Search result: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2020

Management, Technology and Economics Master Information
Core Courses
General Management and Human Resource Management
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0302-00LHuman Resource Management: Leading Teams Information W+3 credits2GG. Grote
AbstractThe basic processes of human resource management are discussed (selection, reward systems, performance evaluation, career development) and embedded in the broader context of leadership in teams. Leadership concepts and group processes are presented. Practical instruments supporting leadership functions are introduced and applied in business settings.
Objective- Understand basic HRM functions and their relationship to leadership
- Know instruments for selection, performance appraisal, compensation, and development
- Understand leadership requirements and success factors in leadership
- Know fundamental processes in teams
- Apply and expand theoretical knowledge on a specific topic in self-guided learning
- Manage team processes and diversity during self-guided learning in a project group
ContentHuman Resource Management (HRM) concerns the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees' behavior, attitudes, and performance. It aims at applying human resources within organizations such that people succeed and organizational performance improves. Concepts and instruments for selection, performance management, and personnel development are discussed with respect to team leaders' role in HRM, not from the perspective of HR managers. Fundamentals of effective leadership and dynamics in teams are presented. In semester projects, students apply HRM instruments in company contexts.
Lecture notesThere is no script.
LiteratureA reading list and the respective documents are provided via moodle.
363-1039-00LIntroduction to NegotiationW+3 credits2GM. Ambühl
AbstractThe course combines different lecture formats to provide students with both the theoretical background and the practical appreciation of negotiation. A core element of the course is an introduction to the concept of negotiation engineering.
ObjectiveStudents learn to understand and to identify different negotiation situations, analyze specific cases, and discuss respective negotiation approaches based on important negotiation methods (i.a. Game Theory, Harvard Method).
ContentThe course combines different lecture formats to provide students with both the theoretical background and the practical appreciation of negotiation. A core element is an introduction to the concept of negotiation engineering. The course covers a brief overview of different negotiation approaches, different categories of negotiations, selected negotiation models, as well as in-depth discussions of real-world case studies on international negotiations involving Switzerland. Students learn to deconstruct specific negotiation situations, to differentiate key aspects and to develop and apply a suitable negotiation approach based on important negotiation methods.
LiteratureThe list of relevant references will be distributed in the beginning of the course.
Strategy, Markets and Technology
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-1077-00LEntrepreneurshipW+3 credits2GB. Clarysse
AbstractThis course introduces the various elements important to start an innovative business. These are: insights into how technology as a context shapes opportunities to start a business, assessing opportunities, protecting one's idea and technology, market testing and feedback, how to form a team, raising investment and deal evaluation, use of novel financing sources, development of term sheets.
ObjectiveThis course enables to understand:
How technologies develop from science to commercial products
What kind of entrepreneurial opportunities emerge from this cycle
How assumptions are tested in the market and evolve into business plans
What the importance is of founding teams and how they are fit together
How to raise money from various sources such as crowd funding, ICO, business angels and venture capitalists
How to develop a business case
How to negotiate and structure a funding deal
ContentThe course consists of 7 sessions of 4 hours, every other week. The first 2 hours typically cover the content of the session, while in the last 2 hours students work in teams to apply the content in specific case settings.

The course is structured as follows:

In session 1, we discuss how science develops into technologies that are eventually commercialized into products ...We discuss how technology entrepreneurs can create ventures based upon the technology they work on, the demand they see in their environment or just through the mere aspiration of creating a company. We specifically focus on how these companies can create value in the absence of clear customer revenues and what the eventual outcome is of such a venture.

In Session 2, we look at how entrepreneurs do market research and how different types of market research help them to develop their business. In addition, you will get an overview of various forms of prototyping, and of how the use of such prototyping can help you test the market and incorporate market feedback into your product or service.

In Session 3, we introduce the concept of "appropriability". For entrepreneurs, especially in a technology environment, it is very important to think about how they can appropriate value from the ideas they develop and the products they introduce in the market. Such appropriation can be enabled through legal mechanisms such as IP or might be facilitated through the way in which the company is set up. We also discuss how value can be delivered in an industry, how negotiation power can be assessed, what different actors need to be taken into consideration when determining the value flow in a network and, eventually, how to think of a business model annex business plan.

Session 4 touches upon a number of HR questions and managerial challenges for the budding entrepreneur: Is it better to go alone or in a team? Are there more or less successful compositions of an entrepreneurial team and if so, where to find the right co-conspirators? We also introduce the basic elements of making a financial plan.

Session 5 introduces you in the world of raising capital. You get an overview of the various sources of capital including business angels, accelerators, crowd funding, venture capital and corporate capital. Guest speakers from the financing industry will answer your questions with regards to getting finance.

Session 6 deals with the legal side of making a deal between an investor and a company. We also explain how to make an elevator pitch and how to pitch for money (including business plan competitions)

Session 7 includes a negotiation game. The negotiation game allows you to go through the different conditions of a term sheet including the valuation of a start-up, the lock-in of the management team, the liquidation options and the division of power. The aim is to learn how to use each of these terms in a practical setting and be able to write a term sheet with an investor.

Each of the sessions includes a mix of theory (usually 2 hours), case study/exercise work and occasional guest presentations (usually 1 hour). The course is an excellent introduction to 'do it yourself courses' such as the Deep Science Sprint, the Digital Entrepreneurship Course,..
Lecture notesPowerpoint slides are provided ahead of each session and provide together with Clarysse and Kiefer (2011) the core course material.

In addition to the slides and handbook, most sessions have case material (uploaded ahead of the course and to be read BEFORE the lecture in which the case will be discussed). Video material is part of the core syllabus.
LiteratureClarysse, B. & S. Kiefer The Smart Entrepreneur (Elliott & Thompson, 2011) is used as core reading material.

In addition, each session also has "advanced reading" papers, which are useful to deepen your knowledge about the specific subject under discussion. It is sufficient to read the introduction and the conclusions of the papers to get the core idea.

The papers are uploaded through Moodle, the book is available for sale at Amazon.com or can be ordered from any book store.
Prerequisites / NoticeNo special background is needed.
363-0392-00LStrategic Management Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 80.

Registration through myStudies (first come, first served). If you are unable to sign up through myStudies, please contact the course assistant:
Link
W+3 credits2GS. Herting
AbstractThis courses conveys concepts and methods in strategic management, with a focus on competitive strategy. Competitive strategy aims at improving and establishing position of firms within an industry.
ObjectiveThe lecture "strategic management" is designed to teach relevant competences in strategic planning and -implementation, for both professional work-life and further scientific development. The course provides an overview of the basics of “strategy” and the most prevalent concepts and methods in strategic management. The course is given as a combination of lectures about concepts/methods, and case studies where the students asked to solve strategic issues of the case companies. In two sessions, the students will also be addressing real-time strategic issues of firms that are represented by executives.
ContentContents:
a. Strategy concepts
b. Industry dynamics I: Industry analysis
c. Industry dynamics II: Analysis of technology and innovation
d. The resource-based theory of the firm
e. The knowledge-based theory of the firm

Strategic Management offers a combination of lectures about concepts/methods, and case studies where the students solve strategic issues of the involved companies. This aims at offering students a profound theoretical understanding of important and current topics and also offer an opportunity to present these concepts in front of an audience.
This course conveys concepts and methods in strategic management, with a focus on competitive strategy. Competitive strategy aims at analyzing and establishing position of firms within an industry, securing firm performance. Thus, the course focuses on a number of important topics, such as the evolution of industry, industry structure, the analysis of a firm's resources- and knowledge, and innovation.
In addition, student groups will hold presentations on the four main topics of this class, to further develop concepts and enhance understanding. The presentations will cover Industry Dynamics I, Industry Dynamics II, Resource Based View of the Firm, Knowledge Based View of the Firm. For all presentations, selected Harvard Business Cases will be used as a common ground for students to start from.
Students are also expected to read and understand the required readings (approx. 15 items) that cover the most important papers and articles from the past 30 years in management and strategy research.
To underline the relevance of Strategic Management in firms, decision makers from companies in Switzerland will be holding guest lectures and give their take on strategy in practice and give insight on current topics in the field.
Prerequisites / NoticeSession #0: (17.02.2020) Introduction & How to solve a case
Session #1: (24.02.2020) Introduction to Strategy
Session #2: (02.03.2020) Industry Dynamics I
Session #3: (09.03.2020) Industry Dynamics II
Session #4: (16.03.2020) Resource-Based Theory
Session #5: (30.03.2020) Guest Lecture I
Session #6: (06.04.2020) Knowledge-based Theory
Session #7: (27.04.2020) Guest Lecture II

Please NOTE: The dates of the guest lectures subject to change due to availability of the guest lecturers. The final schedule will be provided in the first session.

FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGISTRATION HERE:
Link
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods for Solving Complex Problems
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0570-00LPrinciples of Econometrics
Prerequisites: previous knowledge in economics.
W+3 credits2GJ.‑E. Sturm, A. Beerli
AbstractThis course introduces the fundamentals of econometrics. We cover simple and multiple regression analysis using different data formats. An emphasis is on hypothesis testing, interpretation of regression results, and understanding threats to the causal interpretation of relationships in the data.
ObjectiveThe course targets both the theoretical understanding as well as the application of basic econometric methods to real world problems.

The educational objective of this course is that, after completion, students should be able to:
1. understand different forms of data (cross-sectional, panel, time-series) and their strengths and weaknesses for answering different research questions.
2. understand how to translate questions about economic policy issues and human behaviour into research hypotheses that can be tested with data.
3. apply their theoretical knowledge about econometrics to concrete examples based on the knowledge they acquired in tutorial sessions using the statistical software package STATA and interpret estimation results.
4. name and identify potential threats for causal interpretations of relationships in the data and explain whether (and how) they can be addressed.
ContentThe term “econometrics” stands for the application of specific statistical methods to the field of economics. Econometrics aims at providing empirical evidence using observational data that can be used to learn about the real-world existence of specific relationships postulated in economic theories. Typical research questions that economists analyse by using econometric methods include for instance: Do minimum wages reduce employment? Does a gender wage gap exist and how large is it? Does foreign aid affect economic growth? How do interest rate changes influence exports? Is there an effect of economic outcomes on politicians’ chances to get re-elected?

Starting from simple regression analysis, the course introduces the statistical framework that is used in econometrics to answer such empirical research questions. A major focus is on understanding and mastering methods of hypothesis testing using multiple regressions.
The lecture discusses different issues regarding assumptions, interpretation, and inference in multiple linear regression models. Among others, the course addresses the following questions: How well or badly does the applied model fit the observed facts? How large is the estimate of the effects of one variable on another and how reliable is the estimate? Can the model be used to predict the specific variable of interest and how precise is that prediction? What are the crucial assumptions of the estimation strategy used, (how) can they be tested, and does the estimated relationship represent a causal effect?

The course lectures introduce the methods and computer tutorials give the students the opportunity to apply and deepen their knowledge using the software package STATA.
LiteratureWooldridge, Jeffrey M. (2018) Introductory Econometrics : A Modern Approach. Seventh ed. ISBN: 978-1-337-55886-0 [access to relevant chapters will be provided]
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course is intended for students interested in econometrics who have already taken an introductory course in economics (e.g., the course "Principles of Macroeconomics"). Knowledge of the statistical software STATA is no prerequisite and will be acquired during the course.
Micro and Macroeconomics
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0515-00LDecisions and MarketsW+3 credits2VA. Bommier
AbstractThis course provides an introduction to microeconomics. The course is open to students who have completed an undergraduate course in economics principles and an undergraduate course in multivariate calculus. The course emphasizes the conceptual foundations of microeconomics and contains concrete examples of their application.
ObjectiveThe purpose of this course is to provide master students with an introduction to graduate-level microeconomics, particularly for students considering further graduate work in economics, business administration or management science. The course provides the fundamental concepts and tools for graduate courses in economics offered at ETH and UZH.

After completing this course:
- Students will be able to understand and use existing models to make predictions of consumer and firm behavior.
- Students understand the fundamental welfare theorems and will be able to analyze equilibria of markets with perfect and imperfect competition.
- Students will be able to analyze under which conditions market allocations are not efficient (market failure).
ContentMicroeconomics is the branch of economics which studies the decision-making by an individual, household, firm, industry or level of government. The economic equilibrium is the result of agents' interactions. Microeconomics is an element of nearly every subfield in economic analysis today. This course introduces the fundamental frameworks which form the basis of many economic models.

Theory of the consumer:
- Consumer preferences and utility
- Budget sets and optimal choice
- Demand functions
- Labor supply and intertemporal choice
- Welfare economics

Theory of the producer:
- Technological constraints and the production function
- Cost minimization
- Profit maximization

Market structure:
- Perfectly competitive markets
- Monopoly behavior
- Duopoly behavior

General equilibrium analysis:
- Market equilibrium in an exchange and production economy
- Market failure
Lecture notesThe lecture will be based on lecture slides, which will be made available on Moodle.
LiteratureThe course is mostly based on the textbook by R. Serrano and A. Feldman: "A Short Course in Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus" (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Another textbook of interest is "Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach" by H. Varian (Norton, 2014).
Exercises are available in the textbook by R. Serrano and A. Feldman ("A Short Course in Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus", Cambridge University Press, 2013). More exercises can be found in the book "Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics" by T. Bergstrom and H. Varian (Norton, 2010).
363-0575-00LEconomic Growth, Cycles and PolicyW+3 credits2GH. Gersbach
AbstractThis intermediate course focuses on the core thinking devices and foundations in macroeconomics and monetary economics, and uses these devices to understand economic growth, business cycles, crises as well as how to conduct monetary and fiscal policies and policies to foster the stability of financial and economic systems.
Objective- Fundamental knowledge about the drivers of economic growth in the short and long run, key macroeconomic variables and observed patterns in developed countries

- Comprehensive understanding of core macroeconomic frameworks and thinking devices
ContentThis intermediate course focuses on the core thinking devices and foundations in macroeconomics and monetary economics, and uses these devices to understand economic growth, business cycles, crises as well as how to conduct monetary and fiscal policies and policies to foster the stability of financial and economic systems. The course is structured in the following way:

Part I: Basics
- Introduction
- IS-LM Model in Closed Economy (Repetition)
- Schools of Thought
- Consumption and Investment
- The Solow Growth Model

Part II: Special Themes
- Money Holding, Inflation, and Monetary Policy
- Crises in Market Economies
- IS-LM Model and Open Economy
- Theories of exchange rate determination
- Technical Appendix
Lecture notesCopies of the slides will be made available.
LiteratureChapters in
Manfred Gärtner (2009), Macroeconomics, Third Edition, Prentice Hall.
and selected chapters in other books and/or papers
Prerequisites / NoticeIt is required that participants have attended the lecture "Principles of Macroeconomics" (363-0565-00L).
Financial Management
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0560-00LFinancial Management Information W+3 credits2VJ.‑P. Chardonnens
AbstractThis course introduces students to the concept and principles of financial management that are of primary concern to corporate managers and all the consideration needed to make financial decision. It involves investment and financing decisions through the application of financial analysis.
ObjectiveBy attending this course, students will be able to:
- increase the overall value of firms and improve their profitability.
- ensure sufficient availability of funds to satisfy maturing short-term debt.
- improve the management of working capital and short-term financing.
- make capital budgeting decisions under both certainty and uncertainty.
- discuss the capital structure theory.
- understand the different sources of finance.
- describe the main motives and implications of mergers and acquisitions.
ContentThe course Financial Management follows the course Accounting for Managers. The principles of financial management are illustrated with different cases. The course is divided into six main sections:

1. The first section discusses the financial goals of the firm, value-based management, and the objectives of liquidity and profitability.

