In January, examinations were held for third-year students of the bachelor’s program “Change Management” on the subject “Water Resource Management and Leadership.”
As part of the course, the students:
- Learned about leadership in the water sector at various levels: government, business, NGOs, as well as opportunities for youth to make their mark;
- Explored the concept of ESG, green management, the specifics of fundraising, and the Netherlands’ actions to adapt to climate change;
- Familiarized themselves with the work of international and national bodies and organizations, from UNEP and the World Water Council to Russia’s Federal Agency for Mineral Resources and the «Water of Russia» project;
- Developed their own social project in the field of water resource management;
- Compared Russia’s water strategy with the water strategies of England and the USA;
- Discussed Russia’s water strategy, the trade of water-intensive products, and successful social entrepreneurship cases aimed at achieving UN SDG 6;
- Worked on creating a youth organization focused on solving issues in the water sector;
- Engaged in a climate game and tested the “Path of Water” game;
- Learned how to calculate the water footprint of a business, negotiate, present project ideas, and much more.
The course was conducted by staff from the Baikal Lake Foundation:
- Anastasia Tsvetkova, General Director of the Baikal Lake Foundation, member of the Expert Council on Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, member of the “Protection of Water Bodies” section of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage, and a member of the Expert Council of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.
- Olga Amelkina, Deputy General Director of the Baikal Lake Foundation, Master of Science in Sustainable Development. She has additional education in economics, management, social entrepreneurship, sustainable resource management, and project management in sustainable development.
The course also featured guest experts:
- Alina Kolyovska, Head of the Resource Economy Center, who conducted the “Path of Water” game;
- Evgenia Elkina, Environmental law and climate specialist, who facilitated the climate game.
We are pleased that thanks to the intellectual contribution of the Foundation to such educational programs there are more and more young leaders in the water sector each year!