Summer School HISSEMA

The course "International Management and Economics" consists of two parts:

• Topics related to Business Systems, CSR and Business Ethics
• Topics related to World Trade

Part 1 Sustainable Finance

The section introduces students to key concepts and mechanisms in sustainable finance, focusing on the intersection of financial markets, environmental sustainability, and regulatory frameworks. It explores how financial systems can support sustainable development through responsible investment strategies and regulatory compliance, with particular relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 and 13.

Students will examine frameworks for assessing corporate sustainability, including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. They will learn how companies can enhance their reputation and gain financial advantages – such as attracting more investors or securing lower borrowing costs - by achieving a high ESG rating and leveraging green financial assets. Through guided case-based analysis, students will apply their knowledge and critically assess the role of ESG performance in financial decision-making, highlighting its contribution to inclusive economic growth.

Additionally, the course covers carbon credits as alternative regulatory tool for limiting corporate emissions. Students will analyse carbon markets and trading mechanisms and apply their knowledge in a practical simulation, gaining hands-on experience in sustainable finance and understanding the role of financial markets in supporting climate action.

Part 2 Business Systems, CSR and Business Ethics:

This part of the course introduces students to National Business Systems and Comparative Industrial Relations as frameworks for understanding how corporate activity is shaped by institutional and cultural contexts. Corporations are embedded in the institutional setting of their parent country. These National Business Systems structure key elements such as labour markets, industrial relations, education systems, and financial institutions and thereby strongly influence corporate strategies and decision-making. Business Systems also encompass education and training systems, which play a key role in shaping human capital, employability, and lifelong learning opportunities and thus connect the analysis of corporate contexts to the objectives of inclusive and equitable quality education as formulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4).

In addition, business systems reflect broader socio-cultural patterns, including levels of trust between organizations, loyalty to external groups, and the role of individual identity and rights. Together, these factors shape corporate governance structures, organizational values, and business practices. As many firms operate across national borders, knowledge of different business systems enables students to analyse and compare markets, organizational arrangements, and strategic choices in international contexts. Corporations are simultaneously confronted with a variety of internal and external stakeholder demands. These demands may be conflicting, unequally justified, or fail to represent all legitimate interests in a given situation. Such constellations give rise to ethical challenges that require more than purely economic analysis. Ethical conflicts are discussed against the background of stakeholder expectations regarding decent work, environmental responsibility, and access to education and qualification.

This part of the course therefore introduces business ethics as a perspective for analysing and evaluating responsible decision-making in corporate contexts. Students are familiarised with the structure of ethical conflicts, different conceptions of goodness, and basic approaches to ethical reasoning. On this basis, selected business-oriented responses to ethical challenges—such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Creating Shared Value, labelling, and reporting—are presented and critically assessed with regard to their normative assumptions and practical implications.

Part 3 World Trade:

The section introduces the latest developments in the theory of world trade based on comparative advantage (Ricardo and the Heckscher-Ohlin model), followed by an examination of the effects of trade on sustainable development (e.g., economic development and environmental impacts), as well as instruments (tariff and non-tariff measures) to regulate international trade for sustainable development.  Students are provided with an in-depth understanding of the causes and drivers of world trade and the development of specialization patterns in the global economy. They learn to analyze, discuss, and defend these developments and to apply the tools and methods to evaluate controversies associated with the trade-induced development and environmental issues.

Examination form: exam, presentation and essay 

The course "German Economy and the European Union" consists of two parts:

• Germany and the European Union
• The German Welfare State

Part 1 Germany and the European Union:

• Analytical preliminaries: tools of economic thought
• Germany as a nation state
• Germany as a founding member state of the European Union
• The political mechanisms of the European Union
• The process of European economic and political integration
• The fiscal identity of the European Union                                                  
• The EU-Budget, Fiscal Federalism                                                               
• The European monetary union
• Two-Speed integration                                                                      

Part 2 The German Welfare State 

• Historical Origins
• Welfare State in the German Social Markt Economy
• Education System
• System of Social Security
      -    Unemployment Insurance
      -    Health Insurance
      -    Pension Scheme
      -    Long-term Care Insurance
• The Welfare State as Threat for the Social Market Economy

Examination form: written exam

The course "German Business, Culture & Language Class" consists of two parts:

• German Business and Culture
• Language Class and Excursion

Part 1 German Business and Culture:

The course gives students an introduction into how Germany became Germany. It addresses the role history still plays for many German particularities and aims at providing a base for better understanding "the" Germans of today, such as:

• Why does the German Welfare State exist?
• Why does the parliament have a 5%-threshold for entry?
• Why was conscription mandatory until 2011?
• Why is French still the most common second foreign language in school?
• Why do Germans fear inflation, have 16 different schooling laws, and are so concerned with data protection?
• Why do Germans only wave their flags during European/World Cups?

Part 2 Language Class & Excursion:

Students will attend a German language class to learn some basics of the German language. Furthermore, an excursion to Berlin will provide insights into the German culture, politics and history.

Examination form: oral exam