Editor’s Note: This post is taken from the text of a news release issued by Global Evolution. Global Evolution serves on our Advisory Board, and hosted a student practicum during the 2016-2017 academic year.
Global Evolution partnered with the University of Vermont Sustainable Innovation MBA program to offer a unique learning experience for students pursuing a career in the growing field of sustainable business and impact investing.
The leading emerging and frontier markets investment manager hosted two students in a practicum project to gain hands on experience with investing in emerging and frontier markets. The students, Mike Rama and Ted Carrick, worked closely with Ole Jørgensen, Global Evolution’s Research Director, at headquarters in Denmark. Together, they developed recommendations to enhance Global Evolution’s ESG model and offering in North America, where the company is currently expanding.
“Sustainable investing is in our DNA, and we are committed to supporting the best talent that is interested in our field,” said Robert Morier, managing director and head of North America for Global Evolution. “Working with the University of Vermont was a great way to do that, and we are excited to see how these students contribute to our industry in the future.”
Practicums, or full-time capstone experiential projects, give students the opportunity to gain practical experience working on major sustainable business initiatives so they can apply the full range of knowledge, skills, and capabilities gained during the program.
Highlights of the practicum included research on the positive link between financing emerging market sovereign debt and those countries’ ability to accomplish the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By investing in sovereign debt, Global Evolution, and other ESG-focused investment managers specializing in emerging and frontier markets, are helping to close the finance gap to meet these goals by 2030.
“The practicum projects, as well as the extensive network provided by the program’s Board of Advisors, are key to helping our graduates find opportunities as sustainable intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs, and change agents with a range of leading organizations like Global Evolution,” said Stuart Hart, co-director of UVM’s one-year Sustainable Innovation MBA and a leading expert on the implications of environment and poverty for business strategy.
Practicums take students around the world to address issues related to the environment, poverty, water access, ethics and inequality. In addition to Global Evolution, University of Vermont student teams have partnered with the likes of Facebook, Ben & Jerry’s, Seventh Generation, 1% for the Planet, eKutir, Lancer, Diva, Cemex, and Native Energy.
The Sustainable Innovation MBA program continues to rise in the national rankings including a No. 2 spot on The Princeton Review’s “Best Green MBA” list. It also made CEO magazine’s list of top MBA programs in North America; and was ranked the 10th best “Better World” MBA program globally by Corporate Knights.
Recently, Global Evolution achieved an A+ by the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) for its commitment and approach to sustainable investing.
About Global Evolution
Global Evolution is a dedicated emerging and frontier markets boutique investment manager with an established track record based on a long history of investing in emerging and frontier markets. Known for its innovative approach, Global Evolution is one of the most widely recognized experts and pioneers in this segment of the market. The firm’s dedicated investment professionals and research analysts represent an imposing range, depth of experience and knowledge in emerging and frontier markets. Global Evolution’s founders and core portfolio management team have worked together for more than a decade and benefit from two decades of emerging and frontier markets experience.