Doctoral graduates in Sustainability Management will be using advanced theoretical foundations in economic, social and environmental sciences, as well as their knowledge of statistical data analysis, and focusing on a holistic approach to connecting empirical findings with scientific disciplines.

The program emphasizes students' competences in working in international environments and comprehending transnational contexts of sustainable development. Accordingly, they will be well prepared to pursue careers in research, public governance, international organizations, as well as for senior executive roles in major projects, industry, consulting and nonprofits.

The Sustainability Management PhD program has been developed by the School of Business jointly with the UCT Faculty of Environmental Technology, submitted for accreditation by the National Accreditation Agency, and we therefore expect to be able to enrol students from the 2021 Winter Term (enrolments in PhD programs at UCT take place semi-annually).

In the meantime, we shall be pleased to provide prospective students with Master degree qualification, typically in the fields of Economics, Natural Sciences or Technology, with more specific advice on selecting their Research topics and Thesis supervisors, as well as details of the enrolment process.

Syllabus

Doctoral students' curricula are based on their individual study plans, under the guidance of a supervisor. In the Sustainability Management program, students will generally be expected to take several doctoral courses, participate in research projects and international mobility, and publish research papers.

Before graduating, students will take Doctoral Exams and defend their Doctoral Theses, based on a selected topic and their research results.

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Doctoral courses (students take at least four of the courses on offer, at least two in Module A, and at least one in Module B)

Module A:

Advanced Capital Budgeting
Circular Economy and Industrial Symbiosis
Economic Growth
Economic Impacts of Sustainable Development
Engineering Optimization
Life Cycle Assessment
Methods of Economic Research
Physical and Chemical Processes in Energetics
Reducing Air Emissions from Industrial Processes and Energy Generation
Sources and Technology of Sustainable Energetics
Strategic and Innovation Management
System Dynamics
Trends in Public Policies and Sustainable Management

Module B:

Advanced Decontamination Technology
Biological Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
Decision Analysis
Drinking Water Treatment
Economics of Market Failures and Public Policy
Energetic Use of Biomass Fuels Utilization for Energy Production
Chemistry of Atmospheric Processes
Intangibles Assessment
Life Cycle Cost Analysis
Management of Social and Regional Development in the Czech Republic and EU
Planning and Management of Resilient City
Production and Utilization of Alternative Motor Fuels
Progressive Waste Treatment Technology
Social Innovation
Sustainable Development in Company Management
Sustainable Human Resource Management

Doctoral Exam domains (students take exams in three of the domains, selecting at least one domain in each of the groups)

Group 1:

Environmental Engineering
Product Ecology
Sustainable Technologies
Circular Economics
Life Cycle Impacts

Group 2:

Determinants of Economic Growth
Strategic and Value-based Management
Contexts of Public and Social Policies
Planning and Management of Complex Systems
Sustainable Development in Corporate Management

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Selected topics for Doctoral Theses

At the moment, due to the accreditation in progress, the topics are preliminary and incomplete. For more details on the listed topics, as well as other Thesis options, kindly contact Prof. Jan Vlachý (when considering School of Business supervisors) or Prof. Vladimír Kočí (when considering Faculty of Environmental Technology supervisors).

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Topics involving supervisors from the UCT School of Business:

Environmental Policies as an Instrument for the Development of so-called Coal Regions
Evaluation of Environmental Protection Policies
Evaluation of Results and Impacts of Stakeholders Participation in Design and Implementation of Environment Protection Policies
Irrationality as a Decision-making Factor in Sustainable Development
Methodological Issues in LCC and LCA Criteria Integration
Normative Models of Decision Analysis for Managing Sustainable Development
Product Life Cycle Cost Analysis
Quality of Work Life in the Petrochemical Industry
Resilience of Significant Regional Centres from the Perspective of Climate Threats
Risks, Synergies and Externalities in Capital Budgeting
Shared Economics and its Impacts
Social Innovation in the Country-side Development
Valuation Models in Technology Transfer
Value-based Analysis of Industrial Innovation Externalities

Topics involving supervisors from the UCT Faculty of Environmental Technology:

Development of Environmental Indicators Beyond BAT
Environmental Aspects of Different Alimentation Patterns
Environmental Aspects of Recycling of Construction Materials from the Point of View of Architecture and Design
Environmental Assessment of Energy Accumulation and Distribution in Grid Connected with Regulable and Non-regulable Energy Sources
Environmental Impacts of Alternative Retail Methods
LCA as an Instrument of Ecodesign
Logistics from the Perspective of the Entire Life Cycle
Methodology for the Environmental Nutritional Foot-print
Regionalization of the Water Trail
Sustainability Indicators and their Use in Industrial Practice
Sustainability of Operation and Reconstruction of Historic Buildings
Sustainable Systems for Product Packaging and Distribution