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It will start from September 2007, for MBA students. As part of the program, the institute will run a two-day conference on September 9-10 to debate a set of policy questions; this will allow students to learn from policy-makers, practitioners and thought leaders. The key speakers during the conference will include Douglas Parr, chief scientist at Green Peace UK; Rajendra Pachauri of IPCC; Lee Stein of the X-Prize Foundation; Jeremy Smith of Carbon Disclosure Project; and Robert Muir-Wood, chief research officer at Risk Management Solutions.

Talking about the new program, Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of Sad Business School, said: Business schools have a critical function to perform in improving corporate performance, both in terms of conventional measures of investor return, and in relation to the role that business plays in society. We are concerned with how business can help solve some of the key social and environmental problems of the 21st century. Business should be part of the solution, not a contributor to these problems. Capstone will prepare our MBAs to engage with these problems in innovative and constructive ways.

Stephan Chambers, MBA Program Director, explained it further: Fitting Oxfords students to a radically more complex and uncertain future is a task weve decided to tackle quite explicitly. We now end the Oxford MBA with a course that encourages graduating students to think about the most pressing issues in their futures issues like energy security and climate change.

Professor Steve Rayner, Director of the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization, who co-developed the new program, commented: We are aiming to equip our MBAs with an education that will stand the test of their career lifetimes and help them fulfill their potential as tomorrows leaders. Todays leadership challenges require exceptionally good judgment about what is going on, what it means and what we should do about it.
The program will use scenario thinking and guided case studies to explore the issues.

Commenting on the benefits of course, Professor Rayner said, In using guided case studies and scenario techniques, the students will learn about re-perceiving -- how to see with clarity in a world of complexity and different worldviews and just how difficult it is for smart people to learn and change their minds! They will also learn about the art of strategic conversation, and the value of exploring what if to avoid if only! Hindsight may be a good thing for some towards the end of their careers, but we educate that foresight is better for those aiming to shape the world!

Interest in scenario thinking and practices has increased considerably in recent years across government, business and public sectors. Scenarios offer alternative stories of the future and can help organizations develop strategic insights in a way that helps them accept uncertainty and develop options for continued success.

Established in 1996, the Sad Business School is one of Europes newest growing business schools. Part of Oxford University, it focuses on academic rigor and forward thinking.