committee is currently in the final round of evaluating all the theses that meet overall requirements. They will announce the shortlist of five nominees within the next week. The selected winner and runner-up are determined by a select jury of external leaders working in the field of corporate sustainability.
The RSM Sustainability Forum 2016 will take place on 15 April at the ECE Campus Rotterdam. A special highlight of the Forum is a presentation of the KPMG-RSM Sustainability Master Thesis Award. Sponsored by KPMG and awarded to an RSM Master student, the annual Sustainability Master Thesis award aims to honour research that combines academic excellence and business relevance in a topic related to the management of sustainability. It is recognised with a cash prize of €1000. A runner-up receives €500. The partnership between KPMG and RSM was established in 2006; marking this year as the 10th year of strong collaboration.
To qualify for selection, thesis subjects must be related to social and ecological sustainability; each thesis must have achieved a mark of at least 8.5 during the thesis defence. Theses from the past academic year are reviewed; the KPMG-RSM Sustainability Master Thesis Award committee creates an unbiased shortlist of five theses chosen for a combination of academic excellence, socio-environmental impact, business relevance and originality.
More information on the KPMG-RSM Sustainability Master Thesis Award committee can be found here.