2. The second chapter explains the tools and methods of financial analysis and forecasting needed by managers in order to make appropriate investing and financing decisions.

3. The third division demonstrates the importance of the management of working capital, cash planning, current asset management, short term financing, and the cash flow statement.

4. The fourth module introduces the static and dynamic methods of capital budgeting in order to improve the profitability of the organisation and achieve the main objectives.

5. The fifth part relates to the financing of the company, the capital structure theory, the cost of capital, the different sources of equity and debt financing.

6. The last section of the course illustrates special topics of financial management, such as mezzanine finance, corporate restructuring, mergers & acquisitions, and the valuation of shares.
Prerequisites / NoticeRequirement : Good knowledge of financial accounting (Accounting for Managers)
Recommended Elective Courses
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0448-00LGlobal Operations Strategy
Does not take place this semester.
W3 credits3GT. Netland
AbstractThis course provides students a theoretical fundament and practical skills for strategic configuration and coordination of global production networks and facility planning and design.
ObjectiveStudents will be able to analyze, plan, and design factory networks and single facilities.
1. Students can analyze strengths and weaknesses of a company’s global factory network.
2. Students can conduct a basic factory localization analysis and elaborate the risks involved and the limitations of the chosen method.
3. Students are familiar with key issues in managing global operations.
4. Students can analyze a global productivity improvement program.
5. Additional skills: Students acquire experience in teamwork, report writing and presentation.
ContentThis course deals with the configuration and coordination of global manufacturing operations.
Lecture notesSee Moodle
LiteratureSee Moodle
Prerequisites / NoticeRequirements: Preferably the course 363-0445-00L Production and Operations Management
363-0452-00LPurchasing and Supply ManagementW3 credits2GS. Wagner
AbstractBased on up to date purchasing and supplier management theories and practices, the course familiarizes students with the design and implementation of purchasing strategies, processes, structures and systems, as well as the structure and management of supplier portfolios and buyer-supplier relationships.
ObjectiveStudents will acquire skills and tools which are valuable for designing and implementing purchasing and supplier strategies.
ContentThe value sourced from suppliers and the innovation stemming from the supply base has increased substantially in recent years. As a consequence, suppliers and the purchasing function have become critically important for firms in many manufacturing and service industries. Purchasing and supply management is on the agenda of top-management today. This course will familiarize students with modern purchasing and supplier management theory and practice. They will learn how to design and implement purchasing strategies, processes, structures and systems, and how to structure and manage supplier portfolios and buyer-supplier relationships to meet firms’ supply needs.
Lecture notesThe course material will be made available for download on Moodle:

Link
LiteratureThe following textbook is recommended:
Cousins, Paul/Lamming, Richard/Lawson, Benn/Squire, Brian (2008): Strategic supply management: Principles, theories and practice, Harlow, UK: Financial Times Prentice Hall (ISBN: 0273651005).

The following textbooks are supplementary:
van Weele, Arjan J. (2014): Purchasing and supply chain management: Analysis, strategy, planning and practice, 6th ed., Andover: Cengage Learning (ISBN: 9781408088463).
Benton, W.C. (2010): Purchasing and supply chain management, 2nd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 0073525146).
Prerequisites / NoticeThe final course grade will be a weighted average of the following:

Written test: 70%
Case studies (during the semester): 30%
363-0514-00LEnergy Economics and Policy
It is recommended for students to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics. If not, they should be familiar with microeconomics as in, for example,"Microeconomics" by Mankiw & Taylor and the appendices 4 and 7 of the book "Microeconomics" by Pindyck & Rubinfeld.
W3 credits2GM. Filippini
AbstractAn introduction to energy economics and policy that covers the following topics: energy demand, economics of energy efficiency, investments and cost analysis, energy markets (fossil fuels,electricity and renewable energy sources), market failures and behavioral anomalies, market-based and non-market based energy policy instruments and regulation of energy industries.
ObjectiveThe students will develop the understanding of economic principles and tools necessary to analyze energy issues and to formulate energy policy instruments. Emphasis will be put on empirical analysis of energy demand and supply, market failures, behavioral anomalies, energy policy instruments, investments in power plants and in energy efficiency technologies and the reform of the electric power sector.
ContentThe course provides an introduction to energy economics principles and policy applications. The first part of the course will introduce the microeconomic foundation of energy demand and supply as well as market failures and behavioral anomalies. In a second part, we introduce the concept of investment analysis (such as the NPV), in the context of energy efficient investments. In the last part, we use the previously introduced concepts to analyze energy policies: from a government perspective, we discuss the mechanisms and implications of market oriented and non-market oriented policy instruments as well as the regulation of energy industries.

Throughout the entire class, we combine the course material with insights from current research in energy economics. This combination will enable students to understand standard scientific literature in the field of energy economics. Moreover, the class aims to show students how to put real life situations in the energy sector in the context of insights from energy economics.

During the first part of the course a set of environmental and resource economics tools will be given to students through lectures. The applied nature of the course is achieved by discussing several papers in a seminar. To this respect, students are required to work in groups in order to prepare a presentation of a paper.

The evaluation policy is designed to verify the knowledge acquired by students during the course. For this purpose, a short group presentation will be graded. At the end of the course there will be a written exam covering the topics of the course. The final grade is obtained by averaging the presentation (20%) and the final exam (80%).
Prerequisites / NoticeIt is recommended for students to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics. If not, they should be familiar with microeconomics as in, for example, "Microeconomics" by Mankiw & Taylor and the appendices 4 and 7 of the book "Microeconomics" by Pindyck & Rubinfeld.
363-0543-00LAgent-Based Modelling of Social Systems Information W3 credits2V + 1UF. Schweitzer
AbstractAgent-based modeling is introduced as a bottom-up approach to understand the complex dynamics of social systems. The course is based on formal models of agents and their interactions. Computer simulations using Python allow the quantitative analysis of a wide range of social phenomena, e.g. cooperation and competition, opinion dynamics, spatial interactions and behaviour in social networks.
ObjectiveA successful participant of this course is able to
- understand the rationale of agent-based models of social systems
- understand the relation between rules implemented at the individual level and the emerging behavior at the global level
- learn to choose appropriate model classes to characterize different social systems
- grasp the influence of agent heterogeneity on the model output
- efficiently implement agent-based models using Python and visualize the output
ContentThis full-featured course on agent-based modeling (ABM) allows participants with no prior expertise to understand concepts, methods and tools of ABM, to apply them in their master or doctoral thesis. We focus on a formal description of agents and their interactions, to allow for a suitable implementation in computer simulations. Given certain rules for the agents, we are interested to model their collective dynamics on the systemic level.

Agent-based modeling is introduced as a bottom-up approach to understand the complex dynamics of social systems.
Agents represent the basic constituents of such systems. The are described by internal states or degrees of freedom (opinions, strategies, etc.), the ability to perceive and change their environment, and the ability to interact with other agents. Their individual (microscopic) actions and interactions with other agents, result in macroscopic (collective, system) dynamics with emergent properties, which we want to understand and to analyze.

The course is structured in three main parts. The first two parts introduce two main agent concepts - Boolean agents and Brownian agents, which differ in how the internal dynamics of agents is represented. Boolean agents are characterized by binary internal states, e.g. yes/no opinion, while Brownian agents can have a continuous spectrum of internal states, e.g. preferences and attitudes. The last part introduces models in which agents interact in physical space, e.g. migrate or move collectively.

Throughout the course, we will discuss a wide variety of application areas, such as:
- opinion dynamics and social influence,
- cooperation and competition,
- online social networks,
- systemic risk
- emotional influence and communication
- swarming behavior
- spatial competition

While the lectures focus on the theoretical foundations of agent-based modeling, weekly exercise classes provide practical skills. Using the Python programming language, the participants implement agent-based models in guided and in self-chosen projects, which they present and jointly discuss.
Lecture notesThe lecture slides will be available on the Moodle platform, for registered students only.
LiteratureSee handouts. Specific literature is provided for download, for registered students only.
Prerequisites / NoticeParticipants of the course should have some background in mathematics and an interest in formal modeling and in computer simulations, and should be motivated to learn about social systems from a quantitative perspective.

Prior knowledge of Python is not necessary.

Self-study tasks are provided as home work for small teams (2-4 members).
Weekly exercises (45 min) are used to discuss the solutions and guide the students.

The examination will account for 70% of the grade and will be conducted electronically. The "closed book" rule applies: no books, no summaries, no lecture materials. The exam questions and answers will be only in English. The use of a paper-based dictionary is permitted.
The group project to be handed in at the beginning of July will count 30% to the final grade.
363-0552-00LEconomic Growth and Resource UseW3 credits2GC. Karydas
AbstractThe course deals with the factors that contribute to economic development. Throughout the course theoretical economic modelling will be used to discuss the effects of factors – such as land, human/physical capital, technology, fossil energy resources, and climate change – on economic growth and to draw conclusions for the future.
ObjectiveThe general objective of the course is to provide students tools and intuition to:

i) think in a structured way – though economic modelling – about the factors that have lead to the different growth experiences among countries, and still shape our contemporary situation;
ii) assess and design policies on the basis of economic development;
iii) draw conclusions for the future of economic development, that take into account prevalent issues such as the scarcity of fossil energy resources and climate change.
ContentWhy is economic growth worth studying? Which are the factors behind economic growth? What is the role of natural resources in shaping economic development? Is our finite planet able to support sustainable long-term economic growth? Economics aims at explaining human behaviour; how do we model it and how can we steer it for the better? How do you design an efficient economic policy for a sustainable future? What is sustainable anyway? These are some of the questions you will learn to answer in this course.

After spending the first lecture on overviewing the course, and the second lecture on building our mathematical and economic foundation, we begin with the three main modules that comprise this course.

The first module – called “Land and Economic Growth” – deals with the historical evolution of the factors behind economic development from the pre-industrial times to our modern growth experiences. By studying the history of economic growth, we understand change and how the society we live in came to be. In this module we will develop economic models that capture the transition from an era of miniscule economic growth that persisted for millennia before the industrial revolution – with land and human labour as the main inputs to economic activity, to our modern growth experience where the continuous improvement in technology and services is our status quo.

The second module – called “Non-Renewable Resources and Growth” – deals with the problem of optimal exploitation of non-renewable resources, as well as with the issue of “Resource Curse” – i.e., the observed negative relationship between economic development and resource abundance. Emerging in the 1970s due to two oil crises, the problem of the economy’s extreme dependence on fossil and depletable energy resources sparked a great deal of research to guide our way forward. Some important questions we will formally answer in this module are the following. How do we optimally exploit a given stock of a non-renewable resource? What affects the prices of non-renewable resources? If fossil energy sources – a (so far) important input to production – are getting ever depleted, is long-term growth possible? How do we explain the “Resource Curse” and what are the policies that allow a sustainable future in countries that suffer from such a curse?

The third module – called “Climate Change and Growth” – deals with the pressing problem of our changing climate. Greenhouse gas emissions – so far essential for economic activity – accumulate in the atmosphere and alter environmental patterns. This phenomenon – commonly known as climate change – is responsible for the increase in the frequency and the intensity of natural disasters, which damage our stocks of capital and put a drag on economic growth. To derive appropriate policies for a sustainable future, we will incorporate these aspects in workhorse models of the economics and finance literature. Students will learn how to derive and set the “correct” price on the use of polluting energy resources from the perspective of policy-makers. Additionally, pricing of climate change risks for financial markets is important, both for individual investors and central banks, as it is they who provide liquidity to firms to pursue their long-term growth targets. Accordingly, we will close the lecture with the pricing of climate change risks from an investor’s perspective.

After the last lecture of each of the three modules students will be handed out an exercise set which will be submitted by the beginning of the following week’s lecture. That lecture will be an exercise session where we will discuss the solutions in class. Each exercise set will be graded. The average grade from the best two exercise sets will account for 25% of the final grade; the rest 75% will be determined by a written exam.
Lecture notesLecture Notes of the course will be sent by email to officially subscribed students.
LiteratureThe main reference of the course is the set of lecture notes; students will also be encouraged to read some influential academic articles dealing with the issues under study.
Prerequisites / NoticeKnowledge of basic calculus (differentiation - integration) and basic statistics (e.g. what is an expectation; variance-covariance) is considered as a prerequisite. Elementary knowledge of dynamic systems analysis, optimal control theory and economic theory is a plus but not a prerequisite.
363-0558-00LIntroduction to Game Theory: Strategic and Cooperative Thinking
It is recommended to take 363-0503-00L Principles of Microeconomics first.
W3 credits2GV. Britz
AbstractNoncooperative and Cooperative Game Theory, concepts and applications
ObjectiveThe goal of the lecture is to learn how to think strategically or cooperatively and to apply the concepts
of game theory to economic, social, political, and business situations.


Students will gain competence in a variety of standard game-theoretic concepts. They will also become familiar with the ways in which these concepts are applied in Economics and related disciplines.
ContentPart 1: Strategic Thinking (Noncooperative Game Theory)

Thinking in static and dynamic games with complete and incomplete information

Part 2: Cooperative Thinking (Cooperative Game Theory)

Thinking in repeated and cooperative games.


The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to both cooperative and non-cooperative game theory. The course will start from scratch with the most basic game-theoretic concepts, such as weak and strict dominance, or Nash equilibrium. Progress will be rather swift, however, and the course will cover more advanced concepts such as signaling games and Bayesian equilibrium.

Students will gain an understanding of the broad relevance and applicability of game theory in Economics and related disciplines.

Instruction will take several forms such as lectures, exercises, and experiencing some of the games discussed in the lectures.
Lecture notesFor inquiries and questions regarding the course organization please send an email to Dr. Oriol Tejada (Link).
LiteratureDavis (1997): Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction. Courier Dover Publications
Dixit and Nalebuff (1991): Thinking Strategically. W.W. Norton & Company
Fudenberg and Tirole (1991): Game Theory. MIT Press
Gibbons (1992): Game Theory for applied economists. Princeton University Press
Mas-Collel et al. (1995): Microeconomic Theory. Oxford University Press
Myerson (1992): Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict. Havard University Press
Osborne (2003): An Introduction to Game Theory. Oxford University Press
Watson (2002): Strategy: An Introduction in Game Theory. W.W. Norton & Company
Prerequisites / NoticeThe lecture will be in English.
363-0564-00LEntrepreneurial RisksW3 credits2GD. Sornette
AbstractDimensions 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.
363-0584-00LInternational Monetary Economics
Does not take place this semester.
W3 credits2VJ.‑E. Sturm, to be announced
AbstractWhat determines the foreign exchange rate in the short- and long-term? What are the effects of monetary and fiscal policy in an open economy? What drives a country's choice of the foreign exchange rate regime and why are some countries more prone to financial crises than others? A number of simple theoretical frameworks will be developed that allow us to discuss recent economic policy issues.
ObjectiveThe core objective of the course is to develop simple macroeconomic models of open economies that can be usefully applied to international economic phenomena ranging from global financial imbalances, the Chinese exchange rate regime, the European Monetary Union, reform proposals for the international financial architecture, to global financial crises.
Lecture notesLecture notes will be made available via Moodle.
LiteratureKrugman, Paul, Maurice Obstfeld and Marc Melitz (2019), International Economics, Theory and Policy, 11th Global Edition, Pearson.
363-0586-00LInternational Economics: Theory of New Trade and Multinational FirmsW3 credits2VD. Suverato
AbstractThe primary goal of the course is to familiarize students with recent work in international economics. Students will gain an essential set of guidelines to understand to current worldwide economic scenario dominated by: "trade wars", "Brexit", the "fear of import competition from China" and the links between globalization and technological change.
ObjectiveCovering models of international trade, of trade and multinational firms, and of factor mobility and agglomeration, students will get a good overview of key contributions in the field of international economics.

