BFH has been awarded a UNESCO Chair in Responsible Global Management

“The award of the UNESCO Chair is a testament to BFH’s responsible global efforts,” commented Sebastian Wörwag, President of BFH. “It also places the Business School among the ranks of high-profile global players and confers a position of national leadership in global management upon it.”

The chair is a key component in the continued development of the University’s Institute for Marketing and Global Management, managed by Christian Hopp. “A sustainable future requires innovation, education and profound knowledge. The UNESCO Chair enables BFH to intensify the global presence of its educational competence and innovative capacity,” emphasised Wörwag. “It teaches critical, globally interlinked thinking – and underscores that we can only solve the challenges of our era together, in a global context.”

Interdisciplinary and intercultural competence

”Global challenges require international dialogue across all levels. The new UNESCO Chair will make an important contribution to the development of interdisciplinary, intercultural competence in increasingly complex fields of work,” said Pia Stadler, holder of the chair. “Responsible global management aims to improve the quality of life on our planet and for our planet. This is a goal we can only achieve together.”

Coordination with the Agenda 2030 and Swiss foreign policy

Pia Stalder spearheaded the establishment of the chair in close collaboration with UNESCO. It is located at BFH’s Business School, the ‘Business School with a sustainable impact’, which is headed by Ingrid Kissling-Näf. The chair pursues two major objectives. Firstly, it supports the Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Secondly, it monitors Switzerland’ foreign policy. In 2021, the Federal Council adopted its first Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasises the continent’s increasing significance in global politics and the world economy, deeming Africa a ‘part of Switzerland’s broader regional sphere’.

Partnership with institutions in Africa and Europe

The governance of the UNESCO Chair will be coordinated with Professor Malika Abentak (Université Ibn Zohr, Morocco) and Professor Kalidou Seydou Sy (Université Gaston Berger, Senegal). The network of partners also includes four other African (Kenya and Ivory Coast) and five European (Switzerland, France, Denmark and Romania) universities.

Applied research and innovative education

Through its applied-research projects and innovative education programmes, Bern University of Applied Sciences participates in the strategic thematic fields of Caring Society, Humane Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development. Across the University’s seven Schools, around 7,800 students are enrolled in 38 bachelor’s and 48 master's degree programmes.