My Master's Courses at Masaryk University

The course introduces and analyses the concepts of sustainable development, Agenda 2030 and SDGs along with the approaches and tools for their implementation, monitoring and financing at the global, regional and national levels. Special attention will be given to the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This overall framework will be illustrated by in-depth analyses of the development system response to selected SDG – namely SDG 13 on Climate Action, with particular attention to climate science, key drivers of climate change, climate-related impacts, vulnerabilities as well as international agreements as well as the importance of climate finance. The ability to innovate and continuous change management has been recognized as one of the key aspects of the successful implementation of Agenda 2030/ SDGs. The course will therefore explain the role of innovation in the public sector. This will include theoretical and methodological underpinnings of innovation, the skills, attitudes and behaviours required for promoting innovation as well as concrete toolkits used by key public sector actors. Further attention will be given to understanding of innovation ecosystem and real-life examples of building a culture of innovation in the UN and other international organizations. The last part of the course will concentrate on executive aspects of Agenda 2030/ SDGs implementation, such as leadership, organizational and change management, result-based and project management cycle as well as individual career management of professionals working in the public sector. The course puts particular emphasis on combining the understanding of overall concepts and their theoretical underpinnings with practical examples and hands-on experience (provided both by the lecturer as well as guest speakers) from practical implementation of public policies and development projects, especially in middle- and low-income countries. 

The course introduces and analyses the concepts of green transition and decarbonization in the context of sustainable development/ Agenda 2030 along with its regulatory and policy framework, pathways, taxonomy, monitoring and reporting framework as well as financing at the global, regional, and national levels. Special attention will be given to the green transition in the European Union context. The course will then continue by looking more closely at the decarbonization of key sectors such as energy, industry and transport among others. This will be complemented by an exploration of the concept of ‘just transition’ in the framework of the ‘leaving no one behind’ principle. The ability to innovate and continuous change management has been recognized as one of the key aspects of the successful implementation of green transition. The course will therefore explore the role of innovation and new technologies in green transition. The last part of the course will concentrate on executive aspects of green transition such as leadership, organizational management and change management, this will be illustrated by examples from both public and private sector entities. The course puts particular emphasis on combining the understanding of overall concepts and their theoretical underpinnings with practical examples and hands-on experience from the implementation of public policies and development initiatives.