Financial Risk Management:

• Identifying, Measuring, and Management of Financial Risks
• Risk Categories and Associated Models: Market, Credit, Operational and Liqudity Risks
• Rating Agencies and Credit Ratings

• Derivatives Markets and Instruments: Forwards, Futures, Options, Swaps, Exotics, Credit Derivatives
• Pricing of Equity, Fixed Income, Currency, Commodity, and Credit Derivatives
• Hedging Using Derivatives
• Financial Engineering

Interactive lectures with exercises

After completion of the module, students realize both the importance and the potential of financial risk management. They relate financial risk management to other areas of finance and within financial institutions. In particular, they know about the risks associated with financial derivatives as well as their potential for applications in risk management and financial engineering.

• Understand fundamentals in risk management
• Identify, measure and manage financial risks
• Select and apply appropriate risk management techniques
• Know how derivatives and derivatives markets work
• Price financial derivatives
• Use Greek variables in risk management and financial engineering
• Devise and/or analyze derivatives strategies for speculation, hedging and arbitrage
• Combine basic instruments to achieve desired payoff structures/decompose payoff

structures into their basic components

• Hull, J. C. (2011). Options, futures and other derivatives (8th global ed.). Harlow: Pearson.
• Hull, J. C. (2015). Risk management and financial institutions (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Blunden, T., & Thirlwell, J. (2013). Mastering operational risk. A practical guide to understanding operational risk and how to manage it (2nd ed.). Harlow: Pearson.
• Caouette, J., Altman, E., Narayanan, P., & Nimmo, R. (2011). Managing credit risk (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. [Chapter 6]
• Girling, P.X. (2013). Operational risk management: A complete guide to a successful operational risk framework. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Slides will be available via moodle.

See lectures within the module.

• Recognising problems and analysing various topics in the area of financial services
• Handling ambitious practical problems in financial services like consulting projects and

real portfolio management

• Developing customer-specific solutions
• Communicating with project client
• Presenting the final project report
• Working in a team in a project-oriented manner
• Mastering a portfolio under the supervision of a portfolio manager
• Working up all relevant information and data for portfolio management
• Structuring the strategic and tactical asset allocation
• Deciding on security selection

Practical project work

After completion of the module, the students have at their disposal practical experiences in
handling a consulting project in the area of finance.

In the course of the assignment, they utilize a range of advanced procedures and techniques incorporated in the discipline and apply theoretical insights to practical solutions, so that they are directly prepared for their professional life.

Students develop original and creative answers for topics and problems and are able to evaluate the situation even without complete information.

They are able to reflect and enlarge their knowledge and capabilities. In addition, they master
professional project assignment and presentation techniques and are trained to function in a
team.

They are also able to assume responsibility within the team and to coordinate team
assignments while taking into account the interest of the business.

See lectures within the module.

> Active and Passive Equity Portfolio Management
> Asset Allocation, Investment Horizon and Risk Measurement
> Performance Measurement and Output Evaluation
> Exchange Rate Risk Management
> Rebalancing Effects
> Discussion of the Methods of Individual Selected Journal Contributions
> Resampling to address parameter uncertainty and time-horizon effects in portfolio management
> Forecasting moments of returns
> Portfolio Theory and Optimal Risk Portfolio
> Capital Market Models and Evaluation on Complete Markets
> Momentum und Contrarian Strategies
> Technical Analysis
> Risk-based Heuristic Models
> Programming in R and/or Matlab

After completion of the module, the students are able to evaluate assets by means of various
models and to illustrate investment procedure. They thereby draw on current knowledge of
capital market research and can show suggestions for solutions while integrating their
theoretical knowledge. Events on the capital market are critically scrutinised in discussions
with instructors and fellow students.

See lectures within the module.

All aspects that have to be considered for writing a successful exposé and master thesis, like e.g. the fulfillment of formal requirements, the development of a research project and the correct choice of methodology for answering the research question.

Student Presentations and discussion
Self-study through reading announced literature at home.

After the completion of this module, the students have successfully handed in their Exposé for the master thesis and know how to conduct a research project. They have learned how to develop a research question, choose and discuss the methodology for answering it. They know how good research papers and theses look like and are able to transfer this knowledge into their own project.

