Ukrainian forest sector competitiveness through the incorporation of sustainable development aspects into an MBA in Forest-related Industry Program

Sustainable development (SD) awareness continues to rise within the general public and is being extensively incorporated within academia, institutions, and business. As it is impossible to reach the needed level of awareness without adequate education, cooperative education partnerships should be established. The paper reveals the survey results and outcomes concerning the need for developing and implementing an industrial (Forest-related Industry) Master in Business Administration (MBA) program at the Ukrainian National Forestry University. The content of such a proposed program was also discussed. It was found that by developing and communicating the understanding about the connections between sustainability and business, companies can enhance their value, measure and manage change, and drive improvement and innovation. Considering the increasing demand for MBA programs it is crucial to implement sustainable development aspects into each proposed course. A hypothesis was made that sustainable development aspects are important both for the MBA program and for the industry. The paper concludes with a proposal of possible partnership and benefits for both academia and the forestrelated industry in Ukraine.