Abstract for: Towards Fostering Systems Thinking Competence within a Co-Emerge Lab for Regenerative Futures

Fostering systems thinking competence (STC) within business education has been a challenging endeavor. Current business education often fails to incorporate interdisciplinary perspectives, learning in and with nature, and collaboration with external actors, impacting current and future business practices. Through the research project “Co-Emerge Lab for Regenerative Futures” the authors aim to explore how STC can be fostered through Nature-Based and Regenerative Higher Education within business education. This project employs an Educational Design Research approach, involving interdisciplinary research, iterative experimentation, and the integration of the lab into educational structures. It is guided by questions on how to facilitate learning for regenerative futures, which makes re-establishing our connection with nature mandatory. The aim is to leverage transformative learning experiences that foster STC and an understanding of interdependencies in nature. While, simultaneously strengthening multi-stakeholder collaborations to foster systemic inquiry for more sustainability. The project is set to start in 2024, and the authors warmly welcome insights from and collaborations with interested scholars and practitioners.