BSL Executive Cert./Dip. of Adv. Studies in Sustainable Business

Founded in 1987 by Dr John Hobbs Business School Lausanne is based in Switzerland, With a diverse student community and qualified and experienced faculty members the school is proud of its co-creative approach to learning, focusing on topics as broad as leadership, systems thinking, economics and business-driven sustainability.
The school is specialized in providing business and management education with a focus on sustainability. The school offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs. BSL's programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

The BSL Executive Sustainable Business programs includes five core courses, whereas the DAS programme, a sixth course is included to guide on creating their sustainable business project.

Core courses:

1. Building Sustainability Strategies
2. Implementing Sustainability Strategies
3. Creating Sustainable Value / Supply Chain Focus
4. Social Entrepreneurship
5. Sustainability Leadership

DAS Only Course:

1. Executive Project Kick-off

A candidate needs to commit to 27 hours of classroom time and 50 hours of pre- and post-course work per module. Pre-course preparation is required for conducting interactive class time work including teamwork, group discussions, role-plays and case studies as well as experience sharing within the class and with invited experts and guest speakers. These programmes are offered through blended delivery method, which is a mix of online and on campus classes.

Students are expected to participate in the EPFL-BSL annual symposium on Societal Transition Pathways, held every June, to catch up on leading-edge research and if you worked on related topics, share your own insights with the scientific community. 

The final element of the DAS (Diploma of Advanced Studies) program is a business project report, requiring from the participant to select a concept and prepare a comprehensive report related to a specific aspect of business or an industry with own choice of methodology. Through the final project, the student will demonstrate an understanding of business concepts and ability to apply them in a real-life scenarios.

In order to qualify for the two programmes the applicant needs to meet the following criteria:

• have a Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of 5 years of work experience OR
• have a Master’s degree plus a minimum of. 3 years work experience. Exceptions can be considered on one-by-one cases for candidates with a strong, exceeding 10 years of professional

Having submitted required documentation, admissions team will inform you about the eligibility of your profile application status. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed, either on campus or via Skype or phone. During the interview applicants’ motivation, professional experience, potential and soft skills will be assessed. Once the Admissions Committee will make the decision it will be communicated to the applicant-this process takes a week.

A non-refundable administration fee of 800 CHF is required upon successful admission to reserve a seat in the program. Upon receiving payment confirmation, students will be provided with Full Acceptance letter, which confirms their seat in the programme. 

Admission deadlines for September intake:

• Swiss & EU Applicants – July 31st / August 31st
• International Applicants – May 1st