Didier Sornette: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2022

Name Prof. em. Dr. Didier Sornette
FieldEntrepreneurial Risks
Address
Professur f. Entrepreneurial Risks
ETH Zürich, SEC F 7
Scheuchzerstrasse 7
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
E-maildsornette@ethz.ch
URLhttp://www.er.ethz.ch/
DepartmentManagement, Technology, and Economics
RelationshipProfessor emeritus

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
363-0564-00LEntrepreneurial Risks3 credits2GD. Sornette
Abstract- Dimensions of risks with emphasis on entrepreneurial, financial and social risks.
- What young entrepreneurs need to know from start-up creation to investment in innovation.
- Perspectives on the future of innovation and how to better invent and create.
- How to innovate and scale up and work with China.
- Dynamical risk management and learning from the failure of others.
ObjectiveWe live a in complex world with many nonlinear
negative and positive feedbacks. Entrepreneurship is one of
the leading human activity based on innovation to create
new wealth and new social developments. This course will
analyze the risks (upside and downside) associated with
entrepreneurship and more generally human activity
in the firms, in social networks and in society.
The goal is to present what we believe are the key concepts
and the quantitative tools to understand and manage risks.
An emphasis will be on large and extreme risks, known
to control many systems, and which require novel ways
of thinking and of managing. We will examine the questions
of (i) how much one can manage and control these risks,
(ii) how these actions may feedback positively or negatively
and (iii) how to foster human cooperation for the creation
of wealth and social well-being.

The exam will be in the format of multiple choice questions.
ContentPART I: INTRODUCTION

Lecture 1 (19/02): Risks (and opportunities) in the economic, entrepreneurial and social spheres
(D. Sornette)


PART II: START-UPS AND INVESTMENT IN INNOVATION

Lecture 2 (26/02): Setting the landscape on entrepreneurship and private investment
(P. Cauwels)

Lecture 3 (04/03 and 11/03): Corporate finance
(P. Cauwels)

Lecture 4 (18/03): Legal, governance and management
(P. Cauwels)

Lecture 5 (25/03): Investors in the innovation economy
(P. Cauwels)


PART III: HOW TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

Lecture 6 (01/04): Historical perspective
(P. Cauwels)

Lecture 7 (08/04): The logistic equation of growth and saturation
(D. Sornette)

Lecture 8 (22/04): Future perspective
(P. Cauwels)

Lecture 9 (29/04): The fair reward problem, the illusion of success and how to solve it
(P. Cauwels)


PART IV: HOW TO WORK WITH CHINA
“if China succeeds, the world succeeds; if China fails, the world fails” (D. Sornette).

Lecture 10 (06/05): The macro status in China and the potential opportunity and risks for the world
(K. Wu)

Lecture 11 (13/05): The collision of the two opposite mindsets: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China and Switzerland
(K. Wu)


PART V: ESSENTIALS ON DYNAMICAL RISK MANAGEMENT

Lecture 12 (20/05): Principles of Risk Management for entrepreneurship
(D. Sornette)

Lecture 13 (27/05): The biology of risks and war principles applied to management
(D. Sornette)
Lecture notesThe lecture notes will be distributed a the beginning of
each lecture.
LiteratureI will use elements taken from my books

-D. Sornette
Critical Phenomena in Natural Sciences,
Chaos, Fractals, Self-organization and Disorder: Concepts and Tools,
2nd ed. (Springer Series in Synergetics, Heidelberg, 2004)

-Y. Malevergne and D. Sornette
Extreme Financial Risks (From Dependence to Risk Management)
(Springer, Heidelberg, 2006).

-D. Sornette,
Why Stock Markets Crash
(Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems),
(Princeton University Press, 2003)

as well as from a variety of other sources, which will be
indicated to the students during each lecture.
Prerequisites / Notice-A deep curiosity and interest in asking questions and in attempting to
understand and manage the complexity of the corporate, financial
and social world

-quantitative skills in mathematical analysis and algebra
for the modeling part.
364-1058-00LRisk Center Seminar Series0 credits2SH. Schernberg, D. Basin, A. Bommier, D. N. Bresch, S. Brusoni, L.‑E. Cederman, P. Cheridito, F. Corman, H. Gersbach, C. Hölscher, K. Paterson, G. Sansavini, D. Sornette, B. Stojadinovic, B. Sudret, J. Teichmann, R. Wattenhofer, U. A. Weidmann, S. Wiemer, M. Zeilinger, R. Zenklusen
AbstractIn this series of seminars, invited speakers discuss various topics in the area of risk modelling, governance of complex socio-economic systems, managing risks and crises, and building resilience. Students, PhD students, post-docs, faculty and individuals outside ETH are welcome.
ObjectiveParticipants gain insights in a broad range of risk- and resilience-related topics. They expand their knowledge of the field and deepen their understanding of the complexity of our social, economic and engineered systems. For young researchers in particular, the seminars offer an opportunity to learn academic presentation skills and to network with an interdisciplinary scientific audience.
ContentAcademic presentations from ETH faculty as well as external researchers.
Each seminar is followed by a Q&A session and (when permitted) a networking Apéro.
Lecture notesThe sessions are recorded whenever possible and posted on the ETH Risk Center webpage. If available, presentation slides are shared as well.
LiteratureEach speaker will provide a literature review.
Prerequisites / NoticeIn most cases, a quantitative background is required. Depending on the topic, field-specific knowledge may be required.
CompetenciesCompetencies
Subject-specific CompetenciesConcepts and Theoriesfostered
Techniques and Technologiesfostered
Method-specific CompetenciesAnalytical Competenciesfostered
Decision-makingfostered
Media and Digital Technologiesfostered
Problem-solvingfostered
Project Managementfostered
Social CompetenciesCommunicationfostered
Cooperation and Teamworkfostered
Customer Orientationfostered
Leadership and Responsibilityfostered
Self-presentation and Social Influence fostered
Sensitivity to Diversityfostered
Negotiationfostered
Personal CompetenciesAdaptability and Flexibilityfostered
Creative Thinkingfostered
Critical Thinkingfostered
Integrity and Work Ethicsfostered
Self-awareness and Self-reflection fostered
Self-direction and Self-management fostered