The introduction to this course provides a brief overview of classical trade models, where production cost differences between countries (through differences in factor productivity or in relative factor endowments) are the main source of gains from trade.

The core of the course will be on general equilibrium models of trade where the main reason for trade are consumer preferences and their love of variety and its major impediments are transport costs. Technology, structure of the product market and the functioning of the labor market will be the key drivers of the effect of international trade on growth, welfare and inequality.

At the end of the course student will be able to:

1. Define the concept of comparative advantage and understand how it shapes trade patterns.
2. Describe the main reasons for international trade and their relative importance in reality.
3. Explain the methodology used by modern economic models to quantify the gains from trade and the effects of changes in trade costs.
4. Summarize the main insights obtained by models which introduce firm heterogeneity in international trade.
5. Discuss the implications of international trade for inequality and the organization of production.
ContentIn this class we will cover the following topics.

1 Comparative Advantage. This is the main concept of "opportunity cost" applied to the questions "who produces what? and why?"

2 Gains from trade. International trade is a trigger for the development of welfare gains in terms of efficiency. We will understand why and how gains can be redistributed to mitigate losses for who loses in a more integrated economy.

3 Firms in the Global Economy. The main actors of international economics are globally integrated firms. We will examine their business model, in particular:
– Export Decisions
– Outsourcing Decisions and Organization of Multinationals
– Global Value Chains

4 Trade and Income Distribution. While efficiency gains are clear, the impact of international trade on the income distribution is a more complex issue to assess. We will discuss the most recent developments on this subject.

5 Trade Policy. Topics such as free trade agreements and trade wars are of high importance in the political agenda. We will discuss the main trade policy instruments (such as tariffs, quotas, export subsidies and regulations) and their effects on economic growth.

The detailed agenda of the course consists of these topics:
1.Ricardian Trade Theory, from Ricardo to Eaton-Kortum.
2.Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Theory and specific factor models.
3.Increasing Returns and Trade and gains from variety.
4.Firm Heterogeneity: the Melitz model and its applications.
5.Multinational firms and offshoring: a global organization of production.
6.Insights on trade policy: free trade agreements, tariffs, non-tariff barriers and regulations
7.New empirical insights on trade, development and inequality.
LiteratureCopies of the original articles and relevant chapters of books will be made available to participants of the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeTo follow the course well, you should have some basic knowledge about:
1. solving constrained and unconstrained optimization problems,
2. integral calculus and probability theory

Furthermore, you should be familiar with:
1. basic microeconomic concepts (such as General Equilibrium)
2. basic econometric concepts (such as Instrumental Variables)
363-0588-00LComplex Networks Information W4 credits2V + 1UF. Schweitzer, G. Casiraghi
AbstractThe course provides an overview of the methods and abstractions used in (i) the quantitative study of complex networks, (ii) empirical network analysis, (iii) the study of dynamical processes in networked systems, (iv) the analysis of robustness of networked systems, (v) the study of network evolution, and (vi) data mining techniques for networked data sets.
Objective* the network approach to complex systems, where actors are represented as nodes and interactions are represented as links
* learn about structural properties of classes of networks
* learn about feedback mechanism in the formation of networks
* learn about statistical inference and data mining techniques for data on networked systems
* learn methods and abstractions used in the growing literature on complex networks
ContentNetworks matter! This holds for social and economic systems, for technical infrastructures as well as for information systems. Increasingly, these networked systems are outside the control of a centralized authority but rather evolve in a distributed and self-organized way. How can we understand their evolution and what are the local processes that shape their global features? How does their topology influence dynamical processes like diffusion? And how can we characterize the importance of specific nodes?

This course provides a systematic answer to such questions, by developing methods and tools which can be applied to networks in diverse areas like infrastructure, communication, information systems, biology or (online) social networks. In a network approach, agents in such systems (like e.g. humans, computers, documents, power plants, biological or financial entities) are represented as nodes, whereas their interactions are represented as links.

The first part of the course, "Introduction to networks: basic and advanced metrics", describes how networks can be represented mathematically and how the properties of their link structures can be quantified empirically.

In a second part "Stochastic Models of Complex Networks" we address how analytical statements about crucial properties like connectedness or robustness can be made based on simple macroscopic stochastic models without knowing the details of a topology.

In the third part we address "Dynamical processes on complex networks". We show how a simple model for a random walk in networks can give insights into the authority of nodes, the efficiency of diffusion processes as well as the existence of community structures.

A fourth part "Network Optimisation and Inference" introduces models for the emergence of complex topological features which are due to stochastic optimization processes, as well as statistical methods to detect patterns in large data sets on networks.

In a fifth part, we address "Network Dynamics", introducing models for the emergence of complex features that are due to (i) feedback phenomena in simple network growth processes or (iii) order correlations in systems with highly dynamic links.

A final part "Research Trends" introduces recent research on the application of data mining and machine learning techniques to relational data.
Lecture notesThe lecture slides are provided as handouts - including notes and literature sources - to registered students only.
All material is to be found on Moodle at the following URL: Link
LiteratureSee handouts. Specific literature is provided for download - for registered students, only.
Prerequisites / NoticeThere are no pre-requisites for this course. Self-study tasks (to be solved analytically and by means of computer simulations) are provided as home work. Weekly exercises (45 min) are used to discuss selected solutions. Active participation in the exercises is strongly suggested for a successful completion of the final exam.
363-0792-00LKnowledge Management Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 48.
W1 credit1GP. Wolf
AbstractThe course introduces theoretical concepts of Knowledge Management from the perspective of two different social sciences: Organization Studies/Management and Sociology. Common Knowledge Management approaches, methods and tools will be presented, and the participants will have the opportunity to test some of them.
ObjectiveAfter completing this course, students:
1. know the objectivist and the practice-based Knowledge Management theory.
2. understand the concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge and their underlying characteristics.
3. know available Knowledge Management tools and methods.
4. can analyze challenges in knowledge development and knowledge sharing in organizations.
5. are able to select and apply knowledge management tools and methods in an managerial context.
6. are able to come up with meaningful measures to improve KM in an organization based upon KM test assessment results.
ContentThe efficient management of knowledge as a resource of an organization is considered to be a major source of competitive advantage. Still, many organizations find it challenging to develop an appropriate approach for dealing with knowledge. This course aims at drawing a realistic picture of what can be achieved by managers in the frame of knowledge management initatives by what means and approaches.

This course will provide a general introduction into knowledge management at different levels:

It will first introduce the objectivist and the practice-based perspective as the most common theoretical perspectives on Knowledge Management. These two perspectives translate into differing management approaches about how knowledge can and should be dealt with in organizations.

The course will then provide a borad overview on the different tools and methods that are discussed in the literature as being part of the knowledge management "toolbox". It differentiates knowledge management from data management (such as document or big data management) and focusses on knowledge sharing approaches. It will raise awareness on opportunities and barriers to attempts of managing knowledge in organizations.

Students will discuss KM case studies, assess the status of Knowledge Management in an organization which they know well and develop a case study about this organization. This involves crafting out recommendations on how to improve the knowledge management in this organization.
Lecture notesNone. Participants will be provided with slides before the course.
LiteratureRelevant literature (3-5 scholarly articles) will be made avaialble to the students at least four weeks before the course.
The students will be asked to read through a case study before the course. This case study will be assigned and made avaialble to the students at least three weeks before the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThere will be a graded term work assignment - reports to be handed in by end of April/beginning of May. In this term work, students will develop an own KM case study.
363-0887-00LManagement Research Restricted registration - show details
Participation in both sessions and completion of all assignments is required to receive the credit.
This course requires preparation time and completion of an assignment before the first course day. Please check the Moodle course page for more information.
W1 credit1SN. Geilinger
AbstractThis course teaches students about the basic principles of scientific work in the field of management research. The main learning objective of the course is to get familiar with the foundations of rigorous and relevant empirical management research and be prepared to write a master thesis in management.

It is recommended to take this course in the last semester before the start of the thesis.
ObjectiveThis course is for students who write their master thesis at the Department of Management, Technology and Economics.
The successful completion of the course will help you to improve the quality of your thesis and specifically, you will be able to:

1. Turn ideas into interesting and relevant research questions and objectives
2. Prepare and plan your research project
3. Draft a research proposal
4. Receive inspiration and insights for conducting your thesis
5. Search, review and accurately reference the academic literature
6. Understand the importance of the research design
ContentCourse structure:
This course combines lectures, group discussions and individual assignments.
Day 1: Course introduction, group analysis exercises and discussions, lectures on main topics.
Between the two course days: Individual work on assignment.
Day 2: Assignment review and discussion, lectures on main topics, conclusion session.

Target audience:
The course is designed with two groups of students in mind: first, students who write their master thesis at the SMI chair and second, students who write their master thesis in the field of management at other MTEC chairs. For both groups, the focal issues of this course will arise frequently during the journey of writing their thesis. We will provide some specific content (grading guidelines, thesis format) which might not be applicable for students tutored at other MTEC chairs; however, the main part should be relevant for all students.

Course topics:
1. Thesis topic and thesis proposal:
- Choice of thesis topic, identification of research gap, formulation of research questions, writing of thesis proposal
2. Literature review:
- Search and evaluation of academic literature, use of reference tools, writing of theoretical background chapter of thesis
3. Empirical research design:
- Types of empirical research designs, choice of methodology, overview of data collection and analysis methods
4. Research output and report:
- Writing of introduction, results and conclusion, thesis format and structure
5. Thesis assessment:
- SMI grading criteria, MTEC guidelines

References:
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitiative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Jackson, P. (2012). Management research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Van Aken, J., & Berends, H. (2018). Problem-solving in organizations: A methodological handbook for business students (3rd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
LiteratureThe course material will be available on the Moodle course page. We will suggest additional resources such as methodology books and research articles during the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course is graded with pass or fail. In order to pass, you need to satisfactorily complete all assignments and learning journals and actively participate in all class sessions.

Attendance during all sessions is required to pass the course and absences need to be compensated with an additional assignment.
363-1000-00LFinancial EconomicsW3 credits2VA. Bommier
AbstractThis is a theoretical course on the economics of financial decision making, at the crossroads between Microeconomics and Finance. It discusses portfolio choice theory, risk sharing, market equilibrium and asset pricing.
ObjectiveThe objective is to make students familiar with the economics of financial decision making and develop their intuition regarding the determination of asset prices, the notions of optimal risk sharing. However this is not a practical formation for traders. Moreover, the lecture doesn't cover topics such as market irrationality or systemic risk.

After completing this course:
1. Students will be familiar with the economics of financial decision making and develop their intuition regarding the determination of asset prices;
2. Students will understand the intuition of market equilibrium. They will be able to solve the market equilibrium in a simple model and derive the prices of assets.
3. Students will be familiar with the representation of attitudes towards risk. They will be able to explain how risk, wealth and agents’ preferences affect the demand for assets.
4. Students will understand the notion of risk diversification.
5. Students will understand the notion of optimal risk sharing.
ContentThe following topics will be discussed:
1. Introduction to financial assets: The first lecture provides an overview of most common financial assets. We will also discuss the formation of asset prices and the role of markets in the valuation of these assets.

2. Option valuation: this lecture focuses on options, which are a certain type of financial asset. You will learn about arbitrage, which is a key notion to understand the valuation of options. This lecture will give you the intuition of the mechanisms underlying the pricing of assets in more general settings.

3. Introduction to the economic analysis of asset markets: this chapter will familiarize you with the notion of market equilibrium and the role it plays concerning asset pricing. Relying on economic theory, we will consider the properties of the market equilibrium: In which cases does the equilibrium exist? Is it optimal? How does it depend on individual’s wealth and preferences? The concepts defined in this chapter are essential to understand the following parts of the course.

4. A simplified approach to asset markets: based on the notions introduced in the previous lectures, you will learn about the key concepts necessary to understand financial markets, such as market completeness and the no-arbitrage theorem.

5. Choice under uncertainty: this class covers fundamental concepts concerning agents’ decisions when facing risk. These models are crucial to understand how the demand for financial assets originates.

6. Demand for risk: Building up on the previous chapters, we will study portfolio choice in a simplified setting. We will discuss how asset demand varies with risk, agent’s preferences and wealth.

7. Asset prices in a simplified context: We will focus on the portfolio choices of an investor, in a particular setting called mean-variance analysis. The mean-variance analysis will be a first step to introduce the notion of risk diversification, which is essential in finance.

8. Risk sharing and insurance: in this lecture, you will understand that risk can be shared among different agents and how, under certain conditions, this sharing can be optimal. You will learn about the distinction between individual idiosyncratic risk and macroeconomic risk.

9. Risk sharing and asset prices in a market equilibrium: this course builds up on previous lessons and presents the consumption-based Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The focus will be on how consumption, assets and prices are determined in equilibrium.
LiteratureMain reading material:

- "Investments", by Z. Bodie, A. Kane and A. Marcus, for the
introductory part of the course (see chapters 20 and 21 in
particular).
- "Finance and the Economics of Uncertainty" by G. Demange and G. Laroque, Blackwell, 2006.
- "The Economics of Risk and Time", by C. Gollier, MIT Press, 2001.

Other readings:
- "Intermediate Financial Theory" by J.-P. Danthine and J.B. Donaldson.
- Ingersoll, J., E., Theory of Financial Decision Making, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
- Leroy S and J. Werner, Principles of Financial Economics, Cambridge University Press, 2001
Prerequisites / NoticeBasic mathematical skills needed (calculus, linear algebra, convex analysis). Students must be able to solve simple optimization problems (e.g. Lagrangian methods). Some knowledge in microeconomics would help but is not compulsory. The bases will be covered in class.
363-1008-00LPublic EconomicsW3 credits2VM. Köthenbürger, T. Giommoni
AbstractPublic Economics analyses the role of the government in the economy. In this course we will discuss justifications for and the design of public policy as well as its consequences on market outcomes. Issues related to public goods, taxation, in particular the effects of tax policy on labor supply, entrepreneurship and innovation will be emphasized.
ObjectiveThe primary goal of the course is to familiarize students with the central concepts and principles of public economics. The course aims at providing a good understanding of theoretical work and how it may be applied to actual policy problems. Students will get a good overview of recent key contributions in the field and how these relate to empirical observations.
ContentOverview: The course Public Economics analyses the role of the government in the economy. In most developed countries, government activity is significant and ranges from public service provision, redistribution of incomes, regulation and taxation. In many cases, public expenditures are 30-40 percent of GDP. In the course, we will discuss justifications for and the design of public policy as well as its consequences on market outcomes. We will repeatedly use real-world policy examples to allow students to apply their knowledge and to realize how effectively the knowledge can be used to understand and design public policy making.

