IGC: Sustainability and social responsibility in study and teaching

Social Responsibility

Every year, more than 200 students from over 40 nations come to Bremen to study at IGC. We want to be a role model for them and promote the idea of developing a community where not only profits, but people and nature at the forefront.

We are proud to take responsibility for our students by promoting the idea of a community environment for studying and by offering support during the fragile first moments of our new students coming to Bremen for the first time and are living in a new country. With the active involvement of the staff members and the students in the learning process of sustainability, we are committed to the concept of sustainability, in which we promote that environmental, social and economic values are not necessarily in competition with each other but complement each other.

Make a difference - handbook for IGC students

Study on UN Sustainable Development Goals

MBA students investigated IGC's contribution to the UN goals

Read the blog!

Act sustainably

Qualitative development for the future

We are proud to take responsibility for our students by promoting the idea of a community environment for studies and offering support during the fragile first moments of our new students who have come to Bremen for the first time and are living in a new country. With the active involvement of the staff members and the students in the learning process of sustainability, we engage with the concept of sustainability, in which we promote that ecological, social and economic values do not necessarily compete but complement each other.

Human dignity

CSM-Flughafen — International Graduate Center's International student association at the Airport

At IGC, each employee and student is valuable, unique, and not interchangeable. In this context, we implement aspects such as equality, respect, fairness and team spirit in all areas of our institution. Our goal is to promote the unique and individual abilities of each individual person.

Students: We place a high value on ethical customer relations. It is of utmost importance to us, that our students find a new home and acceptance in Bremen. Therefore, our International Student Assistance (ISA) provides the students with a wide range of advice and services in order to help them meet their needs. Students with problems or questions can always count on the help of our staff at any time. Our Career Service offers regular information sessions and individual counseling to help our students find a job in Germany or abroad.

Employees: In all areas, we are committed to equal opportunity, training and development for all our employees. Our employees have the opportunity to work a variety of schedules, and we offer integrated health management, gender equality, women's representation, and representation for people with disabilities. We are also officially certified as a family-friendly university.

Solidarity

As an international educational institution, we have a special responsibility to our stakeholders. We therefore rely on a systematic cooperation and solidarity with all of our business partners. For many years, we have been working with landlords in Bremen in order to create a regional network of affordable and centrally located housing for our students. We cooperate with our partner universities worldwide in the areas marketing and, of course, teaching. In addition, we regularly hold joint working groups, trainings and, events. In this way we want to create transparency and exchange of experiences and information within the IGC.

Corporate responsibility

We are pioneers in the field of corporate responsibility. We are active in the areas of integration, a high quality work, fair relationships with customers and an ecological and social design of our courses. Sustainability is not just lip service but also a hallmark of our educational system and a key strategic element for us.
For us, social responsibility means living and understanding values. We want to start a process of change and to encourage our students, colleagues, suppliers and sponsors to raise awareness in areas such as the social economy, resource conservation and social responsibility. We encourage support through collaborative activities.

As a public college one of the few with a strong international focus, we were the first college to create and publish a Common Good Matrix. In addition to our finance performancee, we measure and communicate our social and environmental values to our stakeholders. On the basis of five fundamental and constitutional values (human dignity, solidarity, environmental sustainability, social justice, democratic participation and transparency), we inform our stakeholders whether and to what extent we live these values within our institution.

Social justice

Social aspects play an important role for us. We follow the approach of lifelong learning, and therefore we try to provide people of all ages and different walks of life, as well as financially stable and unstable people, to engage in further study. We treat clients with equality and respect. We try to meet the needs of our students and to support them within their individual needs. Low-income clients are financially supported through interest-free loans and have the ability to pay off the tuition fees in monthly, quarterly or semi-annual installments. To make learning accessible to all, we offer flexible, individual study modules, and part-time courses.

Democratic participation and transparency

An honest information policy both internally and externally is of the utmost importance to us. Relevant information about prices, content and structure of studies, as well as information about internal events can be found on our website. We believe in democratic processes within our organization. The participation of our employees and students are ensured on several levels: Through regular meetings, we encourage our employees to participate and share their ideas. Constructive feedback sessions are also held regularly. Students are involved through regular surveys, evaluations, personal interviews and a feedback box.

PRME

IGC is part of the PRME community. This initiative of the United Nations Global Compact was founded in 2007 with the mission to transform management education and develop the responsible decision-makers of tomorrow to advance sustainable development.

PRME stands for Principles for Responsible Management Education. With over 800 signatory members worldwide, PRME is the largest organized relationship between the United Nations and management-related higher education institutions, working through seven principles: Purpose, Values, Teach, Research, Partner, Practice, and Share.

The goals of sustainable development are already embedded in the IGC's business and management training, but we believe they need to be deepened. For this task, the orientation towards the PRME principles and the exchange especially with the actors of the DACH chapter helps us.

As a new member, the IGC is currently working on its first report, which must be submitted for the first time in early summer 2025.

Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 goals of the United Nations

United Nations site

Student Sustainabilty Club

The main goal of the Student Sustainability Club is to make students aware of the importance of sustainability in real life and to create sustainable and fun activities to encourage more people to engage with the concepts of sustainability in the real world.

The Club plans to host a variety of collaborative activities for students: from the screening of movies to vegan picnics in the summer, insightful talks on sustainability across different professional fields, and an organized flea market.

the three founders of IGC's Club Student Sustainability

Sustainability & Social Responsibility