Unique CSR course in Argentina

Kulturstudiers Corporate Social Responsibility is still a relatively new and evolving course. Swedish student Janna Klein has spoken to professor David Halley and her fellow students about the their academic experience.

I knew that I was going to meet great people, see great places and learn great things, but not until later would I know about the impact that this time would have on me, and about the impact that I can have on the world around me.

I had chosen to travel to Argentina to take a course in Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR. As 51 of the largest 100 economies of the world are no longer countries, but companies, a power shift has followed and caused a gap between sustainable development and reality. CSR is an attempt to fill this gap. Kulturstudier’s CSR course gives an extensive education in the role of CSR, CSR application and CSR management and had especially caught my interest as it gives real life experience by bringing students to Argentina.

By inviting representatives from the UN, the ISO, relevant NGO’s, major international corporations, universities and various government bodies, the course ties together all important CSR actors. This gives us as students a wide understanding for the possibilities and difficulties for CSR around the world. Popular and appreciated features of the course are the field trips to major corporations on the one hand and NGO’s and schools in impoverished areas of Buenos Aires on the other, where we get first hand experiences of both sides of unsustainable business practice. Through this, we get a wide perspective and a solid base for our own ideas on how to work as channels between the different actors. Therefor, Kulturstudier’s choice to place the course in Argentina does not only result in great personal experiences for us, but is also of key importance to the course. As CSR authority David Halley from the British organization Business in The Community, and a returning lecturer of major importance, explains:

- This 4 month course on CSR is quite unique, comprehensive in its scope, and very much a brilliant model for other agencies around the world to look to. Seeing how ideas of responsible business practice plays out in the South, is itself amazingly original and very much worth being part of.

With a well-composed course reader with academic articles, in addition to course books and real-time literature, we are challenged to work hard and make best use of our time in the course. This way, we are well prepared to take on the unique opportunity we have to ask questions and learn from people and organizations that are normally very hard to reach. I agree with my friend and fellow student Viktor Pettersson when he says - There are few courses that manage to create such a qualitative and dynamic environment.

However, it is not only the lecturers and literature that give the course its high quality. One of the things I have appreciated the most is the wide variety of students, which reaches from young high school graduates, to Ph. D. level scholars, with backgrounds as varied as engineering, law, economics, political science, social science and arts. This grounds for varied and colorful discussions, with widely differing perspectives and open and critical dialogues. Not only does this mean that there is no such thing as a boring dinner conversation, but it has broadened my horizon and given me friends for life. This mutual exchange of new experiences is also the reason for why important lecturers choose to come back to meet the CSR students.

- The students themselves are always very interesting, intelligent and questioning. It is a privilege to be able to meet and discuss with them. Also, it is a fantastic opportunity for me to meet tomorrow's leaders and help to clarify that we are talking about responsible business, and not just philanthropy, says Halley.

CSR is not just about changing the way businesses make their profit, but changing the mind-set of you and me and everyone around us. Throwing myself into a new culture, where every experience causes reflection, has been the best way to take in what I have learnt. I therefor want to finish with the words of my friend Elena Zepharovich from Austria:

- It´s more than just a CSR-course, it´s about questioning your own ideals, about meeting different people, about making and sharing experiences and last but not least about Argentina, an amazing country with an incredible history.

Janna Klein