While most executives in Germany have a university degree, the Carl Zeiss Foundation has stated in a press release, they do not learn about leadership – and leadership responsibility and ethics in particular – as part of their course. The Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics (WCGE) and the universities of Tübingen, Mainz, and Jena have therefore joined forces to develop a curriculum on ‘leadership ethics’ for the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Modules will be designed in line with current research trends, to appeal to STEM students and to remain relevant for future jobs.

The Carl Zeiss Foundation is backing the project with €1.2 million over three years. “Responsible leadership doesn’t just happen by itself, as numerous negative examples from the past show,” says Theresia Bauer, Baden-Wurttemberg’s Minister of Science, Research, and the Arts and Chair of the Foundation Administration at the Carl Zeiss Foundation. That is why future executives need to cover issues relating to leadership, responsibility, and ethics as part of their studies.