Can student managed investment funds (SMIFs) narrow the environmental, social and governance (ESG) skills gap?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it endeavors to document the current state of environmental, social and governance (ESG) pedagogy within undergraduate finance courses of business schools, and second, it seeks to show how business schools can leverage student managed investment funds (SMIFs) to swiftly integrate ESG pedagogy.Design/methodology/approachThe study is comprised of two sections that use different methodologies. The first part of the study involves a manual content analysis of undergraduate finance course textbooks, and related instructor materials are used to estimate the average coverage of ESG-related topics. Next, a case study of a SMIF that has recently integrated an ESG framework is provided to illustrate how this pedagogical innovation is effective in teaching ESG skills.FindingsThe findings of the content analysis of the three most commonly used textbooks in a sample of 17 Canadian universities, as well as associated instructor material, provide evidence that the primary emphasis in traditional curriculum remains on the shareholder, with little attention paid to ESG factors. The case study of an existing SMIF clearly demonstrates how a student-led development of an ESG framework provides the setting for effective, experiential learning.Originality/valueThis study shows that while traditional teaching settings, like lectures, may be slow to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of industry, nontraditional teaching venues, such as SMIFs, can be leveraged to meet industry demand for ESG skills, thereby closing the skills gap, enhancing student employability and increasing the relevance of business school education.

Bridging Skill Gaps – A Systematic Literature Review of Strategies for Industry

“…In addition, education providers can offer personalized learning according to learners' skill gaps and approaches to learning [58]. In line with that, many articles emphasize the importance of practice-oriented, hands-on, interactive learning experiences, such as learning factories, work-integrated learning programmes, and workbased learning [40,42,55,56,59,60] by e.g., apprenticeships, hands-on workshops on trending topics becoming more important in the company and participation in online training [29]. However, [46] points out that education shouldn't be too narrowly tailored to prepare for certain job workplaces or jobs since it makes the use of this particular education quite inflexible.…”

Application of an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Course to Enhance the Knowledge of Sustainable Finance of International Chinese College Students in Thailand

“…The results of this study are also consistent with those of previous studies. In Canada, when Oldford et al (2021) found that traditional teaching had limited coverage of ESG topics and was slow to adapt to the industry, but non-traditional teaching could be used to meet the demand for workers with ESG skills, they explored the current status of environmental, social and governance (ESG) pedagogy in undergraduate finance programmes in business schools and the use of student-managed investment funds (SMIFs) to rapidly integrate ESG pedagogy to meet industry demand. They found that students were able to acquire ESG skills through experiential learning.…”

“…They found that students were able to acquire ESG skills through experiential learning. Compared to Oldford et al (2021), ESG was integrated into the finance course in this study in order to develop the students' concept of sustainable finance and generate their critical thinking. This is in line with the claim of Stubbs and Cocklin (2008) that different solutions and business cases can help students to understand sustainability.…”

Market reaction to firms' investments in CSR projects

“…Our findings could be of great value for management, investors, financial analysts, regulators and various agencies providing guidance on sustainability reporting as well as for educational institutions. Learning CSR can be leveraged to meet industry demand for CSR skills, thereby closing the skills gap, enhancing student employability and increasing the relevance of business school education (Oldford and Willcott, 2022).…”