Teaching
Lists of Courses Offered
Bachelor Courses
The Science of Happiness: A Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Cultural Approach to Happiness and Well-being (Summer)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Summer 2024: Here
Lecturer
Course Description
How can we be happier in our professional and personal lives? Get ready to answer this question in a unique summer semester course, “The Science of Happiness” available to all Master’s students and to advanced Bachelor’s students (those who have completed at least 3 semesters of Bachelor studies). This course examines the science behind happiness and is designed for students who want to understand and implement changes that enhance one’s happiness and well-being. Students will learn from the latest knowledge and practical tools from multiple disciplines (Business, Psychology, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology and Theology) on what makes us happy. Students will benefit from visiting international experts on happiness and well-being from Germany, USA, India, Singapore, Sweden, Portugal and Bulgaria. This innovative course is designed to promote happiness, well-being, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.
Innovating for Sustainability: Frameworks and Practices from Global and Local Organizations (Summer)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus für Sommer 2024: Here
Lecturer
Course Description
This course on Innovating for Sustainability is designed to teach students frameworks and processes that are aimed at establishing and fostering sustainability-oriented innovation in global and local organizations. Through a focus on sustainable innovation, companies can build more sustainable products, processes and practices that benefit the firm and society.
The main objectives of this course are for students to:
- Understand the concept of sustainability-oriented innovation and how it differs from conventional innovation in organizations
- Identify and examine key stakeholders in sustainability-oriented innovation, including traditional stakeholders such as employees and consumers, as well as social, governmental, and environmental stakeholders
- Understand the frameworks and processes designed for sustainability-oriented innovation
- Learn the different types of sustainability-oriented innovation activities under each of the stages of - optimization, transformation, and systems building
- Acquire knowledge on how to measure sustainability-oriented innovation in organizations, and promote an appreciation of the managerial and societal implications of innovating for sustainability
Consumer Psychology (Winter)
Course Details
Semester : Winter Term
Credits : 5 ECTS
Language : English
Syllabus for Winter 2023/24: Here
Course Description
This Bachelors' course on consumer psychology delves into the mind of the consumer to uncover processes that influence consumer's behavior. Consumer psychology is the study of the cognitive and social psychological principles that help us understand and predict how we behave as consumers. This course is designed to not only provide you knowledge of consumer psychology, but to also enhance your understanding of how we, as consumers, can make smarter choices in the marketplace, and how we, as marketers, can design and execute successful marketplace strategies. Students will work on a "live" project that investigates a consumer psychology phenomena learned in class. This course is a mandatory elective for the Bachelors in BWL - Management and Marketing.
Brand Management in the Digital Age (Winter)
Course Details
Semester: Winter Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Description
The Bachelor’s course on Brand Management in the Digital Age is designed to equip students with rigorous frameworks and tools to create, manage, and sustain powerful product and service brands in the era of Digital Marketing. Building on core concepts such as targeting, segmentation, and positioning strategy, this course will teach students the elements of a brand (brand DNA), how to conceptualize and measure brand equity, understand the unique challenges in building product versus service brands in the digital age, when and how to conduct brand repositioning, and the different ways to extend a brand (brand extensions). Students will work on a “live” business project in collaboration with a real brand as part of the course. This course is a mandatory elective for the Bachelors in BWL - Management and Marketing.
Innovation through Design for Digital Customer Experience and Sustainable Solutions (Summer, not offered in 2024)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Summer 2023: Here
Lecturer
Course Description
This is a Bachelor’s course on Innovation, Design Thinking, Digital Customer Experience, and Sustainability. Today companies of all types and sizes strive to create more innovative, digital and sustainable organizations and provide unique customer experiences (CX). However, some organizations are far superior compared to others in achieving these goals. Can any company boost its potential by improving its digital customer experience through designing innovating products and services, and by being sustainable at the same time? This course aims to compellingly answer this question using frameworks in Innovation, Design Thinking, and Customer Experience (CX). Students will work on a "live" innovation project that combines digital customer experience and sustainability, in collaboration with a real company, as part of the course. This course is a mandatory elective for the Bachelors in BWL - Management and Marketing, and a mandatory course in the new specialization, Bachelors in BWL - Sustainable Solutions for Business and Economics.
Master Courses
The Science of Happiness: A Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Cultural Approach to Happiness and Well-being (Summer)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Summer 2024: Here
Lecturer
Course Description
How can we be happier in our professional and personal lives? Get ready to answer this question in a unique summer semester course, “The Science of Happiness” available to all Master’s students and to advanced Bachelor’s students (those who have completed at least 3 semesters of Bachelor studies). This course examines the science behind happiness and is designed for students who want to understand and implement changes that enhance one’s happiness and well-being. Students will learn from the latest knowledge and practical tools from multiple disciplines (Business, Psychology, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology and Theology) on what makes us happy. Students will benefit from visiting international experts on happiness and well-being from Germany, USA, India, Singapore, Sweden, Portugal and Bulgaria. This innovative course is designed to promote happiness, well-being, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.
