Business economist of the university cooperates with Evangelische Bank

The cooperation is initially scheduled to run for three years, but is to be given a long-term perspective following successful evaluation. The focus of the collaboration is on sustainability: According to its own statements, the Evangelische Bank, which operates as a specialist institution throughout Germany, aligns all of its business activities with ecological, social and corporate sustainability criteria.

Prof. Dr. Christian Klein is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the dynamically growing market of sustainable finance. He makes not only sustainability aspects of the financial market, but an overall more sustainable real economy the subject of his scientific research interests in the Corporate Finance segment. "Due to the thematic pioneering role and due to the spatial proximity, the cooperation was almost mandatory," says Prof. Klein. He speaks of a "win-win-win situation" as a result of the cooperation: "We are very grateful for the associated funding. But it is not only our chair that benefits, the students and the Evangelische Bank also have great added value."

While for the students the practical relevance offers exciting insights into the entrepreneurial activities of a large specialized bank and first-hand insider tips from experienced banking practitioners, EB and EB-SIM promise themselves advantages in the recruiting of young professionals through the cooperation with academic business administration. "The competition for the best young professionals is real. We are positioning ourselves here as a versatile, modern, sustainably oriented employer," says EB board member Joachim Fröhlich. In addition, topics relevant to the bank can be assigned to young academic talents as seminar papers, master's theses or doctoral dissertations. "A great opportunity for both sides," emphasizes capital market expert Helmut Kotschwar, who coordinates the seminar for master's students on behalf of Evangelische Bank subsidiary EB-SIM. Students often look for practical relevance in vain - here it is the common thread of the course.

In the master's program, the current course started in October with the participation of 15 advanced students. EB-SIM, the sustainable investment subsidiary of the Evangelische Bank, is the direct cooperation partner. In the summer semester 2020, a course with a stronger focus on practical basic knowledge of sustainable banking will start for the bachelor students.