Organization: The course consists of four big building blocks, “externalities”, “taxation”, “political economy”, and “social security”. For each of the building blocks we will provide slides. There will be three problem sets and a written exam at the end of the course. Problem sets will not be graded. Credit points are given for passed exams only.
363-1031-00LQuantitative Methods in Energy and Environmental Economics
Does not take place this semester.
W4 credits3Gto be announced
AbstractThe course provides an introduction to quantitative methods used to analyze problems in energy and environmental economics. Emphasis will be put on partial and general equilibrium models, regression models to estimate demand functions, econometric techniques for policy evaluations, and panel data methods.
ObjectiveThe objectives of the course are twofold. First, the course is intended to provide an introduction to the economic assessment of energy and environmental policy. To this end, the course provides students with an overview of state-of-the-art tools to economic modeling and econometric approaches. Second, the course is intended to familiarize master (and doctoral students) with the computer software necessary to implement these quantitative methods to initiate their own research in energy and environmental economics.

Ancillary objectives of the course include an introduction to environmental implications of energy use and the role of economic analysis in designing policies which address issues of energy security, climate change and related environmental externalities.
LiteratureLecture notes, exercises and reference material will be made available to students during the semester.
Prerequisites / NoticeBasic knowledge of microeconomics and calculus. Knowledge from the courses "Energy Economics and Policy (363-0514-00L)" and "Principles of Microeconomics" are required.

Block course during two weeks before the start of the semester. Students work on a group project during the semester. Presentation of group projects by students in week 8 and 9 of the semester. Performance assessment is based on group projects during the semester.
363-0532-00LEconomics of Sustainable DevelopmentZ3 credits2VL. Bretschger
AbstractConcepts and indicators of sustainable development, paradigms of weak and strong sustainability;
neoclassical and endogenous growth models;
economic growth in the presence of exhaustible and renewable resources; pollution, environmental policy and growth;
role of substitution and technological progress;
Environmental Kuznets Curve; sustainability policy.
ObjectiveThe aim is to develop an understanding of the implications of sustainable development for the long-run development of economies. It is to be shown to which extent the potential for growth to be sustainable depends on substitution possibilities, technological change and environmental policy.
After successful completion of this course, students are able to
1. understand the causes of long-term economic development
2. analyse the influence of natural resources and pollution on the development of social welfare
3. to appropriately classify the role of politics in the pursuit of sustainability goals.
ContentThe lecture introduces different concepts and paradigms of sustainable development. Building on this foundation and following a general introduction to the modelling of economic growth, conditions for growth to be sustainable in the presence of pollution and scarce natural resources are derived. Special attention is devoted to the scope for substitution and role of technological progress in overcoming resource scarcities. Implications of environmental externalities are regarded with respect to the design of environmental policies.
Concepts and indicators of sustainable development, paradigms of weak and strong sustainability, sustainability optimism vs. pessimism;
introduction to neoclassical and endogenous growth models;
pollution, environmental policy and growth;
role of substitution possibilities and technological progress;
Environmental Kuznets Curve: concept, theory and empirical results;
economic growth in the presence of exhaustible and renewable resources, Hartwick rule, resource saving technological change.
Lecture notesWill be provided successively in the course of the semester.
LiteratureBretschger, F. (1999), Growth Theory and Sustainable Development, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Bretschger, L. (2004), Wachstumstheorie, Oldenbourg, 3. Auflage, München.

Bretschger, L. (2018), Greening Economy, Graying Society, CER-ETH Press, ETH Zurich.

Perman, R., Y. Ma, J. McGilvray and M. Common (2011), Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, Longman , 4th ed., Essex.

Neumayer, E. (2003), Weak and Strong Sustainability, 2nd ed., Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
363-1060-00LStrategies for Sustainable Business Restricted registration - show details
Limited number of participants.

Registration will only be effective once confirmed by email from the organizers.
W2 credits2SJ. Meuer
AbstractIn this course, students will learn to critically analyze strategies for sustainable business through exploring case studies on three main questions:
1. What is sustainability in business?
2. How do I design a sustainability strategy?
3. How do I implement a sustainability strategy?
ObjectiveAfter the course, you should be able to:

1. Understand and explain sustainability challenges companies are facing;
2. Critique sustainability and related strategies;
3. Evaluate decisions taken by managers;
4. Suggest alternative approaches;
5. Develop action plans;
6. Reflect on strategies for sustainability in their own organizations.

You will also learn to apply a range of strategy concepts to sustainability challenges, including leadership, stakeholder management, diversification, and organizational change.
ContentAlthough many companies nowadays report on their sustainability actions, only few successfully integrate sustainability into their business operations. In this seminar, we will cover three main questions that will help you to critically analyze and develop strategies for sustainable business:
1. What is sustainability in business?
2. How do I design a sustainability strategy?
3. How do I implement a sustainability strategy?

We teach the course with the case method developed at Harvard Business School. The case studies will allow us to explore from multiple perspectives the many tensions involved in developing strategies for sustainable business. We will distribute case study materials before the sessions, as well as guidelines on how best to efficiently and effectively prepare for case study discussions. You will need to read the materials and to submit short assignments before each class.

The sessions are interactive and allow you to step into the role of decision-makers as they face key challenges in integrating sustainability. For example, we will look at the challenges of Fairphone in combining both social and economic goals. Why and how would Patagonia want to encourage customers to buy less rather than more clothing? We also step into the shoes of RWE's CEO Peter Terium as he grapples with ensuring a profitable and sustainable future for the German utility. And using a change management simulation, you will experience why certain approaches to implementing a sustainability initiative in an organization are more successful than others. Our case discussions will help you to apply strategy concepts to real-world sustainability problems and will also serve as a basis for thinking about sustainability in your own company.
LiteratureWe will provide case study material and guidelines for analyzing cases to participants by email several weeks before the seminar.
Prerequisites / NoticeAfter signing up you will first be placed on the waiting list. We will contact all students on the waiting list by 1 March 2019 to confirm their participation in the seminar. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Johannes Meuer (Link).
363-0764-00LProject ManagementZ2 credits2VC. G. C. Marxt
AbstractThe course gives a detailed introduction into various aspects of classic and agile project management. Established concepts and methods for initiating, planning and executing projects are introduced and major challenges discussed. Additionally the course covers different agile and hybrid project management concepts.
ObjectiveProjects are not only the base of work in modern enterprises but also the primary type of cooperation with customers. Students of ETH will often work in or manage projects in the course of their career. Good project management knowledge is not only a guarantee for individual but also for company wide success.

The goal of this course is to give a detailed introduction into project management, more specific participants
- will understand the basics of successful classic and agile project management
- are able to apply the concepts and methods of project management in their day to day work
- are able to identify different project management practices and are able to suggest improvements
- will contribute to projects in your organization in a positive way
- will be able to plan and execute projects successfully.
ContentThe competitiveness of companies is driven by the development of a concise strategy and its successful implementation. Especially strategy execution poses several challenges to senior management: clear communication of goals, ongoing follow up of activities, a sound monitoring and control system. All these aspect are covered by successfully implementing and applying program and project management. As an introductory course we will focus mainly on project management.
In the last decade project management has become an important discipline in management and several internationally recognized project management methods can be found: PMBOK, IPMA ICB, PRINCE 2, etc. These frameworks have proven to be very useful in day-to-day work.
Unfortunately the environment companies are working in has changed parallel to the rise of PM as a discipline. Incremental but even more important fundamental changes happen more often and much faster than a decade ago. Experience has shown that the classic PM approaches lack the inherent dynamics to cope with these challenges. So overtime new methods have surfaced, such as SCRUM. These methods are called Agile Project Management methods and follow a dynamic model of reality, called complex adaptive systems perspective.
This course will cover both classic and agile project management topics. The first part of the semester will lay the basics by discussing the classic way of planning, organizing and executing a project based on its life cycle. Topics covered include: drafting project proposals, stake holder analysis, different aspects of project planning, project organization, project risk management, project execution, project control, leadership in projects incl. conflict mitigation strategies, termination and documentation. In the second part basic conceptual topics for agile project management such as the agile manifesto, SCRUM, Lean, Kanban, XP, rapid results are covered. The course tries to tap into pre-existing knowledge of the participants using a very interactive approach including in-class discussion, short exercises and case studies.
Lecture notesNo
The lecture slides and other additional material (papers, book chapters, case studies, etc.) will be available for download from Moodle before each class.
363-0768-00LLecture Cycle ETH and UZH: Logistics Management Information Z3 credits2VT. Netland, H. Dietl
AbstractTo show potentials for an efficient, flexible and rapid processing of material and information flows.
ObjectiveTo show potentials for an efficient, felxible and rapid processing of material and information flows.
ContentNew approaches and integral concepts to optimize business processes. Projects in industry, engineering tools
Lecture notesAm Ende der Vorlesungsreihe werden Präsentationsunterlagen abgegeben.
363-0883-00LSemester Project Large Restricted registration - show details W6 credits13AProfessors
AbstractThe semester project (180 hours) is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan, and define the roadmap together with their students, as well as monitor the overall execution.
ObjectiveThe semester project (180 hours) is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan, and define the roadmap together with their students, as well as monitor the overall execution.
363-0881-00LSemester Project Small Restricted registration - show details W3 credits6AProfessors
AbstractThe semester project (90 hours) is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan, and define the roadmap together with their students, as well as monitor the overall execution.
ObjectiveThe semester project (90 hours) is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan, and define the roadmap together with their students, as well as monitor the overall execution.
363-1038-00LSustainability Start-Up Seminar Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.
W3 credits2GA.‑K. Zobel, A. H. Sägesser
AbstractExperts lead participants through a venturing process inspired by Lean and Design Thinking methodologies. The course contains problem identification, idea generation and evaluation, team formation, and the development of one entrepreneurial idea per team. A special focus is put on sustainability, in particular on climate change and renewable energy technologies specifically.
Objective1. Students have experienced and know how to take the first steps towards co-creating a venture and potentially company
2. Students reflect deeply on sustainability issues (with a focus on climate change & energy) and can formulate a problem statement
3. Students believe in their ability to bring change to the world with their own ideas
4. Students are able to apply entrepreneurial practices such as the lean startup approach
5. Students have built a first network and know how to proceed and who to approach in case they would like to take their ventures further.
ContentThis course is aimed at people with a keen interest to address sustainability issues (with a focus on climate change and renewable energy), with a curious mindset, and potentially first entrepreneurial ideas!

The seminar consists of a mix of lectures, workshops, individual working sessions, teamwork, and student presentations/pitches. This class will be co-taught by an academic expert (studying innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability) and an entrepreneurship and sustainability “practitioner”. Real-world climate entrepreneurs and experts from the Swiss start-up and sustainability community will be invited to support individual sessions.

All course content is based on latest international entrepreneurship practices.

The seminar starts with an introduction to sustainability (with a special focus on climate change & energy) and entrepreneurship. Students are asked to self-select into an area of their interest in which they will develop entrepreneurial ideas throughout the course.

The first part of the course then focuses on deeply understanding sustainability problems within the area of interest. Through workshops and self-study, students will identify key design challenges, generate ideas, as well as provide systematic and constructive feedback to their peers.

In the second part of the course, students will form teams around their generated ideas. In these teams they will develop a business model and, following the lean start-up process, conduct real-life testing, as well as pivoting of these business models.

In the final part of the course, students present their insights gained from the lean start-up process, as well as pitch their entrepreneurial ideas and business models to an expert jury. The course will conclude with a session that provides students with a network and resources to further pursue their entrepreneurial journey.
Lecture notesAll material will be made available to the participants.
Prerequisites / NoticePrerequisite:
Interest in sustainability & entrepreneurship.

Notes:
1. It is not required that participants already have a business idea at the beginning of the course.
2. No legal entities (e.g. GmbH, Association, AG) need to be founded for this course.

Target participants:
PhD students, Msc students and MAS students from all departments. The number of participants is limited to max.30.

Waiting list:
After subscribing you will be added to the waiting list.
The lecturers will contact you a few weeks before the start of the seminar to confirm your interest and to ensure a good mixture of study backgrounds, only then you're accepted to the course.
363-1029-00LSustainability & Financial Markets Restricted registration - show details
Limited number of participants.

Credit points will awarded for attending all course days.

Prerequisites: Basic understanding of corporate sustainability (see lecture Prof. Hoffmann, autumn semester) and interest in financial markets and investments.
W2 credits2GT. O. Busch
AbstractSustainable investments are becoming increasingly prominent while at the same time current business practices reach beyond ecological limits. Are sustainable investments a myth? Clearly not; however, sustainable investment practices still have to move on. This lecture is focused on the related challenges and discusses ways how the field of sustainable investments could become more effective.
ObjectiveSustainable investments are becoming increasingly prominent while at the same time the market reality remains unchanged despite evidence that current business practices reach beyond ecological limits and are in breach of both the inter-generational and intra-generational equity. Are sustainable investments a myth? Clearly not - capital markets could indeed play a central role in overcoming this dilemma. However, sustainable investment practices still have to move on for effectively incorporating and promoting sustainability. For this to occur, two central challenges need to be addressed: In order to improve the authenticity of data, it is important to make clear what environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related data is actually measuring. This, in turn, will contribute to ensuring that investors gain trust in ESG-criteria and investments. In order to overcome the prevailing focus on short-term profit maximization, it is necessary to put more emphasis on a systems-perspective. This, in turn, will help investors to move on from having a too narrow ceteris paribus perspective towards addressing risks and opportunities within changing ecological and human-social systems. The learning objectives of this lecture is to understand these two challenges in detail and discusses ways how the field of sustainable investments could move ahead.
ContentDay 1 & 2: Introduction (basic Introduction to theme "Sustainability & Financial Markets"); several Lectures (covering diverse concepts, theories, and practitioner perspectives; case studies); and assignment of topics to students
Day 3 & 4: Presentations (students will present their topics in class) & Discussions
Prerequisites / NoticeNumber of participants: max. 20 persons. First come first severed by order of enrollment in myStudies.

Credit points will awarded for attending all course days.

Requirements for this course: Basic understanding of corporate sustainability (see lecture Prof. Hoffmann, fall term) and general interest in financial markets and investments.

Students will be noticed about their successful registration at the beginning of the semester.
363-1091-00LSocial Data ScienceW3 credits2GD. Garcia Becerra
AbstractSocial Data Science is introduced as a set of techniques to analyze human behavior and social interaction through digital traces.
The course focuses both on the fundamentals and applications of Data Science in the Social Sciences, including technologies for data retrieval, processing, and analysis with the aim to derive insights that are interpretable from a wider theoretical perspective.
ObjectiveA successful participant of this course will be able to
- understand a wide variety of techniques to retrieve digital trace data from online data sources
- store, process, and summarize online data for quantitative analysis
- perform statistical analyses to test hypotheses, derive insights, and formulate predictions
- implement streamlined software that integrates data retrieval, processing, statistical analysis, and visualization
- interpret the results of data analysis with respect to theoretical and testable principles of human behavior
- understand the limitations of observational data analysis with respect to data volume, statistical power, and external validity
ContentSocial Data Science (SDS) provides a broad approach to the quantitative analysis of human behavior through digital trace data.
SDS integrates the implementation of data retrieval and processing, the application of statistical analysis methods, and the interpretation of results to derive insights of human behavior at high resolutions and large scales.
The motivation of SDS stems from theories in the Social Sciences, which are addressed with respect to societal phenomena and formulated as principles that can be tested against empirical data.
Data retrieval in SDS is performed in an automated manner, accessing online databases and programming interfaces that capture the digital traces of human behavior.
Data processing is computerized with calibrated methods that quantify human behavior, for example constructing social networks or measuring emotional expression.
These quantities are used in statistical analyses to both test hypotheses and explore new aspects on human behavior.