> Formulate a research idea and develop a research question
> Narrow the research idea to a realizable size
> Choose and justify a research methodology
> Conduct a sound literature review
> Formulate an exposé in which the research project is described and justified
> Know and apply the scientific standards and writing principles of the University
> Discuss their project and integrate peer and professional feedback
> Give feedback on other research projects
> Organize their project in terms of literature, writing and time plan

Will be provided during the course

See lectures within the module.

Mapping has become a part of our everyday lives. Just think of the way we use phones: most apps want to know where you are. Do you ever turn 'location services' off? In this course, we will not geo-reference big data, but rather consider mapping as a critical practice. Taking the crowd-sourced research project "An Inquiry Into Modes of Existence" (AIME), conducted by the French sociologist Bruno Latour, as our starting point, we will map media as actor-networks: What is given in a media experience? Which actors play a role in it? How are these elements connected? To which need is this network responding? And what could an alternative response be? The given actor-networks and their alternatives ought to be visualized as maps and counter-maps. In this way, the students will both get to know sociological concepts and develop their creative skills.

• Close reading
• Teamwork
• Presentations
• Individual projects

• Exploration of mapping and cartography
• Introduction into the sociology of Bruno Latour
• Encouragement of critical thinking
• Experiments with graphical representations

Crampton, Jeremy W. and John Krygier: An Introduction to Critical Cartography. In: ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies. Vol. 4, No. 1 (2006), pp. 11-33.
Galloway, Alexander R.: Networks. In: W. J. T. Mitchell and Mark B. N. Hansen: Critical Terms for Media Studies. Chicago/London 2010, pp. 280-296.
Ganahl, Simon and Rory Solomon: Campus Medius [July 2014]. URL: http://campusmedius.net.
Foucault, Michel: The confession of the flesh. [French 1977] Trans. by Colin Gordon. In: Power/Knowledge. Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977. Ed. by Colin Gordon. New York 1980, pp. 194-228.
Harley, J. B.: Maps, Knowledge, and Power. [1988] In: The New Nature of Maps. Essays in the History of Cartography. Ed. by Paul Laxton. Baltimore/London 2001, pp. 51-81.
Latour, Bruno: An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. An Anthropology of the Moderns. Trans. by Catherine Porter. Cambridge/London 2013 [French 2012]. URL: http://modesofexistence.org.
Presner, Todd et al.: HyperCities. Thick Mapping in the Digital Humanities. Cambridge (MA) 2014. URL: http://hypercities.com.

Assessment tasks:
Attendance (25%)
Teamwork (20%)
Presentations (25%)
Final project (30%)


Compulsory attendance (min. 80%)

Passed / Failed

• Course based on continuous assessment, details see under "assessment".
• Meeting attendance obligations is an essential pre-requisite for successfully completing a course based on continuous assessment.
• Attendance must be proven for at least 80% of the stipulated contact time. Responsibility for checking and providing written proof of this obligatory attendance lies with the course lecturer who is required to store this information at least until the end of the semester.
• In the case of absenteeism that exceeds the specified limits of absence, a medical certificate is required. Responsibility lies with the head of the Coordination Office for Cross-Faculty Elective Subjects to approve the reason for the student's failure to attend.
• Participation in other activities of the university are not recognized as an excused absence.

Fakultätsübergreifendes Wahlfach:
Es gelten spezielle Anmeldemodalitäten.

Life shows that on the long-run personality often makes the difference to be successful both in business and your private life. That's why having a better understanding about yourself and managing your personal resources is crucial. In this module we focus on the three elements Mindset, Brain and Body and enable you with knowledge and self-experience to high perform on the long run.

The Liechtenstein Academy Foundation elaborated a unique offer together with three external lecturers that cover the following main topics:
1) Purpose & Mindset: Why is purpose and mindset so crucial for success in professional and personal life?
2) Brain: Do you know how your brain actually works and how you can positively influence your brain performance?
3) Body Resources: Are aware of the power that lays within a conscious management of your body resources?