Innovation and Creativity in Individuals, Teams, and Organizations (Summer)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Summer 2024: Here
Course Description
This Master’s level course uses action-based learning and innovative teaching concepts and has been awarded a teaching grant from KU. The course will examine the role of individuals, teams and organizations in facilitating and fostering innovation, the processes to develop innovations, characteristics that affect the success of innovations, disruptive versus incremental innovations, and the latest developments in the field of innovation. Additionally, this course will examine the latest research on creativity to understand what makes individuals and teams more creative than others and how creativity leads to problem solving, and consequently, to innovation. Each class is structured as a “challenge” that student will solve by applying class learnings on innovation and creativity. Students get multiple opportunities to solve real-world cases, meet innovative companies, successful startups, and executives, and will work on a "live" open innovation project in collaboration with a real company. Students have the unique opportunity to participate in an excursion to Innovation Hubs in Munich. This is a mandatory course in the ENTRE (Entrepreneurship and Innovation) program, a mandatory elective course in the MARKT program, and a mandatory elective course in the new Business and Psychology Master’s program.
Consumer Psychology and Decision Making (Winter)
Course Details
Semester : Winter Term
Credits : 5 ECTS
Language : English
Latest Syllabus for Winter 2023/24: Here
Course Description
This course will critically examine concepts in consumer psychology, teach advanced concepts and theories in decision making, and use cutting-edge research in consumer behavior to highlight the latest advances in this field. It will explore, in depth, why we behave the way we do, as consumers, and discuss how individuals, companies and policy makers can use these latest insights from consumer research. Whether it is to regulate our own behaviors and habits as consumers, to design successful products / services / marketing campaigns in companies, or to introduce new policies in society, the study of consumer psychology and decision making will give students a competitive edge in their lives and careers. The course will also feature International Guest Professors, and Industry Experts, who will share unique insights. This course is a mandatory course in the Business and Psychology master program, and a mandatory elective in the MARKT and ENTRE specializations.
The Past, Present, and Future of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Winter)
Course Details
Semester: Winter Term
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Winter 2023/24: Here
Lecturers
Prof. Shashi Matta
Prof. Jens Hogreve and Jannes Marquardt
Prof. Monika Bachinger and Felix Hiemeyer
Course Description
This is a unique, Master’s level seminar courses that provides a high-level overview of the fields of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The course will provide a solid foundation for students interested in these two connected fields. In addition to sketching a broad overview of these two fields, this course will - offer a historic perspective on Entrepreneurship and Innovation across time and geography, examine the current state of these fields, through five different perspectives, encourage students to find patterns and trends that connect common themes on the drivers and the consequences of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and inspire students to think of the big picture of these two connected fields. This course will be taught by five different professors, all of whom teach mandatory courses in the ENTRE program (from the five chairs of Innovation & Creativity, Tourism & Entrepreneurship, Service Management, Christian Social Ethics and Social Policy, and Macroeconomics). Students will gain critical thinking skills as well as teamwork, communication, and professional writing. Students will also have an opportunity to enhance their English language skills in a professional setting. This is a mandatory course in the Master specialization ENTRE (Entrepreneurship and Innovation).
From Idea to Commercialization: Startup School (Winter)
Course Details
Semester : Winter Term
Credits : 5 ECTS
Language : English
Syllabus for Winter 2023/24: Here
Course Description
This Master's level course is designed as a “Startup School” and aims to provide a comprehensive blueprint for students aspiring to join innovation teams in large or medium sized companies and those aspiring to start their own ventures as entrepreneurs. From idea generation to commercialization, from funding mechanisms to innovation pitches, and from scalability to exit strategies, this course will provide students the opportunity to understand the start-to-end process and work on a New Venture Challenge (team project) including a pitch presentation to an expert jury of entrepreneurs, innovators and venture capitalists. The course is co-taught by Fabian Foelsch (CEO and Co-founder, BRAINEFFECT), Prof. Dr. Shashi Matta and Dr. Meysam Moayery. This is a mandatory course in the ENTRE (Entrepreneurship and Innovation) specialization, a mandatory elective course in the MARKT specialization, and a mandatory elective course in the Business and Psychology master program.
Innovation Immersion in Retail (Summer, not offered in 2024)
Course Derails
Semester: summer term
Blocked Course: Ingolstadt (Germany) 19.05. - 22.05.2022 and Bologna (Italy) 16.06. - 19.06.2022 (2x 25 hours)
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language: English
Course module: Here
Lecturer
Course Description
Innovation has transformed the retail industry in numerous ways. Everything from retail formats, the type and number of available channels, omnichannel strategies, payment methods, and the entire retail customer experience, has been disrupted and innovations continue at a rapid pace. This master course aims to equip students with the knowledge, deep understanding, and critical thinking skills, required to analyze retail innovation in today’s age. This unique course is in collaboration with the University of Bologna’s Bologna Business School, currently ranked as the # 2 Business School in Italy. The course actively involves the “Retail Observatory on Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bologna (in collaboration with the Retail Institute, Italy), and its company participants.
Advanced Topics in Consumer Psychology for a Better World (Summer, not offered in 2024)
Course Details
Semester: Summer Term
Credits: 10 ECTS
Language: English
Syllabus for Summer 2022: Here
Course Description
This Master's course is designed as a project-based research seminar for students who want a deep dive into consumer psychology research and are prepared for designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting original, primary consumer research. The course focuses on advanced theories and current research topics in the field of consumer psychology. A few sample topics (this is not an exhaustive list) include nudging in consumer behavior, how to motivate consumers to behave sustainably, consumer’s financial health and well-being, consumer’s physical health and well-being, consumer creativity, identity in consumer behavior, and innovation. In addition, students will learn how to design and implement real-world interventions for a better world by using consumer psychology and behavioral research principles. This is a mandatory elective course in the MARKT program and a mandatory elective course in the new Business and Psychology Master’s program.