Today's interview is with Jeff Schlegelmilch, an Associate Professor of Professional Practice of Climate Columbia Climate School.
What Is Columbia Climate School?
What Is Columbia Climate School, And Can You Share More About Your Mission?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - Our mission spans many different areas, but in essence, I work at the intersection of research, policy and practice. In some cases this is through conducting original research, but in all cases we are translating research from all sources to support contemporary challenges in disaster management for those in fields of policy and practice. Our degree and non-degree programs are important parts of this mission, by educating on the current state of the science, as well as how to continue to engage with it as it evolves and we learn more about the hazards around us, and how to build more resilience in the face of these challenges.
Climate Education
How Is The Columbia Climate School Redefining Climate Education To Meet The Needs Of A Rapidly Changing World?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - A lot of this is led through our degree programs, particularly through our 1-year Masters in Climate and Society, and our 2-year Masters of Science in Climate. These flagship degree programs provide a multidisciplinary perspective, starting with the climate core, then branching out into other areas. Our MS program also has several tracks that students will choose from, one of which is an Advanced Certificate in Climate and Disaster Management. Each of these pathways provides a combination of scientific rigor, as well as real-world application both in the classroom, as well as through experiential learning in the form of internships and capstone opportunities. We also work to reach those seeking additional learning opportunities through our Executive Education and Non-Degree Programs and through some training programs through our research centers. These are designed for developing specific skills for those currently working in, or looking to enter fields related to climate, sustainability, and resilience.
From Projects To Classroom
The Climate School Supports Over 200 Active Research Projects. How Do These Projects Feed Into The Classroom Experience For Your Students?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - At my center, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, we have numerous students working with us at any given time. They may be supporting research projects, developing trainings for agencies or private organizations, developing planning tools, or otherwise taking the research and developing resources to be used immediately in the field. We are just one of many research units across the Climate School and the broader University. So suffice to say, it is one of the key linkages between the classroom and the field, with many opportunities for students to learn from and participate in. The work also feeds back into the classroom, where we often use case studies or examples of how fundamental science looks in practice in the messiness of the real-world.
R&D
Can You Highlight A Specific Research Initiative Or Discovery At The Climate School That You Feel Will Shape Climate Education For The Next Decade?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - There are many many areas of discovery that have heavily influenced policy and practice. Some recent examples include our work to help support improvements to the electric grid with a more robust accounting for human dimensions of vulnerability. We are also in the process of launching two new indices in the next few months. One is an update to our Natural Hazards Index in partnership with AllianceBernstein, which currently provides retrospective hazard data and risk at the county and census tract level throughout the United States. The upcoming version will include climate change projections across multiple types of hazards, a first of its kind to support looking at future hazard exposure. The other is an index to support concessional financing for climate adaptation under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. This will be a global index of countries looking at historical hazards, future climate vulnerability, as well as access to financial markets and the ability to pay for climate adaptation, and key governance indicators to consider when structuring financing. These are all emblematic of how various different fields (engineering, finance, sociology, governance, etc.) all need to be weighed and coordinated across in the work that we do and the educational programs we provide.
Skills For Climate Leaders
Given The Urgency Of Climate Change, What Skills And Qualities Do You See As Essential For The Next Generation Of Climate Leaders?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - Working across multiple fields and sectors, as well as finding ways to work with people who look at the world differently than you do. One of the assignments I give in one of my classes is to develop a resilience initiative, then to choose three different stakeholder groups in the community whose engagement you need. This can be anything like homeowners, business groups, local elected officials, among others. The assignment is to develop three different value propositions based on the interests of these groups. We may understand why we want the initiative to move forward, but to bring others on board we need to work with people where they are, and be ready to articulate value in different ways based on the challenges and aspirations of different groups within civil society. No one can get this done with just 51% of the population, and yelling our perspective louder won’t get us the other 49%.
Long-Term Impact
How Do You Measure The Long-Term Impact Of Your Executive Education And Non-Degree Programs On Participants And Society At Large?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - The measure of success with these programs is really bi-direcitonal. On one hand, seeing smarter investments, more holistic inquiries into risk and impacts, and new ways of articulating the value of sustainability and resilience comes from the companies and students that engage with us in these programs. But we also learn a lot from them. As researchers and scholars, the questions they are asking of us influences how we think about generating new discoveries, and where the needs and opportunities are for data to help drive sustainability. With our pre-college programs we are also able to inspire the next generation and prepare them to lead with the insights and knowledge many of us wish we had when we were at that age.
Success Stories
Can You Share Any Success Stories Of Alumni Who Have Gone On To Make Significant Contributions To The Climate Movement?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - One of my favourite aspects of the program is the diversity of career paths that students come in and leave with. We have alumni working in roles like a Chief Sustainability Officer for a major city, as analysts for international organisations like The World Bank and UNICEF, we have graduates in the private sector in major international consultancies, as well as part of startups and the tech sector. We also have students that remain on research tracks towards a PhD or other advanced degrees to further develop research. This is really one of the best features of the program. We have a diversity of expertise among the faculty, but also among the students, who become leaders in their field while also facilitating the intersections learned from the classroom in their work into the future.
New Courses
If You Could Launch A New Course Tomorrow On A Climate-Related Topic That Isn't Currently Covered, What Would It Be?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - I am currently developing a course on disaster finance, and how we pay for disasters. This includes private finance (including insurance), public grants and spending, nonprofits and philanthropy, and economic losses. The impacts of disasters are heartbreaking to watch, but often resilience decisions need a business case in order to implement them. This course will be developed to create greater fluency of these dynamics to help foster thinking for new business cases and models for resilience.
Into The Future
What Message Would You Give Our Readers About The Most Important Things To Focus On In The Months Leading Up To 2030? What Are The Things That Should Be A Significant Focus For People And Decision-Makers In This Space?
Jeff Schlegelmilch - The challenges we face are more complex and significant than ever before in human history. It may seem overwhelming, and easy to lose hope amidst all we are seeing. But we also have more information available to us than ever before. By building new approaches to education, governance, business, and philanthropy, we absolutely have it within our power to build a more resilient and just future.
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