• Presence based (methodological mix of input, reflection, group works,…)
• Experience-oriented self-learning (e.g. readings, heart rate variability measurement + diary,…)

1) Purpose & Mindset:
Create awareness of the impact of purpose and mindset for your life. Main topics: Positive Psychology, Resilience, Mindfulness. Sybille Mäder, coach and leadership specialist with huge business experience in the international financial industry.
2) Brain:
Create awareness of how we can enhance our brain performance. Learn about important techniques and limiting factors. Andreas Pisch a very experienced trainer gives both theoretical input on how our brain works and is able to underline it with good practices and helpful techniques for further enhancement of your brain performance.
3) Body Resources:
Experience and understand the power of your body resources and the importance of a balanced profile between tension and recovery. Learn about your individual stress profile (you will get a 72 hours heart rate variability profile) and find out how you can positively influence your well-being. Ole Petersen, CEO of the Swiss-based Fit im Job AG, successful athlete and trainer combines knowledge and experience in dealing with body resources both from both, a sportsman's view as well as from a business related view.

• Syllabus (details on the readings will be provided prior to each module)
• Please note that the third module comprises a compulsory heart rate variability measurement (72hours). This is a very powerful tool that helps you to analyze your stress factors individually.

Assessment tasks:
Module 1: (20%) - Attendance & active participation
Module 2: (20%) - Attendance & active participation
Module 3: (20%) - Attendance & active participation

Self-study: (40%) - includes readings, 72 hours HRV-test, individual learning journal

Compulsory attendance (min. 80%)

Passed / Failed

• Course based on continuous assessment, details see under "assessment".
• Meeting attendance obligations is an essential pre-requisite for successfully completing a course based on continuous assessment.
• Attendance must be proven for at least 80% of the stipulated contact time. Responsibility for checking and providing written proof of this obligatory attendance lies with the course lecturer who is required to store this information at least until the end of the semester.
• In the case of absenteeism that exceeds the specified limits of absence, a medical certificate is required. Responsibility lies with the head of the Coordination Office for Cross-Faculty Elective Subjects to approve the reason for the student's failure to attend.
• Participation in other activities of the university are not recognized as an excused absence.

Fakultätsübergreifendes Wahlfach:
Es gelten spezielle Anmeldemodalitäten.

Short description
In the first Innovation Lab, students collaboratively develop innovative solutions for real-life business problems in product and process design.

Topics

• Creativity
• Innovation
• Problem-solving
• Project management
• Teamwork
• Presentation

Learning objectives

• Students will demonstrate their ability to work in a team to solve contemporary business problems.
• Students will show they can plan and organize projects under time pressure and competition.
• Students will use common creativity techniques and problem-solving tools and methodologies and demonstate they can think creatively to create innovative business solutions.
• Students will understand there are different ways of looking at new problems as they will develop alternative approaches to solving the problems they are assigned with.
• Students will deliver professional quality presentations to a demanding audience.

Methods

• The module involves interactive seminars with workshops and regular presentations.
• Together with the faculty, a jury of representatives from regional companies evaluates their solutions against innovativeness and usefulness and provides them with feedback and advice.
• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

Compulsory reading

• The students will be provided with a reader and all lecture slides and supporting materials.

Of paramount importance for every presentation is the personality of the presenter, which can create an atmosphere of trust and real interest.
In this elective course, students will learn how to enter a room with presence and charisma and make a convincing first impression. In addition, body language plays a very important part and, very often, is used only unconsciously.
With the help of feedback, students will improve their presentation skills, learn how to structure their presentations and use media.
Another important theme we will explore is personal "Status". Usually, "Status" is connected with a certain position or power, which someone enjoys in an organization or in society. However, in everyday life, we constantly play with our personal Status, which is somewhat independent from our professional Status. Everyone prefers a certain Status. To raise your own Status yields more authority and assertiveness. To lower your own Status, thereby increasing the Status of someone else, conveys empathy and sympathy. Both raising and lowering your own Status are important and useful in different situations. Students will learn their preferred status and how to change it, if necessary.
In this course, students will also work with the methods of improvisational theater to enhance their spontaneity, creativity and ability to deal with unknown situations.