The course starts with an introduction to Social Data Science and the R statistical language, followed by three content blocks: collective behavior, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis. The course ends with a datathon that sets the starting point of final student projects.

The course will cover various examples of the application of SDS:
- Search trends to measure information seeking
- Popularity and social impact
- Evaluation of sentiment analysis techniques
- Quantitative analysis of emotions and social media sharing
- Twitter social network analysis

The lectures include theoretical foundations of the application of digital trace data in the Social Sciences, as well as practical examples of data retrieval, processing, and analysis cases in the R statistical language from a literate programming perspective.
The block course contains lectures and exercise sessions during the morning and afternoon of five days.
Exercise classes provide practical skills and discuss the solutions to exercises that build on the concepts and methods presented in the previous lectures.
Lecture notesThe lecture slides will be available on the Moodle platform, for registered students only.
LiteratureSee handouts. Specific literature is provided for download, for registered students only.
Prerequisites / NoticeParticipants of the course should have some basic background in statistics and programming, and an interest to learn about human behavior from a quantitative perspective.

Prior knowledge of advanced R, information retrieval, or information systems is not necessary.

Exercise sessions build on technical and theoretical content explained in the lectures. Students need a working laptop with Internet access to perform guided exercises.

Course evaluation is based on short quizzes at the end of each day from Monday to Thursday (5% each for a total of 20%), a 45-minute exam during the last session (30%), and on the grade of a final project report (50%). Final projects can be done individually or in pairs. Final projects will be composed of a text report (max 6 pages) and the R code to generate the results. The deadline to deliver the final project will be at the end of the Easter break, approximately 2 months after the course.

The course takes place between Feb 10th and Feb 14th (both inclusive), from 9:15 to 12:00 and from 13:15 to 16:00.
363-1030-00LDigital Entrepreneurship Sprint Restricted registration - show details
Does not take place this semester.
To guarantee a high standard of entrepreneurial thinking students, we require a letter of motivation which should describe your business idea or the entrepreneurial motivation. Interested students send their letter of motivation together with their CV via E-Mail to Jana Thiel Link.
W3 credits2GB. Clarysse
AbstractThe seminar aims at students from HSG and ETH Zürich who are motivated to push their own business idea forward or want to act as co-founders.
They should be interested in aspirational business ideas with a technology focus and perceive entrepreneurship as a career option.
ObjectiveThe seminar provides insights into conceptual knowledge and methods for the development of scalable business models. Through interdisciplinary exchange (HSG & ETHZ students), lecturers from the participating institutions, entrepreneurs and investors participants will learn methods and approaches to validate and pitch innovative business ideas.
ContentThe seminar consists of four all-day sessions (Feb 27 & 28 / March 6 & 7):

Part 1 - The business idea and team-matching
Part 2 - Validation, prototyping & testing
Part 3 - Business Modells, metrics and financials
Part 4 - The business concept presentation

The first two days will take place at ETHZ whereas the final two days take place in St. Gallen. Travel costs will not be reimbursed.

The task throughout the course will be to develop a technology-oriented, knowledge-intensive and sustainable business idea in teams of three to four students. Starting from the business idea, students will develop a business model which shows in detail the sustainability over a medium term. The subsequent quantification of the business model will lead to a comprehensive business concept, which has to be visualized and presented in form of a pitch deck. The students will be coached intensively by the lecturers. The connection to practice is provided by the involvement of entrepreneurs and investors.

Throughout the course, company and equity financing will be taught. Highly promising business ideas can be promoted further by the lecturers and the HSG Gründer Lab. Next to the active participation during the lectures (30%), two presentations of the business concept (30%) as well as the final version of the business concept (40%) will be graded. After the presentation, the students will have time to complement the pitch deck with further product-, technology-, market- and financial-related information and to implement the jury's feedback.
Lecture notesNo script, just do.
LiteratureAlexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, 2010, John Wiley & Sons.
Steven Blank: Four Steps to the Epiphany, 2013, K&S Ranch.
Eric Ries: The Lean Startup, 2012, Redline Wirtschaft.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course requires highly motivated students. We therefore require a letter of motivation (one page) for admission. In this letter, you should briefly describe your business idea or your entrepreneurial motivation. Please, also state your commitment to attend all four course days.
363-1098-00LBusiness Analytics
Students from the MAS MTEC are not applicable for this course and are kindly asked to enroll in the course "Executive Business Analytics (365-1120-00L)" instead.
W3 credits1GS. Feuerriegel
AbstractPrior to the start of the Information Age in the late 20th century, companies were forced to collect data from non-automated sources manually. Companies back then lacked the computing capabilities necessary for data to be analyzed, and as a result, decisions primarily originated not from knowledge but from intuition.
ObjectiveOverall learning goal

By the end of the course, students will be able to plan, implement and evaluate analytics in applied settings in order to generate value from data for society, corporations and individuals. This serves the pressing need of firms to improve their efficiency – such as customer satisfaction, competitive advantage –by leveraging the growing amounts of structured and unstructured data.

Detailed breakdown by objective

To achieve this overall goal, students should after participation being able to:

Objective 1 (Managerial aspects): Understand the processes and challenges of analytics-related projects
• Identify applications for analytics in corporations and organizations that create value
• List implications for management when undertaking a project involving business analytics
• Apply the data mining process CRISP-DM to their actual setting

Objective 2 (Methodological challenges): Understand common methods for performing business analytics
• Translate use cases of business analytics into a mathematical model formulation
• Name common methods for business analytics, as well as their underlying concepts
• Compare the properties of these models

Objective 3 (Practical implementation): Performing actual evaluations of business analytics based on real-word datasets
• Preprocess data in order to transform it into relational structures
• Apply statistical software (e.g. “R” or Python) to perform business analytics in practice
• Evaluate the results in order to choose the best-performing method
ContentWith the emergence of ubiquitous computing technology, company decisions nowadays rely strongly on computer-aided “Business Analytics”.

Business analytics refers to technologies that target how business information (or sometimes information in general) is collected, analyzed and presented. Combining these features results in software serving the purpose of providing better decision support for individuals, businesses and organizations.

This course will teach what distinguishes the varying capabilities across business analytics – namely the underlying methods. Participants will learn different strategies for data collection, data analysis, and data visualization. Sample approaches include dimension reduction of big data, data visualization, model selection, clustering and forecasting.
In particular, the course will teach the following themes:
• Forecasting: How can historical values be used to make predictions of future developments ahead of time? How can firms utilize unstructured data to facilitate the predictive performance? What are metrics to evaluate the performance of predictions?
• Data analysis: How can one derive explanatory power in order to study the response to an input?
• Clustering: How can businesses group consumers into distinct categories according to their purchase behavior?
• Dimension reduction: How can businesses simplify a large amount of indicators into a smaller subset with similar characteristics?
During the exercise, individual assignments will consist of a specific problem from business analytics. Each participant will be provided with a dataset to which a certain method should be applied to using the statistics software R.

Note: the course is a block course teaching the theoretical elements. This provides then the basis for a project work where individual students or groups implement analytics to a business-relevant datasets. This project underlies eventually the grading.
Lecture notesContent:
1. Motivation and terminology
2. Business and data understanding
a. Data management and strategy
b. Data mining processes
3. Data preparation for big data
a. Software and tools
b. Knowledge representation and storage
c. Information preprocessing
4. Explanatory modeling
5. Predictive modeling
a. Classification
b. Variable selection
c. Handling non-linearities
d. Ensemble learning
e. Unsupervised learning
f. Working with unstructured data
6. Managerial implications
LiteratureJames, Witten, Hastie & Tibshirani (2013): An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in R. Springer.
Sharda, Delen & Turban (2014): Business Intelligence: A Managerial Perspective on Analytics. Pearson.
Prerequisites / NoticePlease note that we expect simple scripting skills (e.g. in Python), as students will apply their theoretical knowledge by implementing a machine learning application with given open-source packages.
363-1070-00LCyber SecurityW3 credits2GS. Frei
AbstractThis course provides a solid understanding of the fundamental mechanics and limitations of cyber security to provide guidance for future leaders as well as individuals constituting our society.
Introdution to the concepts, developments, and the current state of affairs in the cyber security domain. We look at the topic from the attackers, defenders and societies perspective.
ObjectiveUpon completion of this course students understand the essential developments, principles, challenges as well as the the limitations and the state of practice in cyber security from the technological, economic, legal, and social perspective.
The course provides an interdisciplinary overview, guidance, and understanding of the dynamics in cyber security to guide decision making in business and society. Students understand the topics from the attackers, defenders, and societies perspective.
ContentIntroduction
- Brief history of the rise of the Internet from the attackers, defenders, commercial and society perspective
- Learning points from past and current assumptions, approaches, successes, failures, and surprises

Internet Infrastructure
- Establish a high level understanding of the fundamental design principals and functional blocks of the Internet infrastructure
- Understand strengths and weaknesses of present design choices from security perspective
- High level understanding of relevant networking concepts, protocols, software applications, policies, processes & organizations in order to assess these topics
- Establish a functional, high level understanding of relevant aspects of cryptography

Cyber Security & Risk
- Recognize cyber security as an interdisciplinary, highly dynamic, complex and adaptive system where increased interaction and dependencies between physical, communication, and social layers brings fundamentally different (and unpredictable) threats
- Core security assets such as: confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, accountability, non repudiation, privacy
- Dominant players, protocols, and technologies
- Different threat actors along the dimensions attacker goals, resources, approach, and threat

Economics of Cyber Security
Understand security challenges and limitations from an economic, rather than technological perspective
- From security perspective: incentives of industry vs. users, security as a negative externality, zero marginal cost of software, network effect, time to market, lock-in, switching cost, economics of usability, security as a trade-off
- Social and psychological aspects of security

Attacker Capabilities
- Attacker capabilities and the offensive use from technical, economic, organizational, and operational perspective
- Understand common and novel attack and evasion techniques, proliferation of expertise and tools, optimal timing to use zero-day attacks
- Attack types and malware development lifecycle and detection evasion techniques
- Botnets, exploit markets, plausible deniability, distributed denial of service (DDoS)
- Processes and dynamics in the (in)security community, cyber-underground

Defense Options and Limitations
- Functional principles, capabilities, and limitations of diverse protection and detection technologies
- Security effectiveness and evaluation/testing of security technologies
- Trade-off between efficiency and resilience against structurally novel attacks
- Effectiveness baseline security measures
- Know cyber information sources and frameworks

Cyber Security Challenges
- Increasing software complexity and vulnerabilities, the illusion of secure software
- Full disclosure debate, economics of bug bounty programs
- Internet of things, Industry control systems (SCADA/ICS)
- Security and integrity of the supply chain (IoT, Smart-X)
- Social media and mass protests
- Erosion of privacy

Legal Aspects
- Legal aspects of cyber security, compliance, and policies
- Know the fundamental national and international legal and regulatory requirements in connection with cyber security on a cross-sector and sector-specific level
- Understanding of legal risks and measures for risk mitigation

Guest Talks:
- Pascal Gujer - Digital Forensics Expert Kapo Zurich (Cantonal Police Departement Zurich)
- Maxim Salomon - Previously at Roche now with Google as Technical Program Manager for Security of Mergers & Acquisitions "The safety vs. security of cyber physical systems"
- Marc Ruef - Security Expert, "Navigating the Cyber Underground"
- Roger Halbheer - Executive Security Advisor for Microsoft in EMEA
Lecture notesLecture slides will be available on the site of the lecture:

Link

Collaboradom: Cyber Security Course 2020
To get access ask Link for the registration code once the course has begun
LiteraturePaper reading provided during the lectures
Prerequisites / Noticenone
363-1076-00LDiffusion of Clean TechnologiesW3 credits2GB. Girod, C. Knöri
AbstractHow can the diffusion of clean technologies be accelerated?
Participants learn to apply analytic tools to understand environmental and business potentials of clean technologies. Exercises that evaluate a clean technology selected by the student themselves deepen the theoretical knowledge gained. Students are trained to evaluate, explain and pitch a clean technology.
ObjectiveAfter completing this course: ...
1) Students are able to apply the theoretical concepts explaining the performance and diffusion of clean technologies
2) Students can determine key drivers and barriers (economic, environmental, technological, regulatory) for the diffusion of clean technologies
3) Students know how to quantitatively model key characteristics or dynamics of selected clean technologies
4) Students are prepared to convincingly present a selected clean technology to a business or policy audience
ContentWe face a climate and sustainability crisis which requires a fundamental shift to a truly environmentally friendly economy. A key contribution stems from an accelerated development and application of clean technologies such as technologies harnessing renewable energies, enabling increasing energy efficiency or event resulting in negative emission.

The goal of this course is to better understand how we can accelerate the diffusion of clean technologies. Students are enabled to answer critical questions such as: What are barriers hindering the diffusion of a certain clean technology? How can we overcome these barriers and drive the diffusion of clean technologies?

The lecture can be divided into four parts:
1. Input on a conceptual basis: Overview on key frameworks and theories for assessing the environmental and economic performance of clean technologies as well as their resulting diffusion. This part will be provided as input by the lecturers and discussed in class.

2. Assessment of selected clean technologies: Students select out of a long list of clean technologies a technology to assess in more detail. For this technology, the concepts learned in part 1 are applied. Assessments are peer-reviewed and discussed.

3. Modeling of diffusion: Students will develop a simplified model for the diffusion of selected clean technology to better understand the dynamics of diffusion and modeling technological behavior.

4. Presenting clean technologies: To conclude students will learn how to pitch their technology assessment to a business or policy audience since this is a crucial part for enabling technology diffusion. These inspiring presentations form the basis for a final class discussion on selected clean technologies and applied concepts.

The list of concepts, tools and techniques applied and discussed in this lecture includes: Analytical tools to assess the environmental performance of clean technologies (e.g. Life Cycle-Assessment); economic view on the diffusion of clean technologies; evolutionary perspective (e.g. technological learning); decision process of adopters (e.g. status-quo bias of consumers, rebound effect); relevant environmental policies (e.g. standards, labels, carbon pricing); modeling approaches for diffusion of clean technologies (e.g. agent-based modeling); techniques for convincing presentations (e.g. TED-style presentation).
Lecture notesHandout and exercises will be available on electronic platform.
LiteratureRelevant literature will be available on electronic platform.
363-1056-00LInnovation Leadership Restricted registration - show details
Up to four slots are available for students in architecture or civil engineering (Master level) or for D-MTEC MAS/MSc students with architecture or civil engineering background.

