The Sequence
The sequence of Zukunftsfähiges Wirtschaften involves the following modules:

• VWL & ZuWi: A separate course, which focuses on broad concepts organized around three topics: Globalization, Society, and Environment.
• ZuWi Vertiefung: The lecture part of this course, which focuses on specific actors that underpin the developments in these three areas: corporations, citizens, and state actors.
• ZuWi Anwendung: The section part of this course, which offers students the opportunity to explore a specific context in which these three actors (corporations, citizens, and state actors) work within the three contexts (globalization, society, and environment) towards a sustainable future.

The Lecture (held in German)
The three lectures of this course will provide students with tools and concepts that allow for a better understanding of how they make decisions and interact with their environment.

• How do corporations make decisions? Specifically, how do they balance environmental and economic goals in supply chain and production? We examine when corporations consider worker and environmental interests, and how social networks, political context, and organizational cultures shape corporate behavior.
• How do citizens make decisions? Specifically, citizens are more than merely consumers or the ``L'' in a production function. Individuals' preferences are not fixed nor externally given, but instead are shaped by their social environment. Consequently, we examine how individuals form political identities, engage in social movements, and participate in democratic processes.
• How do state actors make decisions? Specifically, how does the economy and the environment factor into the electoral prospects of political parties? We explore the dynamic interplay of politicians with citizens and corporations in shaping regulations and laws, while taking into account existing political institutions, geopolitical tensions, and politicians' own ideology.

The Section: Sustainable City (held in English)
In this section, students will deepen their understanding of sustainability through the lens of cities and processes of urban development. We will look at issues spanning from spatial planning, democracy and participation, inequality and exclusion in urban design, to the multi-scalar processes of urbanisation, neoliberalisation and globalisation. The connection of these matters to broader political economy, dynamics and social ecological transformation will be central to the section and our discussions.

Click here to watch a short video about the topics of the sections.

After completing the course, students will have a basic understanding of the topics studied in the Department of Socioeconomics. In particular, students will be exposed to issues of environment/climate crisis, globalization, inequality and democracy and grapple with societal goals such as sustainability, justice, freedom, security, responsibility and peace.

To facilitate this, the course will focus on two learning goals. First, students will learn how to ask good questions in order to understand the world around them. This will be facilitated by identifying puzzles. Puzzles are situations in which actors (such as politicians, citizens and corporations) have made diverging decisions despite similar conditions. Second, students will learn how to derive possible explanations for these puzzles. What are specific explanations that explain why one actor made this choice while another actor made a different choice?

In this context, we will draw on the department’s diversity by exposing students to various disciplinary approaches (sociology, geography, history, political science, law, economics, socioeconomics, etc.). Each of these approaches offer students a distinct theoretical background from which students can derive explanations for the puzzles they observe.

In sum, this course aims to provide students with the understanding that multiple explanations for a given phenomena may exist. Further, it aims to enable students to derive such multiple explanations. Students will obtain the ability to evaluate the explanatory value of competing explanations in subsequent courses within WUPol.

Courses that combine lectures with sections (VUE) require attendance of at least 70% of the announced course meetings. 

In the Lecture
Attendance is not mandatory for the lectures. We do however strongly recommend attendance as the final exam soley relies on what you learnt in the lectures.

In the Section
In addition, attendance is mandatory for the sections. This requirement is considered fulfilled if no more than two course units have been missed. Absences, if known in advance, must be communicated to the lecturer by email. A unit missed for health reasons (e.g. accident or illness) will not be recorded as an absence if a doctor's note can be presented. Make-ups will not be given if individual assignments are missed. Further details on the attendance rules are explained in the first unit of the lecture and in the first unit of the section.

In the Lecture
The pedagogical approach is designed to blend instructor-led sessions with active student participation. Lecture meetings will be dynamic, incorporating a mix of instructor input, interactive exercises, and concise case studies to provide a multifaceted learning experience. 

The language of the lecture will be German.

In the Section
The section will combine lectures, discussions, presentation of case studies, weekly readings, student presentations and small group interactions to explore the course material from a range of perspectives and embracing various learning styles.

The language of the section will be English.

Assessments

• In Lecture - Language of Assessment is German: Total of 25 points
  • 25 Points: A final exam will be administered to all students during exam week. It will cover the topics of the lecture only, not those of the sections.
• In Section - Language of Assessment is English: Total of 75 points
  • 25 points: participation
    • Students show active participation in class and engage in discussions.
    25 points: creative work
    • Students will be required to prepare a group presentation on a topic co-created during the first sessions.
  • 25 points: writing
    • Students will be required to prepare a reflection paper on a real-world example tying it back to the course material and demonstrating their understanding of the key concepts covered throughout the semester.

Final Course Grade
In total, students can achieve 105 points. The course is considered successfully completed with a grade of 60 points or higher. Students with 60-69 points receive the grade “4,” 70-79 points the grade “3,” 80-89 points the grade “2,” and 90-105 points the grade “1.”

Final Exam for the Lecture

• Date: June 27th, 2024
  • Exams take place during the main exam week.
  • Room assignments will be announced at the latest one week before the exam.
  • The exam duration is 60 minutes.
• Registration
  • A separate registration for the exam is not required.
• Rules
  • If participation in this session is not possible due to verifiable and serious reasons (e.g., illness, accident), a substitute attempt in the next main examination week is allowed. Please send a (doctor's) confirmation to your course instructor so they can register you for the next exam week.

Assignments in the Section

• Make-ups will not be given if individual assignments are missed. Once a partial performance has been completed (e.g., a quiz), withdrawal from the course is no longer possible.

Participation Requirements
Students must register using LPIS. Moreover, students must choose the lecture-section combination they are interested in prior to the start of the semester. Switching between sections during the semester is not possible. For this reason, we encourage students to carefully read the information about each section provided in the Vorlesungsverzeichnus.

Students are expected to take “ZuWi Anwendung & Vertiefung” immediately after taking “Volkswirtschaftslehre und Zukunftsfähiges Wirtschaften” (not several semesters later).

Waitlist
The allocation of places during the registration period is based on the "first come, first served" principle. After the end of the registration period, the available course places are increased and allocated to students on the waiting list who do not yet have a valid registration for this Studienplanpunkt in this semester (i.e. swap requests are not considered). This allocation is not based on the order on the waiting list, but on urgency and study progress. The implementation is the responsibility of the Vice-Rectorate for Teaching and is therefore beyond the control of the course director. The allocation criteria are whether someone is already eligible for courses from Studienzweig, is registered for a maximum of 1 CBK Planpunkt in the first half semester or is on the waiting list for this Studienplanpunkt for courses in the first half semester.

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