In a world facing increasing environmental challenges, QUEST’s new 3-credit elective empowers students to tackle climate change through innovative solutions and multidisciplinary perspectives. I was able to speak with the professor and two students about how the class is going so far.
Chyanne Nader presenting a slide during one of her classes.
Chyanne Nader, a UMD and QUEST alumna (Cohort 26), spent the summer designing a brand new QUEST elective, BMGT438V: Quality Innovations for a Sustainable Future. She’s teaching it this fall for the first time and is also currently an Environmental Engineer at the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. Nader is excited to come back to UMD! She wanted to teach this course because she’s interested in how the environment impacts engineering and business.
More companies are shifting toward including climate resilience in their business models. Climate change introduces new risks and opportunities that businesses must navigate. For example, a shift from fossil fuels to renewables is a risk for fossil fuel companies and an opportunity for solar companies. Although sustainable innovation can lead to smarter development, managing profit and sustainability is still a huge challenge. Nader believes that “businesses should find ways to profit off sustainability instead of struggling with it.”
One notable class activity is Unpopular Opinions, where students create reasonable arguments for far-fetched statements like “a fish is the best pet.” The challenge is to make factual arguments and evoke emotions from something that can sound ridiculous; which trains students to take on the challenging task of persuading businesses to become more sustainable. Through this activity, students gain experience in climate communication.
Raquel Ford, a marketing and international business major (Cohort 42), took the class to explore sustainability within the fashion industry. Her favorite activity so far has been designing a climate change policy. By creating a sustainable fashion initiative for the European Union, Ford learned about how sustainability can be applicable to the real world. She enjoys the class’s collaborative and engaging learning environment.
Another fun activity has been Terp Talks. Each week, a student gives a TED Talk-style presentation about sustainability and business. Recently, a student spoke about overconsumption. From mentioning TikTok ads and TikTok Shop to discussing how returned clothes often end up in landfills, this Terp Talk was one of many that led to open dialogue and thoughtful discussions. Nader says that she enjoys teaching because she gets to learn something new from her students every day.
To Mae Crews, a double major in Operations Management & Business Analytics and Government & Politics (Cohort 44), BMGT/ENES438V stood out for its variety of sustainability topics. Her favorite part of the course was learning about sustainability and social justice. During this part of the class, students watched videos of people talking about their negative experiences with climate change. To Crews, it was “eye-opening to see how personal and immediate these issues can be.” This helped her visualize climate change as more than just biodiversity loss and rising temperatures, but as an ongoing problem that disproportionately impacts people’s lives and communities. The course inspired her to think critically about creating solutions that tackle both environmental and social injustice.
Students can learn more about sustainable innovation through studying abroad or taking the sustainability minor. Outside of classes, students can become Sustainability Advisors through the University’s Sustainable Advisors Program, volunteer in the campus’s surrounding communities, and join other clubs/organizations! Through these opportunities, students are empowered to build a stronger and more sustainable future.
Thank you Chyanne for creating an amazing course! We are lucky to have you back with QUEST!