Incubator Seed Funding Gives Life To Greenwashing Course
A new ENGAGE.EU course aims to equip students with the tools to identify, fight and transform greenwashing, making them true changemakers in the green transition.
One of the initiatives recently awarded ENGAGE.EU Incubator seed funding is the GIFT project, short for Greenwashing: Identify, Fight and Transform. The project brings together experts from University Toulouse Capitole (UT Capitole), WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, and Universitat Ramon Llull (URL) to develop a multidisciplinary course addressing one of the most pressing challenges in sustainability today.
“This recognition is a great encouragement for academic innovation and international teamwork,” says Sophie Sabathier, Associate Professor at UT Capitole and project lead.
Holistic learning on greenwashing
The GIFT course combines legal, marketing, accounting, and financial perspectives to give students a holistic understanding of greenwashing. Through real world projects, interactive activities, and case analyses, learners will explore how to identify misleading environmental claims and transform them into genuine sustainability action.
“Our goal is to empower learners to understand and transform greenwashing,” explains Sabathier.
An opportunity to drive meaningful change
The team highlights that true empowerment requires a cross disciplinary foundation. While Sabathier teaches business law, Anthea Chai Afanou, local area coordinator at UT Capitole, is responsible for organising and coordinating the online course development.
“Taking part in this course development is an opportunity to drive meaningful change and build collective responsibility towards a more transparent and environmentally conscious future,” says Anthea Chai.
Looking ahead
The plan is to integrate the GIFT course into existing master’s programmes in law, management and related disciplines, enrolling at least 60 students per year. The project group has already developed detailed syllabi and lecture materials and is now finalizing the course modules.
The course is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2027, with a three-year implementation period to ensure long-term sustainability.
“The phenomenon of greenwashing is unlikely to disappear in the near future, which justifies the ongoing relevance of this course,” says Sabathier.
GIFT was one of 5 projects awarded seed funding this year, alongside other innovative incubator initiatives:
Initiative name | Initiative description | Level | Lead Partner | Partners involved | Funding amount |
Greenwashing: Identify, Fight and Transform (GIFT) | A collaborative online international learning course providing students with a multidisciplinary critical framework for analysing and addressing environmental claims. | Master | UT Capitole | URL, WU | EURO 8,000 |
Shaping the Future of Learning: International Perspectives on Management Education in Transition | A collaborative online international learning course exploring current societal and educational challenges in vocational education and training.
| Master | UMA | WU, St Gallen | EURO 8,000 |
ENGAGE Culture! | A modular online course on intercultural competence that empowers students to understand, respect, and work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds. | Master, bachelor | UMA | Hanken, NHH | EURO 8,000 |
Learning Compassionate Care: A transnational teaching initiative for resilience, dialogue and systemic thinking | A collaborative online international learning course empowering students to understand interdependence, foster well-being, and engage responsibly with societal challenges.
| Bachelor | UMA | Tilburg, Luiss | EURO 8,000 |
Managing the Family Business | A collaborative online international learning course which aims to equip students with the essential theories and frameworks about family businesses while fostering intercultural exchange. | Master | UMA | NHH, UNWE | EURO 8,000 |
The next call for proposals for the Incubator seed funding is scheduled already in December, continuing to support groundbreaking projects in the ENGAGE.EU network.