A New Standard for Climate Change Education
Planet+ is designed to equip the next generation of climate innovators with the skills, experience, and perspective needed to design real-world solutions.
Through a structured, transdisciplinary experience, students learn how to think systemically, collaborate across fields, and translate ideas into actionable impact.
Built with Columbia University Climate Experts
Planet+ is developed in collaboration with experts from Columbia University in New York, including the Columbia Climate School and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI)—institutions at the forefront of global climate research, policy, and finance.
This partnership ensures that students are working with:
Learning and teaching frameworks used in leading academic settings
Case studies grounded in real-world research and implementation
Exposure to a global network of experts shaping the future of climate solutions
For students, this means access to a level of rigor, relevance, and credibility aligned with top-tier institutions—and a learning experience that reflects how climate work is actually done.
“Students leave with the ability to think critically, work across disciplines, and approach solving real-world problems with structure and intent—preparing them to excel at top universities and lead in high-impact fields.”
Laurel Zaima-Sheehy, Assistant Director of K12 and Continuing Education, Columbia Climate School
Why Climate Change?
Climate change is one of the defining problems of the 21st century—complex, interconnected, and impossible to solve within a single discipline.
Addressing it requires collaboration across multiple disciplines and industries.
Planet+ uses climate change as a platform for learning because it demands exactly the kind of transdisciplinary thinking and real-world problem solving that students will need in the future.
The Planet+: Climate Solutions Challenge combines two complementary experiences:
The Competition
A multi-month, structured program where teams design and refine real-world climate solutions.
The Summit
A global event where students engage with experts, observe final presentations, and connect with a broader community.
Together, these experiences create a full-cycle learning environment—from problem framing to global presentation.
Our Pedagogical Approach
Planet+ is built on a research-informed and professionally inspired learning framework designed to mirror how complex problems are addressed in the world.
Rather than working on hypothetical scenarios, students engage with expert-authored case studies and develop solutions through structured iteration, feedback, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our program integrates four core pillars:
Systems Thinking
Students learn to analyze climate challenges as interconnected systems shaped by feedback loops, cascading effects that interact and influence outcomes.
Outcome: Students develop the ability to navigate complexity and make informed, system-level decisions for a rapidly changing world.
Case-Based Learning
Teams tackle real-world case studies inspired by real-world challenges - developing solutions within the same constraints faced by today’s and organizations.
Outcome: Students learn to read and analyze complex case studies and build solutions grounded in pressing global issues.
Transferable 21st-Century Skills
Participants develop critical skills such as research, communication, problem-solving, collaboration—while producing a portfolio-ready body of work.
Outcome: Students leave with both tangible outputs and the ability to apply these skills across academic and career contexts.
Project-Based Collaboration
Students work in interdisciplinary teams to investigate urgent challenges, test bold solutions, and refine their ideas through feedback from expert judges.
Outcome: Students gain experience working in team structures that reflect real academic and professional environments.
Our content and educational design experts:
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Lisa Sachs
Director, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment; Director, M.S. in Climate Finance; Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia Climate School
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Jeffrey Shaman
Senior Vice Dean, Columbia Climate School; Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
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Arthur Lerner-Lam
Former Deputy Director, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Academic Director of the Masters of Science in Sustainability Science, Columbia University
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Laurel Zaima-Sheehy
Assistant Director of K12 and Continuing Education, Columbia Climate School
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Joshua DeVincenzo
Assistant Director of Applied Research, Education, and Training, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia Climate School
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Lara Fornabaio
Lead Researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Columbia Climate School
How the Experience Works
Planet+ follows a structured process that mirrors how real-world climate solutions are developed—from initial problem framing to final presentation.
Teams progress through:
Problem framing — analyzing and understanding a complex, real-world challenge using expert-authored case studies
Research and stakeholder engagement — investigating the science and perspectives shaping the problem while learning to communicate ideas, engage stakeholders, and build support for proposed solutions
Solution development and testing — designing and refining a viable approach
Iteration through feedback — strengthening ideas through multiple rounds of expert critique
Final presentation — delivering and defending a complete solution before peers, experts, and industry leaders in a live global setting
The result is a rigorous, portfolio-ready body of work and first-hand experience operating in environments that mirror climate careers.