• Presentations with feedback
• Group work
• Video recording
• Exercises from improvisational theater
• Role Playing

The participants

• professionalize their appearance and learn how to present their ideas using authentic voice, language and body language
• learn how to speak with presence and charisma
• get to know the basic principles of presentation techniques
• learn how to create inspiring stories using incidents from their lives - bringing personality and life into public speaking
• improve their ability to plan a public speech tailored to their audience
• develop strategies on dealing with difficult participants
• get to know the "yes and" principle as the key to successful communication, teamwork and innovation
• enhance their spontaneity, creativity and ability to deal with unknown situations

Will be announced in class

Assessment tasks:
Part A: presentations (individual and group) 50%
Part B: active participation 50 %

Compulsory attendance (min. 80%)

Passed / Failed

• Course based on continuous assessment, details see under "assessment".
• Meeting attendance obligations is an essential pre-requisite for successfully completing a course based on continuous assessment.
• Attendance must be proven for at least 80% of the stipulated contact time.Responsibility for checking and providing written proof of this obligatory attendance lies with the course lecturer who is required to store this information at least until the end of the semester.
• In the case of absenteeism that exceeds the specified limits of absence, a medical certificate is required. Responsibility lies with the head of the Coordination Office for Cross-Faculty Elective Subjects to approve the reason for the student's failure to attend.

Fakultätsübergreifendes Wahlfach:
Es gelten spezielle Anmeldemodalitäten.

Short description
The course focuses on virtual collaboration, collaborative work, and modern collaboration tools in a business environment. Students will apply their knowledge in a hands-on collaboration project with partners.

Topics

• Understand the concepts of virtual collaboration and collaborative work
• Learn how IT can be used in order to support collaboration in a virtual environment
• Learn about the potentials and limits of collaboration technology
• Experience collaboration with team members from other countries

Learning objectives

• Students will repeat the fundamental concepts of collaboration and collaboration systems.
• Students will understand the benefits of collaboration and collaboration systems for sustainable competitive advantage.
• Students will solve assignments in the field of collaboration, especially collaborative research projects in the areas of current topics in IS.
• Students will identify relationships between different types of virtual collaboration systems. They compare solutions with regard to their value contribution.

Methods

• The module integrates theoretical knowledge and practical skills based on an interactive seminar that includes a hands-on collaboration project. The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

Compulsory reading

• Davenport, T. H. (2005). Thinking for a living: how to get better performances and results from knowledge workers. Harvard Business Press.

Short description
This course covers some statistical methods that can help to take decisions in business using data. These basic concepts of the statistical testing and estimating theory should – to a large extent - be known from an introductory course on probability theory and statistics in any bachelor program.

Topics

• Graphical and numerical characterizations of random variables and their distributions
• Framework and basic applications of testing hypotheses and estimating parameters
• Ordinary least squares method and its properties
• Simple linear regression including parameter estimation, diagnostic plots, hypothesis testing, predictions and model specifications using log-transformations
• Introduction to the software package R

Learning objectives

• Students present the distributions of random variables graphically, calculate and interpret their moments.
• Students can explain the framework of testing hypotheses and estimating parameters and apply basic procedures.
• Students criticize the assumptions of basic testing and estimating procedures and generalize the conclusions correctly.
• Students derive the minimal sample size for basic testing and estimating procedures.
• Students apply the ordinary least squares method to derive estimators and compare the statistical properties of different estimators.
• Students explain the classical linear model assumptions, run simple linear regressions, check the diagnostics plots, use log-transformations to specify models and interpret the results correctly.

Methods

• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.
• Students are usually asked to read corresponding parts of the lecture notes or of the textbook in order to prepare for the upcoming lectures in advance.
• In the interactive lectures, statistical concepts will be introduced and motivated by discussing examples in detail. Assignments are offered to train these skills.
• During office hours, individual problems may be discussed with the lecturer.
• In order to analyse realistic data, the software package R will be used.

Entry requirements
We require basic knowledge of probability theory and statistics, which is usually presented in a basic course on these topics in any bachelor program. The module ''Statistik'' in the bachelor program at University of Liechtenstein serves as a guideline or benchmark for this previous knowledge.

This module is prerequisite for taking the Master’s thesis Module and writing the Master’s thesis


Compulsory reading

• Wooldridge, J.M. (2013). Introductory Econometrics. (International Student Edition, 5th edition). Mason: South Western Cengage Learning.

Further reading

• Sweeney, D.J., Williams, T.A., David R. Anderson, D.R. (2009). Fundamentals of Business Statistics (International Student Edition, 5th edition). Manson: South-Western Cengange Learning.
• Berensen, M.L., Levine, D.M., Krehbiel, T.C. (2012). Basic Business Statistics (Global Edition, 12th edition), Essex: Pearson Education Limited.