If you are NOT a student in Integrated Building Systems, you need to apply with motivation letter (max. 1 page), CV and a transcript of records no later than 31 January 2020. Please send your application to Zorica Zagorac (Link).
W6 credits3SD. Laureiro Martinez, C. P. Siegenthaler, Z. Zagorac-Uremovic
AbstractThis course provides participants with the challenging opportunity of working on an innovation project of a leading company in the Swiss building industry.
ObjectiveStudents work in teams, on a concrete innovation project that is currently affecting the strategic agenda of the top management team of a leading company in the Swiss building industry. Students conduct interviews with internal and external experts, as well as company clients. By doing so, students gain first-hand experience on the competitive dynamics of the construction industry and as a group, work on proposing a solution to the company’s innovation project.
The course emphasizes the use and development of self-directedness and critical thinking abilities. In parallel to working on the innovation project, students work on their own learning goals. Students first define their very own learning goals and then are assessed and graded on whether they have progressed towards achieving such learning goals.
Students learn to:
• Reflect and explore personal learning goals and discover new aspects of their leadership abilities
• Learn to work in an unknown direction with no certain outcome
• Explore how a project with internal and external stakeholders works when people have conflicting interests, that might also vary according to the different time perspectives that are taken into account
• Use design thinking and solution-oriented coaching techniques
ContentThe course uses participant-centered tools that encourage students' reflection and boost their personal development, their creative output and help them to discover their own approach to leadership. The course offers multiple opportunities to learn about technical aspects in a real corporate environment. The setup is a social environment in which trial-and-error learning is encouraged. The course focuses on three areas of development: Project management, innovation and leadership.
Project Management: Students learn to self-manage their project while being supported by numerous project management techniques, coaching exercises, and individual feedback through learning diaries. An additional focus is given to design thinking methods and prototyping tools.

Innovation: Students learn about specific topics related to current innovation in the building sector in Switzerland. They learn to understand technology changes with an ecosystems view and think about the impact of new technologies in the building industry company (e.g. the commercialization of Building Information Modelling, BIM).
Leadership: Students conduct a project with diverse stakeholders requiring them to take managerial, technical, and personal responsibility for the company case. This high-pressure environment leads to an intense self-reflection journey, team experience and fosters proactive behaviors towards the client.
- On the individual level, students have to identify and achieve their very own authentic learning goals. Coaching tools involve a learning diary, which questions evolve during the semester, and a self-assessment of individual abilities and traits, which complements the reflective journey.
- On the team level, students are teamed up to deliver a solution proposal to the company’s project. The teams are diverse and the students’ work focuses on cooperativeness and how to be effective team members. Teaching tools involve peer-to-peer feedback, coaching and open space workshops.
- On the company level, students learn how to deal with different stakeholders and how to create impactful and sustainable solutions for their client.
Prerequisites / NoticeUp to four slots are available for students in architecture or civil engineering (Master level) or for D-MTEC MAS/MSc students with architecture or civil engineering background.

If you are NOT a student in Integrated Building Systems, you need to apply with motivation letter (max. 1 page), CV and a transcript of records no later than 31 January 2020. Please send your application to Zorica Zagorac (Link). Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
363-1084-00LEntrepreneurial Investments Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 50.
W3 credits2GF. Hashemi
AbstractMethodologies and tools presented throughout this course will serve to help young scientists and engineers gain the necessary skills and confidence to manage entrepreneurial investment risks and navigate the complexities of decision making within multiple stakeholder settings.
ObjectiveThis course is designed for students interested in investments.

Special focus will be placed on theoretical and empirical analysis of the economics of innovation, risk and entrepreneurial investments.

Entrepreneurship in this course is studied from the filter of an investor. As such, this course is likewise of interest to students interested in turning advanced research results into highly innovative, socially or economically viable product or service, and financing it sustainably.

Essential to any investment decision is knowledge and good understanding of the investment environment. Scientists and engineers need to work within the priorities of the society in which they operate, and their expectations must be aligned with the opportunities and constraints emanating from the economic, social and political environment. This demands bold thinking on technology development, and challenges students to effectively bridge the different cultures represented by the fields of science, engineering and economics.

1. Students with entrepreneurial spirit will gain a good understanding of the investment environment of their scientific and engineering activities.

2. Students interested in turning advanced research results into highly innovative, socially, environmentally and economically viable product or service, will be able to think about entrepreneurship from the filter of an investor.

3. Students in science and engineering will learn that they need to work within the priorities of the society in which they operate, and how to align their expectations with the opportunities and constraints emanating from the economic, social and political environment. They will be challenged to effectively bridge the different cultures represented by the fields of science, engineering and economics.

4. Students will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurial investments from a mixture of academics, industry leaders and investors who have extensive experience investing in technological innovations.
ContentBoth economic theory and empirical knowledge are critical for decision-making skills required to tackle entrepreneurial investment risks and opportunities. To that end, the first part of the course is dedicated to an intensive study of theoretical foundations of economic analysis applied to entrepreneurial investments. The multifaceted issues entrepreneurial investors face, as well as the essential mechanics of startup investing are studied.

The second part of the course is dedicated to real world experiences in entrepreneurial investments.

Teaching methodology includes class lectures covering the theoretical foundations of entrepreneurial investments, real world case studies, and small group interactive casework and exercises. For select sessions, highly experienced investors will collaborate with course faculty, and share their extensive experiences. This will provide additional real world practical dimensions to classroom learning process.
LiteratureA series of readings will be assigned first day of class
Prerequisites / NoticeNone.
363-1066-00LDesigning Effective Projects for Promoting Health@Work Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.
W3 credits2GG. Bauer, R. Brauchli, G. J. Jenny
AbstractThe fast-changing high-performance economy is highly dependent on healthy employees – and at the same time is putting their health at risk. Expectations of employees regarding health@work are rising. In a workshop format, students learn how to develop effective, exemplary projects to promote good working conditions, work-life balance or healthy lifestyles in companies.
ObjectiveAfter active participation in the course, students will
• Know the key individual, team-level, and organizational factors influencing health@work
• Be familiar with health-related challenges and opportunities of a changing world of work
• Know intervention strategies for improving working conditions, work-life balance and health behaviors in companies
• Be able to design an exemplary intervention project– based on key principles and a systematic planning cycle
ContentThe globalization and the digital transformation of our economy leads to fast changes in organizations and of working conditions. Work becomes more flexible regarding time, location and employment contracts. Employees become more demanding regarding their autonomy, the quality of working life and their work-life balance. In this dynamic context, offering standardized health promotion programs in companies is not sufficient any more. Employers and employees need to jointly develop tailored approaches how to continuously assess and improve health@work. Thus, we want to enable you to support companies in this process.
The course consists of four parts. The first part with four sessions provides an introduction into approaches to promote health@work. The lectures will present and discuss these approaches using practical examples and discuss them with the students.
Session 1: Course overview; dynamic, challenging context of our economy; intervention approaches; core principles and planning steps of a project for promoting health@work
Session 2: Promoting Health @ Work: Improving working conditions
Session 3: Promoting Health @ Work: Lifestyle interventions at work
Session 4: Promoting Health @ Work: Work-Life-Balance and Leisure crafting interventions

The second part aims to identify and sharpen the project ideas developed by students in groups of two. We offer a short version of a design thinking workshop to help students generate innovative ideas. The pitch presentations help to focus on the essence of the own idea and to trigger constructive feedback for improving it.
Session 5: Design thinking workshop: Find your own project idea
Session 6: Pitch: Presentations of the project idea in plenary incl. feedback

The third part has a workshop format. We introduce all students how to practically plan a health@work project. Then the two-person project teams are assigned to four tutors. These tutors support the teams in their systematic, detailed planning of the own project idea. Particularly, students will consider the four principles of successful health promotion projects: systematic planning, participation of stakeholders, combined individual- and environmental-level actions, integration into company routines.
Session 7: Introduction to practical project planning in-a-nutshell
Sessions 8-11: Tutored workshop

In the fourth part, the two-person project teams present their project plan in the plenary, discuss it with all students, and obtain feedback by the course leader.
Sessions 12-13: Presentations & discussions of projects

Given the hands-on workshop character of this lecture, students are required to actively participate in all sessions. Besides raising knowledge on promoting health@work, the students generally improve their project development skills. Also, as the course has students from D-MTEC, D-HEST and D-USYS, it facilitates their transdisciplinary exchange. Transdisciplinary skills are increasingly needed for addressing complex needs in our society.
Prerequisites / NoticeA course for students dedicated to applied learning through projects. As the whole course is designed as a hands-on workshop for the students, active participation in all lectures is required. Class size limited to 30 students.
363-1101-00LInformation Technologies in Production and Operations Management
Does not take place this semester.
Prerequisite: successfully completed course ahead 363-0445-00L Production and Operations Management.
W1 credit1GT. Netland
AbstractInformation Technology (IT) is an integrated part of production and operations management (POM). As digitalization is on the rise, it is imperative for students to be familiar with the common IT systems used in industry.
ObjectiveIn this course, the students gain an overview about the role and use of IT in POM. The course focuses on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. It also touches briefly on other business software such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, and collaborative supply chain software. . Through lectures and exercises, the students gain experience with ERP and the challenges surrounding implementing and managing IT systems in local and global POM settings.

After completing this course:
1. Students are familiar with IT systems used in manufacturing.
2. Students can select appropriate ERP software and ERP modules for a given company.
3. Students are familiar with appropriate parameter setting in ERP systems.
4. Students can explain the role of people in ERP.
5. Students can explain the link between operations, IT, and accounting.
Prerequisites / NoticeSuccessfully completed course ahead: 363-0445-00L Production and Operations Management.
Class attendance is required.
363-1103-00LLean Startup Academy – From Idea to Startup Restricted registration - show details
More information & application process via http://www.kickbox.academy
W3 credits2GD. Hengartner
AbstractThis course puts you right at the center of the entrepreneurial action. Equipped with a Kickbox, the innovation toolbox of Swisscom, you will learn how to get from an idea to a tangible prototype and real customer feedback. You will work with state-of-the-art “Lean Startup” methodologies from Silicon Valley, that are used by successful entrepreneurs globally and learn entrepreneurial competences.
ObjectiveAfter completing this course:
1. Students will be able to validate an own startup idea with “Lean Startup” methodologies and tools.
2. Students can explain and apply different “Lean Startup” methodologies and tools to validate startup ideas.
3. Students can identify advantages and challenges of different “Lean Startup” methodologies and tools.
4. Students can outline the different steps of validating problem and solution behind their startup idea.
5. Students can test the market in qualitative and quantitative way with “Lean Startup” methodologies and tools.
6. Students can conceptualise, produce and hold a startup pitch presentation in front of a jury.
ContentHave you ever considered becoming a successful startup entrepreneur after finishing your studies? Are you interested in entrepreneurship and want to learn how to work in a startup? Do you just have a great startup idea and want to validate its business potential? If you answered one or more of these questions with “yes”, the Lean Startup Academy might be the right course for you.

This course will be put right at the center of the entrepreneurial action. Equipped with your own Kickbox, the innovation toolbox of Swisscom, you will learn how to get from an idea to a tangible prototype and real customer feedback. You will work with state-of-the-art Lean Startup methodologies from Silicon Valley, that are used by successful entrepreneurs globally. It is project-based learning and you will apply everything you learn right away to validate your own business idea or the idea of another student.

At the beginning, you will reflect on your motivation and get the chance to pitch your startup idea to the whole class. Your goal is to recruit a team of other students to validate your idea. Every team will receive a project budget of CHF 1'000.- to validate the startup idea. You don’t need to pitch an idea and not all presented ideas will be validated during class.

The next module will focus around the problem behind your startup idea. You will do research and define different personas. Then you apply quantitative and qualitative methods to engage with potential customers and find a “problem worth solving”.

Now you will start prototyping your first solutions and test them on the market to get real customer feedback. You will be surprised how fast, cheap and lean you can do that with the tools and methods that are taught in class.

In the next phase you will design the vision, strategy and business model of your startup idea and define your MVP (Minimal Viable Product) and PoC (Proof of Concept).

Finally, you will present your validated startup idea to an investor jury. Beforehand you will learn how to structure a pitch, convince your audience and become a successful presenter.

But this is not the end – hopefully you were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and this was just the beginning of your startup journey. In the final class you will learn about the different options to turn your startup idea into an actual startup.

This class is taught at the Swisscom Pirates Hub by corporate entrepreneurship experts, who coach intra- & entrepreneurs on a daily base and provide you with hands-on training and mentoring. The course builds on experiential learning and you will do things rather that listening to concepts and theories. That means, high levels of motivation, commitment and energy are required to take part in this course and move the entrepreneurial ideas forward. As a reward you will learn how to work in a startup environment and develop strong entrepreneurial competences.

Due to space limitations a maximum of 32 students will be admitted to the program. If you are interested in participating, please apply via http://www.kickbox.academy/ and join the waiting list in eDoz.
Prerequisites / NoticeMore information & application process via http://www.kickbox.academy

Please don't forget to also register for the waiting list via myStudies.
376-1178-00LHuman Factors IIW3 credits2VM. Menozzi Jäckli, R. Huang, M. Siegrist
AbstractStrategies, abilities and needs of human at work as well as properties of products and systems are factors controlling quality and performance in everyday interactions. In Human Factors II (HF II), cognitive aspects are in focus therefore complementing the more physical oriented approach in HF I. A basic scientific approach is adopted and relevant links to practice are illustrated.
ObjectiveThe goal of the lecture is to empower students in designing products and systems enabling an efficient and qualitatively high standing interaction between human and the environment, considering costs, benefits, health, well-being, and safety as well. The goal is achieved in addressing a broad variety of topics and embedding the discussion in macroscopic factors such as the behavior of consumers and objectives of economy.
ContentCognitive factors in perception, information processing and action. Experimental techniques in assessing human performance and well-being, human factors and ergonomics in development of products and complex systems, innovation, decision taking, consumer behavior.
LiteratureSalvendy G. (ed), Handbook of Human Factors, Wiley & Sons, 2012
363-1100-00LRisk Case Study Challenge Restricted registration - show details
Does not take place this semester.
W3 credits2SA. Bommier, S. Feuerriegel
AbstractThis seminar provides master students at ETH with the challenging opportunity of working on a real risk modelling and risk management case in close collaboration with a Risk Center Partner Company. For the Spring 2019 Edition the Partner will be Zurich Insurance Group.
ObjectiveStudents work on a real risk-related case of a business relevant topic provided by experts from Risk Center partners. While gaining substantial insights into the risk modeling and management of the industry, students explore the case or problem on their own, working in teams, and develop possible solutions. The cases allow students to use logical problem solving skills with emphasis on evidence and application and involve the integration of scientific knowledge. Typically, the risk-related cases can be complex, cover ambiguities, and may be addressed in more than one way. During the seminar students visit the partners’ headquarters, conduct interviews with members of the management team as well as internal and external experts, and present their results.
ContentGet a basic understanding of
o The insurance and reinsurance business
o Risk management and risk modelling
o The role of operational risk management

Get in contact with industry experts and conduct interviews on the topic.

