300 lecturers and students took part in a seminar entitled Promoting Decent Work in the Indonesian Fishing Sector. The event was arranged in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to raise awareness of working conditions in the industry. This was the result of an MoU, designed to strengthen collaboration on business and human rights education, which had been signed by the ILO, the Global Business School Network and the Geneva School of Economics and Management at the University of Geneva. • Creating collaborative ecosystems To solve modern issues, one must collaborate at an unprecedented level. Therefore, business schools must be able to facilitate how students, businesses, governments, non‑governmental organisations and other academic institutions can work together. A stakeholder approach is essential for business schools to create a network of companies that can connect students with companies, governments, non-governmental organisations and other educational institutions. It is essential that business schools become core to their respective societies, demonstrating a good understanding of the social and economic contexts of their regions and the ability to provide solutions to the challenges facing them. For instance, a business school in Southeast Asia may have to focus on sustainable agricultural technologies, while a school in an industrial region may have to develop circular economy strategies. These ecosystems should facilitate cross-disciplinary class projects where students work on real-life issues; they must also enable practical internships and other such practices that help students gain hands-on work experience. Other areas of involvement entail collaborative research, in which different sets of participants are involved, and innovation challenges that stimulate the development of solutions across various sectors.
of a curriculum that can be adapted to meet that community’s needs as they evolve. This strategy also comprises an emphasis on practically applicable faculty and student research and the appointment of special departments to attend to both community and industry outreach. In Thailand, preserving cultural values is an essential part of the country’s heritage. Sasin MBA students visit local communities and are able to see the importance of those values that are passed down through the generations. This aspect can be connected to an entrepreneurial strategy in the context of enhancing existing products and services for a particular community. For example, in our Pricing Strategy course focusing on value creation in products, services and experiential strategies, students work on social innovation ideas to help local communities. We do this by bringing student teams to visit the Banglamphu Lang, a local community in Bangkok. The project aims to generate income in the community and encourage sustainable growth without destroying the root of its identity. Students present their ideas and get feedback from the instructor and local community stakeholders. From a regional perspective, Southeast Asia faces several challenges, including human rights issues that are shaped by the peculiarities of the political systems and cultural norms, as well as the economic conditions in the region. Being a business school in this part of the world, integrating human rights into education is an important component of the global and regional efforts towards the effective integration of business and human rights principles. One good example of direct impact through community engagement comes from the Universitas Diponegoro in Indonesia, a country with some of the world’s largest fish producers and workers in the fishing industry (approximately 5.2 million employees). At Diponegoro University, around
34 Ambition • ISSUE 2 • 2025
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