One of my main driver for teaching has been to bridge the gap between sustainability, conservation and economics. I strongly believe that with the current planetary challenges, we cannot afford continuing training the future policy makers and CEOs in old unsustainable, linear economic models.  Sustainability has to be a topic introduced in every single curriculum and, in the case of Economics and Business Administration, the students need to learn new economics (doughnut economics, circular economics, not-for profit, etc)

In 2018 I started the Master program in Innovation and Global Sustainable Development at Lund University School of Economics and Management (Sweden) where I tought the fundamentals of sustainability science and the role of innovation in sustainability transitions.

Since 2022 I am part of a MOOC that is available in Coursera entitled “Working for a Sustainable Future: concepts and approaches“, with the aim of scaling up and reaching out even more people interested in learning about sustainability.

Online & free courses can be found here (Innovation for Sustainable Development) and here (Qualitative Research Design).

Below is a brief description of my training portfolio which covers topics of sustainable development, innovation and qualitative research methodology.

Portfolio

Sustainability courses

Innovation for sustainable development: This is a highly multidisciplinary course based on economics of innovation, sustainability studies, economic geography and development studies. Theoretical insights are complemented with practical cases of innovations for sustainable development in a variety of sectors around the world.  The videos of the first four sessions of the course can be accessed for free here.

Transformations towards sustainability: Responsible consumption and production. This multidisciplinary course, part of the Agenda 2030 research school, revolves around the system transformations needed to achieve SDG12 on sustainable consumption and production in a globalized world. .

Introduction to the Circular Economy: Students will learn the principles of the circular economy and its practical application in the analysis of different industries and products used in our daily life: small electronics, textiles, or food and discuss the main challenges for a transition to a circular economy. 

Innovative practices in developing countries

Every year I take a group of students to Costa Rica to work, hands on, on an innovative solution to a development project. They stay 3 months in the country, in a selected region. While gathering material for their upcoming thesis, they also work in a problem that the community has.

Innovation

Economics of Innovation

This course covers several areas of innovation economics, such as their characteristics, their driving forces of innovation and how innovation affects sustainable development.   Drawing on the systems of innovation literature, this course discusses how the institutional framework affects innovation.

Globalization and innovation

This course provides a basic understanding of how different innovation strategies are formed for firms to compete globally. It concentrates primarily on outlining the changing patterns of global organisation of innovation, global resourcing for innovation, and global creation and dissemination of knowledge.

Strategic Management of Innovation

This advanced course introduces students in the micro aspects of innovation management. It particularly deals with internal and external factors affecting the decision of firms to innovate.

Tools and indicators for the Management of Science, Technology and Innovation

In this advanced course (postgraduate) the students are introduced to a variety of tools for the management of innovation like creativity tools, knowledge management, project and portfolio management and scenario planning.

Qualitative research design

Qualitative research methods in practice:  This course provides an introduction to qualitative research methodology and deeper analysis of a selection of qualitative methods of enquiry. The videos of the lecture sessions can be found here

Research Design: Aimed to help students identifying research aims, testable hypotheses, and research questions that are relevant in relation to existing research. They are also trained in understanding the role and use of theory in conceptualizing and problematizing fundamentals when designing and conducting research.

In addition to these full courses, I have been providing specific lectures in postgraduate courses. I have been active in teaching at all university levels (undergraduate and postgraduate – Master and PhD) and covering a wide variety of topics from general Economics to specific courses in innovation and in research methodology. For example, I have been teaching Macroeconomic policy, Macroeconomic instruments, Structural economics and International organizations.

I have also taught at several universities (Costa Rica, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Vietnam) and to a great variety of students and groups (academics, policy makers and practitioners). I have taught in English, Spanish and Portuguese.