Engaging Management and STEM Students in Solving Global Problems of Sustainable Development

Management students need interdisciplinary teamwork competencies to solve complex, global sustainability challenges, such as those related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3) and Reduced Inequality (SDG 10). We harnessed experiential learning theories to create and implement an SDG-focused Interdisciplinary Global Classroom Model that develops these critical compe-tencies in students. We placed management and chemistry students into interdisciplinary teams and tasked them with solving global problems related to social inequities in access to healthcare and food. To illustrate the far-reaching impact of our Interdisciplinary Global Classroom Model, we describe the design and implementation of two team projects: the Global Healthcare Project, which focused on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world; and the Sustainable Farming Project, which aimed to develop sustainable farming practices for cash crops in economically vulnerable countries in the Global South. In both projects, students conducted their own research, reflected on their experiences with these global crises, and made sense of them using theories within and outside their respective disciplines. The students learned how to devise strategies that could be used to solve these global problems and were empowered to effect change in their local and global communities. As such, we suggest that our Interdisciplinary Global Classroom Model can equip business educators with methodologies that promote the development of the competencies required to achieve SDG 2, SDG3 and SDG10, among other sustainable development goals.