The CIC welcomes the University’s international outlook and values our close collaboration

Fountain in the courtyard of the Deutsche Bundesbank University ©Dieter Roosen

In the 40 years since its founding, the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg has traced an impressive path, taking it from its origins as a polytechnic to the modern establishment that it is today. Much has changed since it first opened its doors to students in 1980. The transition from offering a traditional “Diplom” degree course (“Diplomstudium”) to the “Bachelor of Science in Central Banking” dual study programme in 2011 was a radical but necessary shift. The new degree programme is more modern, more international and more attractive.

Equipping young talents for the real world with tailor-made training

At the CIC, we take a positive view of the degree programme’s new direction. The students have a keen interest in our international line of work and are well-trained for it. When positions in project management come up, we frequently receive applications from graduates fresh out of Hachenburg. And every year a handful of students take the opportunity to complete an internship with us. The degree course equips them perfectly for the real world. With 25% of all teaching and examinations conducted in English, it is a language that students have no trouble communicating in. They find working in our internationally minded setting particularly easy if they have already spent some time abroad. As part of the course, students can elect to spend six weeks as an intern at an institution in Europe with a close link to the business of central banking. This is an option which 75% of students choose, seeking out an appropriate institution at their own initiative. The list of European institutions which have already played host to Hachenburg students is impressive. Numbering more than 70, they include – along with Europe’s central banks – chambers of foreign trade, statistical offices, finance ministries and international institutions such as the OECD. The plan is for this list to grow. Institutions can register their interest with the CIC – we are more than happy to relay this information to students and set up contacts. During their time abroad, the students gather important experiences, hugely improve their intercultural competence and their linguistic skills, and expand their horizons.

Exploiting synergies between the University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg and the CIC

Since the shift to the Bachelor of Science programme, we have noticed synergy effects in the CIC. Again and again, we find that course modules slot seamlessly into our international seminars. In the field of banking supervision, Professor Andreas Igl is regularly involved, not only delivering talks but also running case studies with a strong practical relevance, which our participants value particularly highly. Wherever they can accommodate it, the University’s professors are happy to contribute their specialist knowledge to CIC activities. And while doing so, they seize the opportunity to cultivate international contacts. A trip to the Korean central bank in Seoul by Professor Andreas Igl and Professor Oliver Kruse to talk about financial and monetary stability was soon reciprocated, with Korean central bankers visiting the University of Applied Sciences.

The CIC and the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences also strive to work together to utilise international expertise. Rarely does it work out so perfectly as the time when financial expert Atilla Arda of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came from Washington, D.C. to give a lecture to students in Hachenburg about bank resolution and crisis management in the euro area and, during the same visit, spoke to guests from the People’s Bank of China on the features of effective bank resolution frameworks.

International week on central banking

Professor Erich Keller, Rector of the University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg, was quick to cast an eye further afield and build contacts with other countries home to universities specialising in finance. The CIC’s contacts also proved helpful there. One of the fruits of these endeavours has been the “International week on central banking”.

It is an annual event, taking place on the Hachenburg campus, which sees more than 50 students from Tsighua University’s PBC School of Finance in Beijing, the Ukrainian Banking University in Kiev, the Ukrainian Academy of Banking (UAB) in Sumy, the Polessky State University in Pinsk (Belarus) and the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland come together with their German counterparts for intensive discussions on the latest topics in central banking.

40th anniversary congratulations

These examples show how globally oriented the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences already is, and that it is constantly working on deepening its international contacts, both in terms of its students and at the academic level. This is something which all areas of the bank benefit from. There is a huge need for up-and-coming junior staff with a first-class education who also feel comfortable operating on the international stage. The CIC would like to extend its congratulations to Professor Erich Keller and his team on the University’s 40th anniversary. We look forward to further close cooperation going forward.

Text: Silke Schrupp