Growing businesses and industry improve a country’s economic performance; however, this also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Taking this into account, many companies strive to bring their potentially environmentally harmful actions down to the minimum by introducing green technologies and new practices, creating sustainable development departments, and coming up with policies for efficient use of resources. However, a recent study conducted by Moscow State Institute of International Relations demonstrated that nearly two thirds of its participants (companies in different fields) register a lack of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) specialists.

“The existing approach to training sustainability experts doesn’t meet the demands of governments and businesses; the educational programs in the field lack the balance between technology and governance, there is usually a preference for one or the other. Companies, on the other hand, are looking for experts who can evaluate greenhouse emissions, as well as analyze and manage risks. These are the specialists we’ll be training at the program. Students will create their own learning tracks and work on real-world industry cases,” shared Ekaterina Tambulatova, the head of the program and Dean of ITMO’s Faculty of Ecotechnologies.

Program structure

The new program is a joint initiative of ITMO’s Faculty of Ecotechnologies and Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations. It’s a project-based program, meaning that students will solve industry cases provided by Beeline, TSQ Consulting, the Research Institute of Sustainable Development in Construction (Green Zoom), and others in teams of up to 5 people.  

During their training, students will get to manage projects on climate change, evaluating hazardous waste, pollution, and CO2 emissions, developing green technologies, and implementing initiatives to lower greenhouse emissions. Moreover, they will learn to create environmental reports.

As the program is aimed at graduates with degrees in both engineering and management, students will be able to choose economics and management courses at the start of the program to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. 

The program’s fundamental training block will include courses in global environmental trends, ESG transformation management, adaptation to climate change, project management, fundamentals of non-financial reporting, and circular economy.

Moreover, the program offers two professional tracks, one of which students will be choosing in their first semester.

The track Environmental Security is aimed at future experts in sustainable development management, ensuring environmental protection in production, as well as the development and implementation of environmental management systems at enterprises. Here, students will learn to produce company reports, calculate a product’s carbon footprint or greenhouse emissions, as well as discover the legal and practical aspects of waste management.

Environmental Development is a track for future experts in the development and implementation of innovative environmental solutions, as well as the development of product strategies and strategies for technological modernization. In this track, students will learn to develop a company’s environmental, product, and technological transformation strategies, as well as study the fundamentals of economics and finance to attract green funding to businesses.

Students can also opt to study both tracks, one of them as a minor. This will be indicated as an additional qualification in their diploma.

Potential applicants

This Master’s program welcomes students with a degree in ecology, technosphere safety, economics, management, and other neighboring fields, as well as specialists wishing to be successful in sustainable development and solving ESG challenges at their enterprises.

Employment opportunities

As sustainable development is currently implemented in all fields, graduates can hold positions in varied business fields: telecommunication, financial and banking, oil and gas, energy, construction, property, and other sectors, as well as nonprofit organizations, government, and public administration.

Thanks to the program’s module-based format, students will be able to choose a career as: 

• environmental safety specialists at industrial and tech companies;
• ESG and strategic development specialists;
• ESG reporting specialists;
• specialists in development and implementation of innovative greentech solutions at tech companies, startups, and projects;
• researchers at scientific or industrial ecotechnology laboratories.

How to apply

Students can choose one of the following ways to get into the program: 

• Take an entrance exam;
• Present their research, academic, and professional achievements in the Portfolio Contest; 
• Become a winner or runner-up of ITMO’s Mega Contest; 
• Deliver the best presentation at the Congress of Young Scientists; 
• Become a winner of ITMO Mega School; 
• Become a winner or medalist of the I Am a Professional сontest; 
• Present a recommendation from the head of the program; 
• Defend your idea at the Tekhnosphere case championship.

Learn more about the program here; you can also follow the Faculty of Ecotechnologies on VK (in Russian) for all the latest updates.