Q: As the High School Principal of Collège du Léman, how did you come up with the idea to integrate a Career-Related Program in the field of sustainability into your IB program?
A: We were looking at introducing the IB careers program. In our school, there are a lot of students who are interested in business, so I thought this would give them a business course which has a 21st-century focus – the focus on sustainability management.
Q: What motivated you to launch the Career-Related Program with SUMAS?
A: Because SUMAS is close to Collège du Léman and I’ve had the opportunity to visit the campus and meet the staff there. I was really impressed by the school and its facilities.
Q: Describe your experience with SUMAS during the implementation of the IBCP program “Business and Sustainability”?
A: It was a very good working relationship because we were able to build a dialogue. We were able to decide what the aims of the course would be in the first place, and then design a curriculum which would suit our students with the requirements of the IBCP program based on the SUMAS curriculum in this particular field.
Q: What are the key advantages CDL gained from the collaboration with SUMAS?
A: First of all, it is the access to the expertise in the sustainability field. SUMAS is a leading and pioneering school in this field, so CDL had the opportunity to access this knowledge. SUMAS has provided us with the architecture to construct the curriculum, they essentially did our curriculum design. Finally, it is the opportunity for our students to do field weeks at SUMAS, which is very important.
Q: The Pilot project turned out to be a story of success. What is your opinion and why do you think students enjoy it so much?
A: The students enjoyed it a lot for many reasons. First, because of the novelty of the curriculum, which is something they’ve never really seen before at school. The fact that the course was varied, there were many elements, in terms of subjects that they studied, there were both a leadership and sustainable management components. As an outcome, they even got to build a sustainable garden at the school. Also, there were the field weeks at SUMAS that students greatly enjoyed. To conclude, there is a theoretical aspect and a very strong practical component. I think the students really enjoyed that.
Q: Who should attend the IBCP Program with a focus on “Business and Sustainability”, in other words, what is the ideal portrait of students that should attend the CP program?
A: The ideal students who would enjoy the most are the ones that have a good academic base, at the same time, those who want to develop 21st-century skills, by combining theory with practice and develop certain skills. The education is skills-based, though without a good academic base it can’t be accessed. The students need to have an interest in the environment and related issues but also in business.