Conduct a small empirical study and present findings to the company
Prerequisites / NoticePlease apply for this course via the official website (Link). Apply no later than February 15, 2019.
The number of participants is limited to 14.
860-0015-00LSupply and Responsible Use of Mineral Resources I Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2GB. Wehrli, F. Brugger, K. Dolejs Schlöglova, S. Hellweg, C. Karydas
AbstractStudents critically assess the economic, social, political, and environmental implications of extracting and using energy resources, metals, and bulk materials along the mineral resource cycle for society. They explore various decision-making tools that support policies and guidelines pertaining to mineral resources, and gain insight into different perspectives from government, industry, and NGOs.
ObjectiveStudents will be able to:
- Explain basic concepts applied in resource economics, economic geology, extraction, processing and recycling technologies, environmental and health impact assessments, resource governance, and secondary materials.
- Evaluate the policies and guidelines pertaining to mineral resource extraction.
- Examine decision-making tools for mineral resource related projects.
- Engage constructively with key actors from governmental organizations, mining and trading companies, and NGOs, dealing with issues along the mineral resource cycle.
Prerequisites / NoticeBachelor of Science, Architecture or Engineering, and enrolled in a Master's or PhD program at ETH Zurich. Students must be enrolled in this course in order to participate in the case study module course 860-0016-00 Supply and Responsible Use of Mineral Resources II.
363-1095-00LCommercializing Science and Technology Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2GJ. Thiel
AbstractThis is the first knowledge module within the CAS ELTV. During this module, we (1) introduce the CAS and ETH, (2) will learn more about each participant and their business projects, and (3) will also discuss the core themes of this module on important considerations of strategy formation in technology ventures.
ObjectiveThis module will enable participants:
- To understand and select from commercialization strategies available to them (e.g., licensing, partnering, and vertical integration) and respective business model choices
- Assess and generate development options for key internal enabling factors such IP strategy and key resources and capabilities
- Understand different market research and developments tools (lean start-up vs. technology broadcasting) and select appropriate methods and related KPIs
ContentThis CAS ELTV module focuses on elements of entrepreneurial strategy formation and implementation in nascent markets and/or industries. Participants will study commercial options available to them, e.g., technology broadcasting, licensing and partnering, and vertical integration, which is complemented by a practical view on IP strategy, driven by business strategy rather than arbitrary choices.

The module also includes the introduction to lean innovation methods incl. agile product development methods and core tools of the lean startup approach.

This 2-day module is extended by the kick-off event for the leadership coaching.

For more information, see also our online platform.
Lecture notesSee Online Platform
LiteratureSee Online Platform
Prerequisites / NoticeThis module is only for CAS ELTV participants.
363-1043-00LMarketing AnalyticsW3 credits2SS. Tillmanns
AbstractStudents will use extensive customer data from an insurance company in order to develop prediction models for e.g. customer revenue and churn in a prediction challenge. They will work in groups and give a final presentation.
The class will be held by Andrea Ferrario (Mobiliar Lab for Analytics/Chair of Technology Marketing) and Sebastian Tillmanns (Chair of Technology Marketing).
Objective- Participants of this class will gain an understanding, how value can be generated out of customer data.
- Participants will learn how to prepare real customer data.
- Participants will be able to develop prediction models autonomously.
ContentStudents of this class will gain an understanding how to extract value from customer data autonomously by participating in a prediction competition. Therefore, they receive real customer data from an insurance company. Students are free to prepare the provided data and develop prediction models in the way they consider the best. Their freedom of choice covers all statistical methods, software packages and data that are available to them. At the end of the class, their predictions will be compared with the real development of the customers in the provided sample. Furthermore, students will give final presentations at the end of the class, which will be joined by representatives of the insurance company. Students will have to write a short paper, in which they describe how they proceeded. We expect that students test different prediction models against each other to justify their proceeding.
At the beginning of the class, students will be able to visit several lectures, which will help to work on the given prediction task. These lectures involve fundamentals of marketing analytics and data analytics with common software packages. Throughout the lecture, several time slots are provided, where students can discuss their prediction models with the lecturers Andrea Ferrario (Mobiliar Lab for Analytics/Chair of Technology Marketing) and Sebastian Tillmanns (Chair of Technology Marketing).
The data handling and prediction skills students achieve in this class are not limited to marketing applications, but can be easily extended to other fields where predications of continuous or binary metrics are useful.
363-1117-00LFactory Planning and DesignW3 credits3GR. Binkert, T. Netland
AbstractThis course deals with the complex process of planning and designing manufacturing factories and warehouses, from idea conception to operation. It provides students theoretical knowledge as well as practical insights into various aspects that need to be considered when managing factory planning and design projects.
ObjectiveThe general objective of this course is to enable students to effectively participate in real factory planning and design projects. Specifically, after completing this course:
1. Students can outline the basic factors to be considered when planning a new factory.
2. Students can explain and apply methods for factory planning and design.
3. Students can identify issues and difficulties in factory planning and design.
4. Students can select suitable material handling systems.
5. Students have a basic understanding of the tasks and how to face them when a new factory and its systems are being built and put into operation.
ContentThe planning and design of factories and warehouses is a truly interdisciplinary task and a central activity for any manufacturer and logistics service provider. A factory is much more than just a building or a working space. Factory planning and design is a strategic task that will have a long-lasting effect on a business’ ability to create value. Many aspects must be carefully considered. Among the most important ones are location, size, capacity, technology, factory floor layout, materials flow, resources flow, human factors, and construction aspects.

In this course, students will learn about the planning and design of factories through the introduction of theory and real-life examples. Basic principles of this discipline will be introduced and discussed in class. Students will learn concepts about project methodologies, layout planning, process management, materials flow, and building specifications. In addition, various real project examples will be presented.

In the beginning of this course, students will be given a realistic factory planning and design case which they solve through group work. The necessary knowledge and methods to solve the case will be covered throughout the course. Finally, the groups hand in their solution in written form and present their solution in class.

This course is taught by a practitioner with longstanding project experience in planning and designing factories all over the world and in different industries. Students are encouraged to reflect upon the course content and actively engage in class discussions.
Lecture notesLectures notes by René Binkert.
LiteratureWiendahl, H-P; Reichart, J. and Nyhuis, P. (2015) Handbook Factory Planning and Design, Springer Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. ETH has full e-access at Link
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course Production and Operations Management is highly recommended, but not a prerequisite.
363-1114-00LIntroduction to Risk Modelling and ManagementW3 credits2VB. J. Bergmann, D. N. Bresch, J. Teichmann
AbstractThis course provides an introduction to various aspects of modelling, dealing and managing risk across different industries, contexts and applications. Classes will alternate between risk professionals from industry and government and academics coming from different disciplines.
ObjectiveStudents get familiar with the building blocks of risk modelling: uncertainty, vulnerability, resilience, decision-making under uncertainty. The course looks at different approaches to modelling and dealing as well as mitigating different kind of risks in different industries and get to understand the relation to the decision-making process in business and the value chain of a company. Cases range from enterprise risk management, natural catastrophes, climate risk, energy market risk, risk engineering, financial risks, operational risk, cyber risk and more. An additional emphasis will be on the data-driven approach to smart algorithms applied to risk modelling and management. After taking this course, students should be able to demonstrate that they can identify and formulate a risk analysis problem with quantitative methods in a particular field.
ContentThe course covers the following areas:
1. Fundamentals of Risk Modelling: Probability, Uncertainty, Vulnerability, Decision-Making under Uncertainty
2. Fundamentals of Risk Management and Enterprise Risk Management
3. Risk Modelling and Management across Different areas with invited Speakers
The list of Speakers can be found here: Link
Lecture notesLecture notes and slides will be provided via moodle
363-1115-00LEnergy Innovation and Management Restricted registration - show details W3 credits1VA. Stephan, G. Mavromatidis
AbstractFundamental changes in the energy sector, such as more decentralized energy production, challenge the existing business models of organizations such as utilities or technology providers. This course adopts quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore innovation and managerial, organizational and decision-making aspects in the energy sector for the transition to a low-carbon energy system.
ObjectiveAfter completing the course, students will be able to:
• Understand the challenges occurring in the energy sector and that companies (in or relying on the energy sector) are facing
• Understand the basics of managerial/organizational aspects in the energy sector with a particular focus on energy innovations
• Identify and use the appropriate quantitative energy tools for strategic decision-making in the energy sector
ContentThis course explores innovation and managerial, organizational and decision-making aspects in the energy sector for the transition towards a low-carbon energy system. The course is split in two parts with a quantitative and a qualitative focus, respectively.

In the first part, students will learn about aspects such as the financial valuation of energy investment decisions and the ways that quantitative energy models of different types can be used to assist with strategic decision-making in the energy sector. Students will be introduced to two types of models: (1) techno-economic analyses of renewable energy generation and storage technologies, and (2) an energy market game which simulates the behavior of utilities in an electricity market. This part of the course will include individual and group assignments.

In the second part, guided by questions like “how does the energy industry change and why” or “how would you make the decision if you were the head of a utility”, the students will understand how firms manage innovations and why they can be difficult to manage even for established firms in the energy sector. This part of the course will be guided as an interactive case study.
363-1116-00LClimate FinanceW3 credits2GV. Stolbova
AbstractThe course will focus on understanding the impact of climate on the financial system, as well as how financial actors contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy.
ObjectiveThe objectives of this course are threefold. First, it aims to provide participants with an overview of the state-of-the-art situation in matters of the impact of climate on finance and the impact of finance on the environment. Second, it introduces current challenges in the fields of sustainable finance, environmental finance and climate finance, and familiarizes participants with existing methods to solve these challenges. Third, it equips participants with knowledge and tools in climate-finance data analysis which could be applied to the real-world cases by calculating climate-related risks and gains for specific market players.
ContentIt is comprised of three parts:

The first part will give an overview of the relation between finance and climate. It will start with an introduction of the nature of climate change phenomenon and its financial implications. Several types of climate-related financial risks will be considered including physical risks of climate change (financial risks associated with natural disasters), and transition risks (associated with transition to a low-carbon economy, climate policies and regulations, stranded assets). In addition, risks and opportunities associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy will be discussed for institutional sectors (banks, investment funds, pension funds and insurance sector), individual market players, and the real economy.

The second part will allow the participants to acquire knowledge of existing methods and tools in financial climate-related risk assessment including both state-of-the-art academic research methods and current industry practices. It will also discuss instruments available to market players for financing the transition to a low-carbon economy (e.g. green bonds, climate funds, concessional loans) and existing measures of assessing environmental impact of investments. Participants of the course will have an opportunity to apply these methods to real-case portfolios of selected market players.

The third part will address economic and financial effects of climate policies and environmental regulations. It will start with an overview of implemented and widely debated climate policies. Then, it will discuss existing models for development of economic sectors considering various climate policies and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets. Finally, the course will address the impact of climate policies on financial institutions, real economy, individual investors, and provide main arguments on the heated debate on “winners and losers” on the way to decarbonization.
LiteratureThe main reference of the course is the set of lecture notes; students will also be encouraged to read some influential books and academic articles dealing with the issues under study:
[1] “Environmental finance: A guide to Environmental Risk Assessment and financial products”, Labatt, S. and White, R. 2002
[2] “Carbon Finance: the financial implications of climate change”, Labatt, S. and White, R., 2007
[3] “Handbook of environmental and sustainable finance”, Ramiah, V. and Gregoriou, G., 2015
[4] “Greening Economy, Graying Society”, Bretschger, L., CER-ETH Press, Zurich, 2018, 2nd edition
[5] “Natural Resource & Environmental Economics”, Perman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J, Maddison, D., and Common, M., 4th edition, Longman, Essex, 2011
Additional literature:
[6] “Breaking the tragedy of the Horizon - climate change and financial stability”, Carney, M., 2015. Speech given at Lloyd's of London by the Governor of the Bank of England.

[7] “A climate stress-test of the financial system“, Battiston, S., Mandel, A., Monasterolo, I., Schutze, F., Visentin, G., 2017, Nature Clim. Change 7 (4), 283–288.

[8] “Vulnerable yet relevant: the two dimensions of climate-related financial disclosure”, Monasterolo, I., Battiston, S., Janetos, A., Zheng, Z., 2017, Clim. Chang. 145 (3-4), 495–507.

[9] “Rolling the “DICE”: an optimal transition path for controlling greenhouse gases”, Nordhaus, W.D., 1993. Resour. Energy Econ. 15 (1), 27–50

[10] “A Financial Macro-Network Approach to Climate Policy Evaluation”, Stolbova, V., Monasterolo, I., Battiston, S., Ecological Economics, 149, 2018, 239–253
363-1122-00LFrom Entrepreneurial Thinking to Market Relevance - How Startups Scale Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 40.
W3 credits2GA. Sethi
AbstractThis elective is relevant if you’re planning to join or start a startup in the near future. It will help you recognise how value is created and captured. This includes go-to market, marketing & visibility across verticals & across the supply chain for sustained value capture & business model sustainability.

In short, it’s the journey of how to create a billion dollar startup.
ObjectiveAt the conclusion of the course, the students are able to:

1. The difference between technology and market relevance
2. Recognise challenges that startups face when they move from technology to commercialisation
3. Addressing the failures of startups in scaling, and how early decisions limit scaling and value capture
4. How recognising market need can help startups to create value and strengthen valuation with investors
ContentTechnology startups face challenges in identifying market relevance in the course of commercialisation. Additionally, once they have matched their offering with market needs, they face additional challenges when scaling up since they get locked in early. Due to this, technology startups plateau off as niche.

Platform startups, on the other hand, struggle with retaining relevance. Due to these aspects, failure rates are very high.

This course addresses students who want to become entrepreneurs or want to join startups. They may come from business or science & technology backgrounds. The course will enable the students to identify the relevance of seeing the technology from an early stage startup from the market relevance perspective and use this to help the company drive revenue and relevance. The students will also get an overview of how platform startups can retain relevance. The students will have exposure to investors and entrepreneurs (with a focus on ETH spin-offs) through the course, to gain insight to commercialisation and subsequent scaling up of the technology.

Topics cover idea validation, technology and market size validation and assessment of market relevance, assessing time-to-market, customer focus, perceived value for customers, and finally, opportunities of maximising relevance of technology idea into sustained market traction. There is a particular emphasis on market validation on each step of the journey, to ensure relevance.

The course comprises lectures and talks from invited investors / entrepreneurs regarding the aforementioned elements. Additionally, students will form teams and will support an existing startup over the course of the semester. This will allow them to gain first-hand experience and insights into the dynamics of a early stage company. By having such real-life exposure, the course content will be transferred from theory to practice.

Grading of the course will be based on in-class presentations as well as the student teams' performance and support of their selected startups.
Literature“From Science to Startup” by A. Sethi
363-1017-00LRisk and Insurance EconomicsW3 credits2GI. Gemmo
AbstractThe course covers economics of risk and insurance. Topics covered are fundamentals of risk, individual decision making under risk, fundamentals of insurance, information asymmetries in insurance markets, and the macroeconomic role of insurers.
ObjectiveThe goal is to introduce students to basic concepts of risk, risk management and economics of insurance.
Content- fundamentals of risk
- individual decision making under risk
- fundamentals of insurance
- information asymmetries in insurance markets
- the macroeconomic role of insurers
LiteratureMain literature:

- Eeckhoudt, L., Gollier, C., & Schlesinger, H. (2005). Economic and Financial Decisions under Risk. Princeton University Press.
- Zweifel, P., & Eisen, R. (2012). Insurance Economics. Springer.


