CASE STUDY

How Lund University engaged close to 300 future leaders in sustainability and resilience

Challenge

Create a meaningful learning experience at scale

Lund University School of Economics and Management wanted students to begin their Master’s studies with a shared understanding of sustainability, business performance and resilience.

Close to 300 international students from four Master’s programmes took part in the full-day Exploring Sustainability event: International Strategic Management, Management, Accounting and Finance, and Managing People, Knowledge and Change.

As the first learning activity of their programmes, the event needed to make complex business trade-offs tangible. Students needed to explore how organizations can respond to disruption, stakeholder expectations and sustainability challenges while continuing to build competitiveness and long-term value.

The university also wanted to create a common frame of reference for a large and diverse cohort, while ensuring every student could actively participate rather than simply attend a presentation.

Solution

A coordinated large-scale simulation with industry perspectives

The students were organized into more than 50 management teams that took part in CELEMI Sustainability™, a business simulation that connects sustainability, performance and business resilience.

Working in teams, students led a company through a changing business environment. They responded to realistic challenges including supply-chain disruption, resource shortages, energy-price volatility, geopolitical uncertainty and extreme weather.

Their task was to make decisions that balanced people, planet, profit and resilience over both the short and long term.

The format combined active small-team work with one coordinated learning experience for the full cohort. Teams worked through shared decision points and business challenges while being coached at their own tables.

The session was led by Ola Mattisson and Ulf Ramberg from Lund University School of Economics and Management, supported by ten university co-facilitators.

Celemi provided the simulation platform and technical support required to deliver the experience at scale.

Representatives from Camurus, Elcowire Group and Trelleborg Group added perspectives from working life. Their contributions connected the simulation to the real challenges and opportunities companies face as they seek to strengthen competitiveness, resilience and long-term value creation.

Results

Practical learning, early connection and a shared frame of reference

Students experienced the consequences of their decisions rather than discussing sustainability and resilience only in theory. They saw how choices in one area can affect financial performance, stakeholder expectations, adaptability and long-term value creation in another.

Participant feedback highlighted the value of the simulation’s interactive and practical format. Students particularly valued making decisions under time pressure, seeing the consequences of their choices and working through the tensions between economic, social and environmental priorities.

The event also helped students connect early in their programmes. Working in teams gave them an opportunity to meet new peers, hear different perspectives and begin building the collaboration and communication skills they would need in future group work.

Three teams were recognised for the strongest combined short- and long-term performance across people, planet, profit and business resilience. More importantly, the event gave the full student cohort a practical and shared language for discussing business trade-offs from the beginning of their studies.

By bringing together academic learning, industry perspectives and active decision-making, Lund University School of Economics and Management positioned sustainability as a source of business resilience, not a separate agenda.

The experience also demonstrated how a well-orchestrated business simulation can engage a large audience while keeping every participant actively involved.

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