SCHEDULE

Sustainability Professional

 

The Professional level course offers an intensive, practical experience in which students design, carry out, and assess their own sustainability project in accordance with their individual, organizational, or business goals and capabilities. The Professional class is designed to be taught over a period of 6 to 8 months, with in-class sessions (online or in-person) to support students as they design and carry out their projects. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

 

• Identify measures of accountability, success, and progress on a sustainability issue of the students’ choice.

 

• Engage extensively with debates, policies, and practices of sustainability across multiple points of the value chain.

 

• Lead others in discussion and practice of these issues and serve as a mentor for future students.

 

• Identify, develop, carry out, and assess a sustainability effort that (a) fits within the student’s individual, business, or organization capabilities, (b) can be measured and traceable, (c) contains structures of accountability. Students will then assess and reflect critically on this project’s successes and failures.

 

• Serve as an advocate for intelligent sustainability programming across the coffee industry by making educated choices about tradeoffs, sustainability costs, and concepts

• Execute leadership in sustainability programming within the specialty coffee industry.

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Final Project Evaluation

 

The independent project consists of several components. You must score 70% or better on each component (not an average of all three) to receive the Coffee Sustainability Program Professional Certificate.

 

Phase I: Project Proposal

 

After completing the lecture component of Sustainability Professional, you will establish bi- weekly communication with your AST in preparation for submission of a draft of your professional project proposal for feedback. You will also seek the guidance of two mentors in the industry with specific expertise on your topic, and request they be able to provide guidance to you over the course of your project in the form of email responses and/or brief phone calls to answer questions. 

 

Phase II: Project Execution

 

Once your proposal is approved, project execution will begin. You are expected to execute at least one part of your project plan, leaving enough time for evaluation of the execution and final report writing. 

 

Phase III: Project Evaluation and Final Report

 

Your final score is not based on whether your project works as intended, but on your ability to assess and evaluate that project.

 

Your final project design and presentation will be assessed based on content, incorporated revisions, complexity, organization, and demonstrated understanding of the course and project objectives.

 

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