Aquinas College
AC-5: Immersive Experience

SB330 International Perspectives in Sustainable Business
This course examines the deployment of sustainable business practices around the world. Class discussions, lectures and assignments will explore the variety of sustainable business models and practices which may be found in differently developing countries and regions, as well as introduce the complexities of a practicing sustainable business in a globalizing world. Students will be challenged to analyze the significance of cultural, political, and socioeconomic contexts in designing products, processes, and business strategies and models which will further sustainable business criteria. Each semester, a particular region/country receives more intense examination, culminating with a ten-twelve day field visit to that region/country immediately following the Academic Programs 247 end of the semester. A required field component for the course takes place in various locations throughout the regions/country. Recently, students have traveled to Costa Rica for the last 2 weeks of the course. This course was cross-listed with Biology in the spring 2018 semester.

Sustainable Business Innovations Lab: We will investigate and deploy triple top-line entrepreneurial innovation, effective organizational design, workplace innovation application skills, and research/analysis methods through in-class discussions as well as practice-based projects. The course is taught in a semester long format, using 2 or 3 "real world" projects from local businesses.

During Fall and Spring Breaks, the Campus Ministry department offers one-week service learning trips to several destinations with a sustainability component.
- Appalachian Rural Poverty: Bethlehem Farm (West Virginia). Live out community, simplicity, prayer and service. Learn about local foods, solar initiatives and simple living. Work includes home rehabilitation (roofing, painting, carpentry) and serving with area non-profits.
- National Park Preservation: Acadia National Park (Maine). Travel to Maine and participate in rugged outdoor work while living on Acadia island for a week. Service includes working with rangers at the National Park on outdoor environmental projects.
- Native Rights/Sustainability: Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota). An opportunity to experience life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Learn about and demonstrate solidarity with the Oglala Lakota through site visits, cultural immersion, learning and service. Projects include energy efficiency work on the Reservation.
- Urban Poverty/Sustainability: Jerusalem Farm (Kansas City, MO). Live in an urban environment intentionally based on community, simplicity, prayer and service. Learn about local foods, solar initiatives, community building and simple living through home repair and local non-profit work.