As part of Katalyst’s ongoing engagement with the next generation of sustainability leaders, we were really pleased to be the client for the 2026 University of Amsterdam Political Science ‘Pressure Cooker’ student event. In this capstone activity, final-year political science students from Professor Luc Fransen’s Corporate Responsibility course provide consulting advice to a civil society organisation.
Our question of students this year was: Considering different industry contexts, human rights risks, regulatory tools, and the lessons of the CSDDD process, what should the next generation of global value chain governance look like?
Working together in groups, in an offsite retreat environment, students are challenged to develop answers to our research question, and to then present their findings for discussion. The goal of the event is to give students a chance to apply their skills to the kinds of real-world questions that civil society is grappling with at the moment, while providing Katalyst with creative analysis and fresh perspectives.
Katalyst’s Martin Curley participated in the January presentations and said “I was so impressed with how quickly students identified the really hard problems at the heart of value chain governance, but didn’t stop there. They provided analysis and suggestions that acknowledge the systemic nature of problems, and the need for new ways of thinking in a dramatically changed political environment. It’s so encouraging to see this generation of talented and committed students at work.”
The recommendations provided by the student groups will help shape Katalyst’s work with other civil society actors in the coming year in considering how to move ahead with governance of global value chains for human rights and environmental protection.
