2020 was a challenging year for everyone: a global pandemic, a deepening climate emergency, and many other social and environmental crises coming to the fore. As with any major challenge, there is always an opportunity for reflection and positive change. Here’s what some of our students and staff had to say about their experiences and reflections on 2020.
Julia Koroleva, SUMAS Professor
“This year has shaken our perspectives and value systems, and we are only on the way towards our in-depth assessments and evaluations. Being always on the positive side, I am looking for new opportunities that could unlock options for a positive change. I see this year as momentum to re-do, re-view, re-think a variety of things. This momentum goes back to every one of us as we have a unique opportunity to re-assess ourselves and re-connect with ourselves by addressing an important question: What Makes us Happy? My lessons learned is that we have a perfect time to take this question of happiness seriously, and re-evaluate what is required for well-being and prosperity in the context of new realities, including necessary innovative skills and abilities that we would need in the future.”
Moritz Blumhagen, SUMAS MBA in Sustainable Hospitality.
“I think 2020 was an opportunity for some people to calm down and reflect on his/her behaviour. Although lockdown and quarantine are definitely not desired situations and have severely impacted the lives of so many, lockdown has also provided an opportunity to re-think our attitudes and actions. It is my hope that Covid will make us a little more aware of the issue of climate change. For me, this is about flying and traveling. In the past years, I was doing several long-distance flights, and also this year I wanted to fly to Mexico in March. Obviously, it was canceled which frustrated me in the beginning. However, in the meantime, I really try to avoid flying. Last week, for example, I decided to take a 7,5hrs train ride home instead of flying for 2hrs.”
Joachim Fendt-Newlin, SUMAS Administrative Director
“The year 2020 was a special one for all of us due to the global pandemic. When life slows you down it allows us to reflect more deeply. Prior to covid19 I enjoyed traveling internationally for leisure very much. Being an ambassador for sustainability and living a sustainable lifestyle, traveling was always the hardest part for me to make sustainable adjustments and sacrifices for the benefit of nature. Since I moved to Switzerland in 2016 for my MBA studies at SUMAS I never took full advantage of residing in such a beautiful country where you can enjoy different sceneries, cultures, and traditions by only traveling for a few hours on the train. 2020 taught me that there is much to discover in my proximity and slowing down is a good thing.”
Giulia Cellerino, SUMAS BBA in Sustainability Management.
“The year 2020 has been a challenging year for most of us. This year pushed me to focus on re-connecting and re-setting at a personal and lifestyle level. I have stopped traveling to exotic destinations and started to appreciate the surroundings more, and Switzerland is an amazing place to do so. I have started to enjoy time in nature and shop at local farms more and more often. I have finally realized the importance of “Think Global, Act Local” – how simple gestures can have a meaningful impact on the sustainable development of the community. My lesson learned in 2020 is that sustainability comes from within, there are plenty of positive steps that we can take at a personal level to help the environment and society.”
SUMAS would like to wish our staff, students, and alumni a peaceful end of the year, and a prosperous 2021.