Further readings:

- Dionne, G. (Ed.). (2013). Handbook of Insurance (2nd ed.). Springer.
- Hufeld, F., Koijen, R. S., & Thimann, C. (Eds.). (2017). The Economics, Regulation, and Systemic Risk of Insurance Markets. Oxford University Press.
- Niehaus, H., & Harrington, S. (2003). Risk Management and Insurance (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.
- Rees, R., & Wambach, A. (2008). The Microeconomics of Insurance, Foundations and Trends® in Microeconomics, 4(1–2), 1-163.
363-1130-00LDigital Health Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2VT. Kowatsch
AbstractToday, we face the challenge of chronic conditions. Personal coaching approaches are neither scalable nor financially sustainable. The question arises therefore to which degree Digital Health applications are appropriate to address this challenge. In this lecture, students will learn about the need, design and assessment of digital health interventions.
ObjectiveNHS teams up with Amazon to bring Alexa to patients (The Guardian, July 2019), Contactless cardiac arrest detection using smart devices (Nature Digital Medicine, June 2019), Apple Heart Study demonstrates ability of wearable technology to detect atrial fibrillation (Standford Medicine News, March 2019), Digital health companies raised a total of $4.2B across 180 deals through the first half of 2019. If this pace holds steady, the sector is on track for an $8.4B year in 2019 - and may even top 2018's record-breaking annual funding total. Sean Day, Rocket Health, 2019 Midyear Digital Health Market Update

What are the rationale and implications behind the recent developments in the field of digital health?

Digital Health is the use of information and communication technology for the prevention and treatment of diseases in the everyday life of individuals. It is thus linked to topics such as digital health interventions, digital biomarker, digital coaches and healthcare chatbots, telemedicine, mobile and wearable computing, self-tracking, personalized medicine, connected health, smart homes or smart cars.

In the 20th century, healthcare systems specialized in acute care. In the 21st century, we now face the challenge of dealing with the specific characteristics of chronic conditions. These are now responsible for around 70% of all deaths worldwide and 85% of all deaths in Europe and are associated with an estimated economic loss of $7 trillion between 2011 and 2025. Chronic diseases are characterized in particular by the fact that they require an intervention paradigm that focuses on prevention and lifestyle change. Lifestyle (e.g., diet, physical activity, tobacco or alcohol consumption) can reduce the risk of suffering from a chronic condition or, if already present, can reduce its burden. A corresponding change in lifestyle is, however, only implemented by a fraction of those affected, partly because of missing or inadequate interventions or health literacy, partly due to socio-cultural influences. Individual personal coaching of these individuals is neither scalable nor financially sustainable.

Against this background, the question arises on how to develop evidence-based digital health interventions (DHIs) that allow medical doctors and other caregivers to scale and tailor long-term treatments to individuals in need at sustainable costs. At the intersection of health economics, information systems research, computer science, and behavioral medicine, this lecture has the objective to help students and upcoming healthcare executives interested in the multi-disciplinary field of digital health to better understand the need, design and assessment of DHIs.

After the course, students will be able to...

1. understand the importance of DHIs for the management of chronic conditions
2. understand the anatomy of DHIs
3. know frameworks for the design of DHIs
4. know evaluation criteria for DHIs
5. know technologies for DHIs
6. assess DHIs
7. discuss the advantages and disadvantages of DHIs
ContentTo reach these learning objectives, the following topics are covered in the lecture and will be discussed based on concrete national and international examples including DHIs from the Center for Digital Health Interventions (Link), a joint initiative of the Department of Management, Technology and Economics at ETH Zurich and the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St.Gallen:

1. Motivation for Digital Health
- The rise of chronic diseases in developed countries
- The discrepancy of acute care and care of chronic diseases
- Lifestyle as medicine and prevention
- From excellence of care in healthcare institutions to excellence of care in everyday life

2. Anatomy of Digital Health Interventions
- Just-in-time adaptive interventions
- Digital biomarker for predicting states of vulnerability
- Digital biomarker for predicting states of receptivity
- Digital coaching and healthcare chatbots

3. Design & Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions
- Overview of design frameworks
- Preparation of DHIs
- Optimization of DHIs
- Evaluation of DHIs
- Implementation of DHIs

4. Digital Health Technologies
- Technologies for telemedicine
- Mobile medical devices
- Virtual, augmented and mixed reality applications incl. live demonstrations
- Privacy and regulatory considerations

The Digital Health lecture is structured in two parts and follows the concept of a hybrid therapy consisting of on-site sessions and complementary online lessons. In the first part, students will learn and discuss the topics of the four learning modules in weekly on-site sessions. Complementary learning material (e.g., video and audio clips), multiple-choice questions and exercises are provided online.

In the second part, students work in teams and will use their knowledge from the first part of the lecture to critically assess DHIs. Each team will then present and discuss the findings of the assessment with their fellow students who will provide peer-reviews. Additional on-site coaching sessions are offered to support the teams with the preparation of their presentations.
Literature1.Chaix, B. (2018) Mobile Sensing in Environmental Health and Neighborhood Research Annual Review of Public Health (39), 367-384.
2.Collins, L. M. (2018) Optimization of Behavioral, Biobehavioral, and Biomedical Interventions: The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) New York: Springer.
3.Corneta, V. P., and Holden, R. J. (2018) Systematic Review of Smartphone-Based Passive Sensing for Health and Wellbeing Journal of Biomedical Informatics (77:January), 120-132.
4.Coravos, A., Khozin, S., and K. D. Mandl (2019) Developing and Adopting Safe and Effective Digital Biomarkers to Improve Patient Outcomes Nature Digital Medicine 2 Paper 14.
5.Katz, D. L., E. P. Frates, J. P. Bonnet, S. K. Gupta, E. Vartiainen and R. H. Carmona (2018) Lifestyle as Medicine: The Case for a True Health Initiative American Journal of Health Promotion 32 (6), 1452-1458.
6.Kvedar, J. C., A. L. Fogel, E. Elenko and D. Zohar (2016) Digital medicine's march on chronic disease Nature Biotechnology 34 (3), 239-246
7.Nahum-Shani, I., S. N. Smith, B. J. Spring, L. M. Collins, K. Witkiewitz, A. Tewari and S. A. Murphy (2018) Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) in Mobile Health: Key Components and Design Principles for Ongoing Health Behavior Support Annals of Behavioral Medicine 52 (6), 446-462.
8. Sim, I. (2019). Mobile Devices and Health. The New England Journal of Medicine, 381(10), 956-968.
363-1129-00LHumanitarian Operations and Supply Chain Management Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2VS. Wagner, S. B. Thakur-Weigold
AbstractAs both manmade and natural disasters are on the increase, the humanitarian sector has been growing accordingly. Because logistics typically comprises 70-80% of mission budgets, efficient operations and supply chain management are critical to maximizing impact. This course explores the emerging theory and best practices which address this need.
ObjectiveUpon completion of this seminar, participants will be able to differentiate between the commercial and humanitarian operational context and recognize the distinct phases of an intervention. They will be able to assess the humanitarian program as a system with constrained resources, and analyze logistics and supply chain processes fit to purpose. The course will involve both, research and practice, to ensure a realistic and rigorous understanding of humanitarian operations and supply chain management.
ContentThe seminar will review the strategies and core processes existing in a humanitarian supply chain, emphasizing how these are different from the commercial context, and explore success factors in practice. The instructional design will combine lectures and readings with videos, reports from the field, simulations and case studies.

1. Introduction to the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS), and the specific requirements of the humanitarian sector, together with what these imply for operations and supply chain management. How does HumOSCM differ from the commercial context? We will review what it means to be a refugee, an IDP, or a person affected by a natural or manmade disaster, the key stakeholders in a humanitarian intervention, current trends in the sector, and the role of the logistics cluster.

2. Humanitarian interventions follow a lifecycle whose distinct phases create different requirements for logistics and other activities. We will review and discuss the characteristics of each phase and their respective strategies as well as fundamental types of intervention (emergency response vs. ongoing missions vs. development projects).

3. The activities in a humanitarian intervention must be understood as a system in which material can only be delivered properly if information flows. We will emphasize how collaboration and coordination are key to successful field operations, and experience the effects of broken feedback loops and poor system design.

4. Review of the core processes of the humanitarian supply chain: procurement, planning (preparedness), transportation (fleet management), inventory management (pre-positioning), donor management and reporting, and performance management.

5. Special topic / deep dive: Applying lean principles to humanitarian operations, with a report from the field.

6. Special topic / deep dive: How technologies (such as retinal recognition, drones, GPS mapping, cash programs), are changing the way aid is delivered, with a report from the field. When considering the impact of technological innovations, we will discuss the importance of process innovations as well.
Lecture notesThe course material will be made available for download on Moodle:

Link

All organizational matters will be handled by the teaching assistant Lysann Seifert (Link).
LiteratureThere is no obligatory or recommended textbook.

Readings that you might consult during the course will be provided for download.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe final course grade will be a weighted average of the following:
- Study of a current humanitarian intervention or disaster scenario and presentation of an appropriate HumOSCM strategy, including written summary (group work): 60%
- Written summary of a case study analysis with findings and solution (individual work): 40%

The course is limited to 20 participants. Application and pre-registration is necessary.

Please register by January 24, 2020 at the latest via myStudies and send your CV and a one-paragraph motivation for taking the course to the teaching assistant Lysann Seifert (Link). All registrations will be assigned to the waiting list, and students will be informed about the selection outcome by February 10, 2020.
363-1132-00LBusiness Models for a Circular Economy Restricted registration - show details W3 credits1.5GC. Bening-Bach, N. U. Blum
AbstractThis course leads students through the process of re-thinking an existing product in a circular way. At the end of the course students will come up with new, circular business models for their products. The course consists of an overview of circular economy principles, research, diverse workshop formats and team work.
Objective1) Students familiarize themselves with the principles of a circular economy
2) Students critically reflect on the limits of a circular economy
3) Students experience a re-thinking process of an existing product along circular economy principles
ContentThis course is aimed at people with a keen interest to understand and solve societal and environmental problems employing the principles of a circular economy.

The seminar consists of a mix of lectures, workshops, individual working sessions, and team work. Critical reflection is an integrative part of the process.

The course tackles a topic that in the light of climate change, resource scarcity and decreasing biodiversity, gains traction in industry, policy and academia: Circular economy. A circular economy is a regnerative system that uses as little resources as possible in the most efficient way. The implementation of a circular economy offers different ways to do so, e.g. by re-design, re-use, re-cycling. Along these different "cycles" new business models arise.

In this course students evaluate different products on their potential for a circular economy by considering - among others -the product's technical, economic, and legal environment. Once they strengthened their knowledge on the product and oh circular economy principles, they will develop solutions and business models in teams. The course ends with a pitching event, where the teams will present their solutions and business ideas.
363-1128-00LPricing - Theory and Practice Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 25.
W3 credits1GF. Uhrich, F. von Wangenheim
AbstractPricing is much more than just a price: lt is about how to convert interest into transaction. Pricing combines like almost no other business discipline quantitative and analytical rigor with qualitative and psychological aspects.
This course explains the underlying economical and psychological concepts that influence price setting and price perception.
ObjectiveUnderstand underlying theories and concepts of price setting and price perception. Learn how to master pricing from strategy to execution.
See how diverse pricing can be across industries.
Content- Introduction to pricing
the relevance of pricing & the profit formula

- Pricing theory—3 lenses on pricing & a holistic view on pricing:
cost-based pricing, customer/value-based pricing, competitive pricing & the holistic view on all pricing layers (pricing strategy, pricing execution, pricing enablers)

- Price elasticity—theory & reality:
price elasticity curves, break-even elasticity, typical elasticity values

- Behavioral pricing—cognitive biases:
value perception (loss aversion, transactional utility, precise pricing, power of free), reference frames (anchoring, asymmetric dominance, extremeness aversion, unit framing), certainty effects (IKEA effect, social proof, endowment effect), and flat-rate bias

- Pricing practice—key concepts by industry:
B2B (pricing power, price realization, surcharges, long-tail pricing, one-shot pricing, contract pricing), B2B2C (multi-channel pricing, price waterfall, trade spend, cross-border pricing), B2C (Promo effectiveness, psychological prices, good-better-best pricing, end-of-lifecycle pricing, non-profit/social pricing), eCommerce, digital/software/subscriptions (internet of things, land & expand, freemium, bundling/unbundling, lifecycle)

- Pricing diagnostics & price monitoring:
price clouds, price-mix-reporting, basket analysis

The course is a mixture of front lecture and student homework and presentation.
Supplementary Courses
The students have to deepen their knowledge in the area(s) of engineering/natural sciences in consultation with the responsible professor (tutor) and must choose the tutor by the end of the first semester. Core courses and electives of D-MTEC can not be used as supplementary courses.
» Course Catalogue of ETH Zurich
Industrial Internship
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0879-00LPractical Training Restricted registration - show details O6 creditsexternal organisers
AbstractThe practical experience gained by the student complets the studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and prepars her/him for future activities in industry.
ObjectiveThe practical experience gained by the student complets the studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and prepars her/him for future activities in industry.
Master's Thesis
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
363-0600-00LMaster's Thesis Restricted registration - show details
Only students who fulfill the following criteria are allowed to begin with their master thesis:
a. successful completion of the bachelor programme;
b. fulfilling of any additional requirements necessary to gain admission to the master programme;
c. internship fulfilled;
d. academic writting course has been completed
O30 credits57DSupervisors
AbstractIn the Master Thesis students prove their ability to independent, structured and scientific working. The master's thesis is supervised by the tutor and normally deals with a subject contained in the major fields. The research will be performed normally within a private company or at the ETH Zurich.
ObjectiveIn the Master Thesis students prove their ability to independent, structured and scientific working. The master's thesis is supervised by the tutor and normally deals with a subject contained in the major fields. The research will be performed normally within a private company or at the ETH Zurich.
363-1063-00LAcademic Writing Course Restricted registration - show details
Compulsory for all MTEC MSc students.
O0 credits1GR. Mihalka, S. Milligan
AbstractThis course for MTEC MSc students focuses on developing and refining students' English writing skills and their understanding of the requirements and conventions of academic writing. The course is particularly designed to support students during the writing process, so participants are expected to bring work in progress (reports, semester papers, etc.) to the workshops.
ObjectiveThe aim of this course is to improve the academic writing skills needed to complete academic texts successfully and efficiently. The course provides theoretical input, practical writing exercises, and detailed individual feedback organised into one group lecture and four workshops in smaller tutorial groups.

Initially, the lecture provides an overview of the range of demands on writers of reports, papers, and MSc theses and outlines the academic expectations that students must meet. Guidance is then provided in the workshops on planning the writing process effectively, and individual feedback is provided to enhance writing ability.

The course develops a range of practical and transferrable writing skills. Students can use these skills to improve the overall quality of their academic writing and to produce their reports, papers, and theses more rapidly and efficiently. The writing skills developed here can be used beyond the MSc, whether students go on to complete a PhD or to produce reports and other documents in industry.
ContentGroup lecture:
an introduction to writing at MSc level in D-MTEC
anglophone expectations of academic writing
avoiding plagiarism

Workshop 1:
the writing process
overview of common academic text structures
building academic vocabulary

Workshop 2:
writing methods sections
embedding figures and tables
structuring sentences and paragraphs
noun phrases and articles

Workshop 3:
introductions; results and discussion sections
analysis v description
writing critically
relative clauses

Workshop 4:
abstracts and conclusions
editing your own text
punctuation, spelling, and grammar
Lecture notesNotes will be available after registration.

The course is highly recommended to all MTEC MSc students once they have begun writing assignments such as reports and semester papers.
Prerequisites / NoticeIt is also compulsory for students who started in Spring 2015 or later. It is offered each semester (spring and autumn).