Rethinking Sustainability: Lessons from Minerva’s MDA Program

Hi! My name is Rayyan, and I am a current student in Minerva’s MDA program. I have always been passionate about sustainability and studied it in my undergraduate studies. This program has been a catalyst in helping me think about sustainability topics in ways I never had before.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is how important it is to figure out what problem you are trying to solve. In sustainability, it is’s easy to get caught up in fixing symptoms instead of the root cause—solving the wrong problem. Minerva has shown me how to step back, slow down, and break things down to get to the heart of the matter. Spoiler: it is much more complicated than it sounds, but it is worth it.

The coursework strikes this outstanding balance: it is’s accessible enough that you don not have to be a statistics wizard to keep up, but it also pushes you to develop accurate, high-level skills. By the end, you will have skills and confidence to reach your goals and be comfortable engaging with people from wildly different fields. My classmates include doctors, politicians, data analysts, finance professionals, start-up founders, and many others. Their unique perspectives have taught me to think about data and decisions in ways I would never have through my echo chamber. I have learned as much from my classmates as from the coursework.

Speaking of classmates, one of the coolest things about Minerva is that we are all in our home countries. Unlike traditional programs where everyone relocates, we get to share real-time insights from where we live. This means we constantly hear about how things like sustainability, policies, and cultural nuances playing out in different regions. Plus, navigating group work across time zones? That is’s another level of teamwork skills—nothing builds patience like trying to schedule a meeting with five people on three continents.

Another thing I did not expect to learn so much about is how to work with stakeholders. Sustainability is never just about the data—it is about people. Whether negotiating with people with entirely conflicting goals or finding ways to communicate complex ideas so everyone can understand them, I have learned how to build trust and connect with others. This has been a game-changer for thinking about the bigger picture of sustainability and the networks involved in making any real change. In fact, I have already been able to apply these skills and grow my network.

What I love most about Minerva is how practical it all feels. This is not a sit-back- and- nod-along kind of program. It is’s about using frameworks, mitigating biases, and applying tools to problems. For me, that meant learning how to use data to drive decisions that make a real impact. Whether it is’s understanding constraints, figuring out causal effects, or just learning how to purposefully break massive problems into bite-sized pieces, this program has completely reshaped my decision-making process.

If you are ready to get out of your comfort zone, learn how to really solve problems, and have the opportunity to ask all of the questions you could dream of to engage deeply, Minerva is the perfect fit.

Sincerely,
Rayyan