The annual Sustainability Career Boot Camp, hosted by the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, provides Stern undergraduate students with an intensive training program to prepare them for a variety of sustainability-oriented careers. In February 2024, we partnered with HSBC for an engaging boot camp with a hands-on introduction to skills & internship opportunities in sustainable finance with a deep dive into the just transition to a low carbon economy.

To learn more about the boot camp, read Julia Niehaus' reflection below.

Julia Niehaus
BS '26
Concentration: Finance and Sustainable Business 

This year's bootcamp was an interactive insight into the world of sustainable business. HSBC showed us how they're adjusting to growing sustainability incentives, followed by a panel of sustainability investors that walked us through their day-to-day. Us participants got an in-depth explanation of different aspects of the ever-growing field. We then had a Q&A panel of Stern Alumni, working in a range of fields from ESG consulting to startup work. This was my favorite part, the raw insights we heard were invaluable. Lastly, we had a simulation activity led by a Columbia University professor. In teams, we acted as different stakeholders involved in an energy-efficient project, demonstrating the complexities and nuances of sustainable business. We shared laughs and learned a lot about the multifaceted process. The open networking at the end allowed us to talk to professionals that we connected with, and I had a meaningful conversation with several attendees. One cool trend that I noticed among the panelists and guests was that since many sustainability-faced careers require constant learning of new initiatives and policy, several professionals keep a spreadsheet of all new sustainability news that they update daily.

Overall, I was very impressed with the level of depth, interaction, and vulnerability that we received.