Teaching

Not just taught – made understood

My Teaching Sytle

I seek to make sustainability understandable — across disciplines, backgrounds and levels of prior knowledge. My work is driven by the conviction that a deeper conceptual understanding of sustainability is essential to shaping and transforming our collective future.

My approach is simple: teaching that inspires, knowledge that endures.
When learning becomes a source of pleasure, insight deepens.
When knowledge touches emotion, it transforms into wisdom.
Beyond facts, towards meaning. Beyond instruction, towards reflection.

Conceptual Depth and Multidimensional Learning

I translate complex systems into clear principles and actionable insights, enabling students and professionals to recognise sustainability as a form of strategic intelligence, one that fosters innovation, long-term thinking and responsible leadership.

Thus, I combine conceptual depth with scientific precision, and methodological diversity with an inspiring learning atmosphere. Structured didactics, narrative framing, experiential methods and embodied learning elements allow me to engage analytical reasoning, intuition and social awareness alike. Sustainability, to me, is a multidimensional learning process — one that activates cognition, perception and competency.

Competences

Broad expertise in Sustainability Science (Planetary Boundaries, Anthropocene, sustainability theories)
Developer of the Evolutionary Sustainability Model (emergence, intelligence, consciousness)
Strong methodological skills: LCA, ecological footprint, ESG, sustainability indicators
Specialisation in Circular Economy, Postgrowth, Digitalisation & Cultural Transformation
Experience in Sustainable Leadership & Change Management

Didactic innovation: storytelling, visualisation, transdisciplinary case studies
Curriculum design for Master and MBA programmes (ECTS-compatible)
Languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian
Skilled in student supervision & coaching (theses, mentoring)
Strong interdisciplinarity & bridge-building between natural, social and cultural sciences

Sustainability made understood

I support degree programs, faculties, and academic departments that seek to integrate sustainability into their teaching in a way that is both rigorous and alive — with a focus on theoretical foundations, systemic perspectives, and the epistemic horizons of sustainability science.

At the Master level, students critically engage with sustainability theories (Ott & Döring; Jackson; Brand & Wissen) and methodological pluralism (Kates; Jahn). The aim is to generate “orientation knowledge” (Mittelstraß) that enables informed transformation.

In MBA and executive programs, the emphasis shifts to application: integrating sustainability science into leadership and strategic decision-making—through real-world labs (Schneidewind), Gestaltungskompetenz (de Haan), and the operationalization of Planetary Boundaries (Rockström).

Teaching Portfolio – Examples

Master Programs

Module	Contents/Concepts	Key Theories & Sources	Main Scholars	ECTS	Competences
Systems Thinking & Transformation	System Dynamics, Emergence, Self-organization, Transformation Research	Meadows (2008) Thinking in Systems, Luhmann (1984), Prigogine, WBGU (2011) Great Transformation	Meadows, Luhmann, Prigogine, Kauffman, Schneidewind	5–6	Complex thinking, scenario development, reflection
Sustainability & Digitalization	AI, Blockchain, Big Data, Digital Ethics	Floridi (2013) The Ethics of Information, Zuboff (2019) Surveillance Capitalism	Floridi, Zuboff, Brynjolfsson	4	Digital competencies, critical reflection, ethics
Culture, Values & Postgrowth	Postgrowth, Common Good Economy, Doughnut Economics	Paech (2012), Felber (2010), Raworth (2017)	Paech, Felber, Raworth	3–5	Value shift, alternative narratives, transformation

MBA Programs

Module	Contents/Concepts	Key Theories & Sources	Main Scholars	ECTS	Competences
Sustainable Leadership & Change Management	Leadership, Change, Learning Organization	Senge (1990) The Fifth Discipline, Kotter (1996) Leading Change, Bass (Transformational Leadership)	Senge, Kotter, Bass	3	Leadership skills, change strategies
Circular Economy & Innovation	Cradle to Cradle, Blue Economy, Doughnut Economics	Braungart & McDonough (2002), Pauli (2010), Raworth (2017)	Braungart, McDonough, Pauli, Raworth	3–4	Innovation, business models, best practices
Consciousness & Responsibility	Neurobiology, Consciousness, Ethics, Integral Theory	Hüther (2015), Damasio (1994, 2021), Seth (2021), Wilber (2000)	Hüther, Damasio, Seth, Wilber	2–3	Self-reflection, value orientation, leadership ethics

Turning sustainability into a coherent, learnable field

What Other Say

“Dr. Pufé’s teaching is engaging, intellectually stimulating, and both demanding and supportive.”

“Dr. Pufé translated the complex topic of sustainability into clear and accessible learning formats, which were well received by our students.”

“Dr. Pufé combines different teaching approaches and perspectives, to make sustainability understandable. ”

Examplary Course: “Evolutionary Sustainability Masterclass”

The Evolutionary Sustainability Masterclass is a signature program I designed to integrate systemic thinking, scientific foundations, and evolving consciousness into sustainability education.

Course Description

This 4-day immersive masterclass explores sustainability as an evolutionary system rather than a static goal. Drawing from Earth sciences, biology, psychology, sociology, and consciousness studies, participants learn to understand sustainability as a dynamic, emergent process that evolves through patterns of matter, life, mind, and culture.

Through a mix of scientific insight, creative reflection, and systems practice, the course provides an integrative framework to rethink sustainable development beyond compliance — towards intelligence, emergence, and transformation.