The partnership aims to bring insights from current research into practice more quickly and to feed real‑world experience from business back into teaching and research. This creates a bridge that benefits companies, academia, and especially students.
Sustainable innovation through collaboration: tesa and WHU connect science and practice
Markets
tesa and the WHU Sustainability Management Center have launched a collaboration that more closely connects academia and practice, involves talent at an early stage, and increases tesa’s visibility as an attractive employer. The initial focus is the “twin transformation,” meaning the integration of digitalization and sustainability across all corporate functions.
This partnership enables us to share our transformation experience with the next generation of leaders while also incorporating valuable impulses from science
Dr. Jörg Diesfeld
CFO of tesa
Concretely, the cooperation foresees several formats that complement and build on each other. An executive lecture and dialogue series will bring tesa leaders together with students and researchers to discuss specific transformation topics. In parallel, practice‑oriented student projects will be launched in which MBA, master’s, and doctoral students work on real business cases and reflect on their results together with tesa experts.
tesa will gain research‑based perspectives to inform strategic decisions. Students, in turn, will work on real‑world questions, expand their networks in industry, and gain experience that facilitates entry into roles with responsibility.
About the WHU Sustainability Management Center
The WHU Sustainability Management Center serves as the central platform for the university’s sustainability‑related activities and links research, teaching, and practice. It brings together stakeholders from business, academia, and society to jointly develop solutions to pressing sustainability challenges. With its focus on topics such as circular economy, carbon neutrality, and sustainable business models, the Center helps companies combine economic success with environmental and social responsibility. Through diverse cooperation formats, it promotes knowledge transfer between academia and practice as well as the education of future leaders with a solid understanding of sustainability.
