Energy and Management for Sustainable Development, Master Programme

120 credits

Climate change has become possibly the world’s most serious problem, which needs our urgent attention. The problem is complex and multi-dimensional. Energy and its management are the key enablers in addressing not only the climate challenge but also other sustainable development goals. This master programme is tailored for you as an engineer or technologist to investigate and understand symbiotic and systemic relations between energy, climate, and sustainable development, and to implement innovative solutions.

Our current energy production and consumption patterns risk our future ability to support ourselves on the planet. Energy production and utilisation systems must be renewable-based and climate-smart, and the whole system must be energy-efficient, resource-efficient and economically efficient. The knowledge that you gain on this programme will be instrumental in understanding and addressing the societal challenges relating to energy and the climate through innovation and business leadership.

Through this programme, you will learn about the following:

- Various environmental paradigms and environmental analysis tools, life cycle analysis, environmental innovations, and environmental accounting, which are important for making environmental decisions.

- How green financing is key to enabling inclusive growth and accelerate the shift to a resource-efficient society and decarbonising of the economy. This to understand how the private sector needs to be engaged in climate-smart technologies, scale-up capabilities, transformative innovations, and green capital, when governmental initiatives are no longer enough to meet the sustainability challenges at hand.

- How the external reporting of energy- and sustainability-related actions extends accountability of companies to the society in which companies operate.

- Various energy policy instruments and innovation strategies, and their impact on investment decisions and public behavior from a sustainability perspective.

An interdisciplinary and experienced team with profound knowledge on sustainability and development issues will teach the courses. The courses are complemented by guest lectures by experts from industry, governmental and non-profit organisations.

Career

Several companies in the region support education in Energy and Management and will actively contribute to the programme's various courses. This is what companies say about the programme:

PWC: We see that the master's programme in Energy and management for sustainable development is interesting to us based primarily on the focus of all our customers on these issues. Customers and contacts are increasingly demanding this type of advice.

IKEA: We see the master's programme in Energy and Management as an important future competence resource. Energy will be an important future area where technology development and energy perspectives on future manufacturing and product development. The consumer perspective is also important, consumers' basis for decisions and purchases, as well as providing more access to sustainable energy.

Volvo Construction Equipment: We see that the master's degree in Energy and Management for Sustainable Development is interesting to us because it can provide an increased range of resources with the knowledge to conduct work where the environment and social sustainability are well integrated into economic development. That competence is needed so that we can continue to be a leader in every industry with the resource challenges and adjustments that are ongoing and necessary for society.

VIDA: We see a great need for qualified expertise in bioenergy, from the forest along the entire production chain to various potential areas of use. The proposed master's programme would also mean good opportunities for increased collaboration between Linnaeus University and the forest industry.

Bixia: We work actively to enable more renewable electricity in the electricity system. We view positively Linnaeus University's investment in increased competence and research in the field of energy and sustainability and that the master's programme in Energy and management for sustainable development.

Degree

Master of Science (120 credits) with specialization in Energy and Management for Sustainable Development

Main field of Study: Bioenergy Technology

International possibilities

At Linnaeus University, you have plenty of opportunity to broaden your international perspective. During the course of your programme, you can choose to study abroad through exchange studies to gain international experience. If you do, you will conduct part of your studies at one of our many partner universities around the world.

Also at home you can gain international experience. Many courses contain intercultural elements. For instance, in the form of course literature or guest lecturers from other countries. In your leisure time, you can get involved in associations together with students from a wide range of other programmes and countries, or meet international students through our buddy programme.

Learn more about international possibilities at Linnaeus University

“My goal is to merge my knowledge from the oil and gas sector with sustainable practices”

“Being open-minded is a cornerstone of my journey. Before arriving here, I had a preconceived notion of what the education would entail. I thought I understood sustainability, but soon it became apparent that I had much to learn. I learned quickly to embrace a more open-minded perspective.”

With a background in electronic engineering and five years of experience in the oil and gas industry from her home country Nigeria, Olisadera Maduekwe wanted to broaden her perspectives and get more experience of the manager role, how to manage projects in this area.

"During my studies I had the chance to meet experts from various industries"

Samar Ahmed, former student

”If you believe like me that we need to act today towards climate change, then hesitate no more in studying at Linnaeus University. Only, after coming to Sweden and studying a program in Energy and Environment at LNU, I got to see how projects are transferred from research papers into large scale projects. Like the upcoming carbon capture and storage project in Växjö, and wind turbines between Malmö and Copenhagen. Also, during my studies I had the chance to meet experts from various industries, contribute in seminars, and even publish a research paper myself eventually!”
- Samar Ahmed

"Social and professional connections provided a great basis for a future career and life journey"

Nazrin I. Babashova, former student

”As a person who cares a lot about environment, and as an engineer who has a great passion for problem-solving, I decided to choose a master’s programme with focus on sustainability and technology. Linnaeus University, located in the greenest city in Europe – Växjö, was a perfect choice for me. Unlike most other universities in Sweden, Linnaeus University has its own campus which makes student life even more fun. Constant support from experienced professors, projects provided by companies, trips to different factories, various events helped to expand social and professional connections – everything provided a great basis for a future career and life journey. Currently I’m working as a process engineer in Outokumpu”.
Nazrin I. Babashova

"The industry-level expertise shared by the guest lecturers was very informative and valuable"

Abhishek Kumar, former student

“Sweden being one of the pioneers in sustainable development coupled with the fact that LNU provides quality and modern education helped me choose this university in the first place. In the beginning at the time of pandemic, online classes sounded monotonous, but it surprised me as to how well they were organized. The presence of students from various countries and educational backgrounds provided a multicultural and interdisciplinary atmosphere for a good learning experience and knowledge sharing. The industry-level expertise shared by the guest lecturers was very informative and valuable. I liked how the topics during the discussions were looked at from a broad perspective. Report writings were both challenging and exciting due to the need of going through many scientific papers and articles. Continuous assessment through assignments/seminars made me constantly engaged to the topics and enhanced my knowledge eliminating the need of memorizing everything at the end for the written exam”. 
- Abhishek Kumar

“It’s essential to acquire knowledge about climate change and its mitigation methods, sustainable innovations, and organisational sustainability.”

Porträtt av Nikou Hashempanah som står i universitetsbiblioteket.

Nikou Hashempanah studies on the master’s programme in Energy and Management for Sustainable Development. She’s happy with her choice of studies and would like to continue her academic journey as a doctoral student after graduation.

Växjö – the student city with a living campus

Just south of Växjö’s city centre you will find Linnaeus University’s campus. In Växjö, many students choose to live on campus.

Here you will have five minutes’ walking distance to friends, restaurants, lecture rooms, gym, grocery store, the University Library, nature trails, and student pubs. If you live in another part of Växjö, you can quickly get to the university by bus or bicycle.

With its 90 000 inhabitants, Växjö is one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden. Here you will find the famous Småland entrepreneurship spirit and a lot of companies, for instance within the IT industry – perfect for when you are looking for an internship position or a job. Växjö is also a picturesque city where you are always close to forests and water.

Learn more about our student cities.

Students in house M