Energy & Sustainability Management

- Ecological fundamentals, including ecosystem structure, energy flows, material cycles and the basic principles of ecological stability
- Sustainable development, including guiding principles of global responsibility, resource conservation and socio-ecological objective systems
- Biodiversity and ecosystem services and their importance for ecological functionality and sustainable social benefit
- Planetary boundaries and sustainability indicators, including ecological limits and sustainable scope for action
- Sustainable material and energy flows, including the ecological fundamentals of cycles and the sustainable use of resources
- Resilience in ecological and sustainable systems, including robustness, adaptability and basic transformation approaches

- Sustainability assessment, including basic concepts, indicators and evaluation logics
- Ecological, social and economic assessment methods, with analysis of the fundamental sustainability dimensions
- Life cycle assessment and eco-balancing, including the creation of simple life cycle analyzes and the evaluation of selected scenarios
- Material and resource management, including basic material and energy flows and sustainable resource criteria
- Resource strategies in energy and sustainability management, including approaches for resource-efficient consumption and sustainable prioritisation
- Sustainability assessment tools such as the ecological footprint, multi-criteria assessment and basic ESG evaluations

- Fundamentals of innovative mobility, including technological trends in electric drives, alternative fuels and digital mobility concepts
- Electromobility, including battery technologies, charging infrastructure, efficiencies and technical fields of application
- Hydrogen mobility, including fuel cell technology, refuelling systems, storage requirements and technical performance
- Sustainable mobility systems, including multimodality, transport networks, digital services and technological interfaces
- Technical infrastructure for mobility, including requirements for charging points, electrical installations, energy management and grid load
- Mobility innovations and future technical concepts, including autonomous systems, connected mobility services and new drive technologies
- Energy demand and efficiencies of drive systems, including basic calculation of energy flows and efficiency parameters

- Fundamentals and instruments of sustainability controlling, with a focus on indicators, key figures and reporting structures
- Energy controlling as part of sustainable corporate management, including energy indicators, consumption analyzes and efficiency parameters
- Preparation and analysis of sustainability and energy reports, including structured data collections and the evaluation of key indicators
- Steering models for ecological and economic sustainability goals, including the fundamentals of objective systems and effectiveness analyzes
- Methods of data collection and data quality in sustainability and energy controlling
- Management decisions based on controlling information, with a focus on energy efficiency, resource management and sustainability strategies
- Current standards and developments in reporting, such as sustainability-related indicator sets and regulatory requirements
- Integration of energy- and sustainability-related controlling systems into existing organizational structures

- Fundamentals of regional energy systems, including electricity, heating, cooling and locally available resources
- GIS-based analysis of regional energy flows, including the spatial assessment of potentials, grid structures and supply gaps
- Collection of energy-relevant data and integration into simple GIS-based site and potential analyzes
- Assessment of the performance and stability of regional electricity, heating and cooling infrastructures
- Resilience of regional energy systems, including risks, disruptive factors and basic measures for system security
- Political decision-making processes in regional energy planning, including basic procedural structures and responsibilities
- Citizen participation in energy projects, including concepts of local participation and their importance for acceptance and implementation
- Current developments in resilient regional energy systems, including local governance and participatory energy planning

- Introduction to digital tools and data management
- Introduction to programming and databases
- Data quality, error detection and cleansing
- Cloud and collaboration tools for data projects
- Data protection, data security and ethical aspects of data processing

- Fundamentals and process models of technical project management
- Project structuring, scheduling and resource planning
- Roles, responsibilities and communication within the project team
- Risk management, quality assurance, change control
- Digital tools
- Interdisciplinary and international project coordination
- Documentation and reporting of technical projects

Introduction to business administration:
- Definition and objectives of business administration
- Legal and organizational forms of companies
- Management functions: planning, organising, leading, controlling
- Fundamentals of corporate governance and business ethics
Marketing & sales:
- Fundamentals of marketing and market segmentation
- Marketing mix: product, price, place, promotion
- Market research and consumer behavior
Human resource management:
- Workforce planning, recruitment and personnel development
- Motivation and leadership theories
- Performance appraisal and compensation
Procurement, production, logistics:
- Fundamentals of supply chain management
- Procurement and sourcing strategies
- Production systems and inventory management
Fundamentals of economics:
- Microeconomics: supply, demand and market equilibrium
- Elasticities, cost and production theory
- Macroeconomics: GDP, inflation, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policy
- Economic systems and world trade
Accounting and financial management:
- Introduction to double-entry bookkeeping
- Balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement
- Cost and activity accounting (cost types, cost centers, costs)
- Investment appraisal (static and dynamic methods)
- Financing: equity and debt financing, capital structure

- Overview of energy markets, including market structures, players, price formation mechanisms and relevant energy sources
- Fundamentals of energy trading, including spot markets, futures markets, OTC trading and basic trading instruments
- Price formation and market dynamics, including influencing factors such as supply, demand, regulation and geopolitical conditions
- Risk management in energy trading, including basic risks such as price risks, volume risks and simple risk metrics
- Trading strategies, including basic decision models and practical application within a business simulation
- Carrying out simple trading decisions, interpreting market developments and assessing one's own risk behavior

- European and international institutions
- International agreements relating to energy & sustainability management
- EU legislative and decision-making processes
- Legal acts in the energy and sustainability field
- Governance and compliance, including the implementation of European requirements in companies, oversight by European and national regulatory authorities, and requirements in the area of ESG and sustainability reporting
- Case studies on the influence of European institutions on energy prices, emissions trading, supply chain law and climate litigation before the European Court of Justice

- Introduction and basic concepts
- Fundamental laws of electrical engineering
- Voltage sources and current sources
- Basic circuits
- Electric field and capacitor
- Magnetic field and inductor
- Circuit design
- AC and three-phase technology
- Electrical installations and machines
- Protective measures
- Fundamentals of electronic components

- Fundamentals of thermodynamics, including forms of energy, state variables, thermodynamic cycles and basic heat transfer mechanisms
- Mechanical fundamentals, including force equilibria, fluid mechanics, basic concepts and simple mechanical systems in energy technology
- Fundamentals of chemistry, including reaction principles, material properties, combustion and chemical conversion processes for energy engineering applications
- Materials and fluids in energy technology, including properties, metals, polymers, gases and liquids in technical energy systems
- Energy conversion processes, including simple thermal, mechanical and chemical conversions as well as basic efficiency parameters
- Analysis of simple energy engineering systems, including the evaluation of basic energy flows and modes of operation
- Placing the fundamentals within sustainable energy technologies, linking physico-chemical fundamentals with sustainable applications

- Renewable electricity technologies
- Renewable heating and cooling technologies
- Energy storage technologies
- System integration of renewable energies, including load management, hybridisation and the design of sustainable energy supply systems
- Techno-economic assessment, including efficiency analyzes, lifetime models, investment parameters and transformation potential
- Applications in energy and sustainability management, including case studies on corporate energy supply and municipal transformation

- Technical, economic and legal fundamentals of modern smart grids and electrical energy distribution
- Tasks of grid operators as well as the basic principles of grid regulation, grid access and grid use
- Grid planning, grid maintenance and safe operational grid management
- Effects of feed-in and consumption on the stability of transmission and distribution grids
- Technical, economic and legal fundamentals of heating and cooling networks in centralised and decentralised supply systems
- Planning, operation and maintenance of heating and cooling networks as well as basic economic conditions
- Technical, economic and legal fundamentals of the logistics of primary and secondary energy sources
- Current developments in smart grids, heating and cooling networks and energy source logistics

- Basic concepts of technological innovation in energy and sustainability
- Simple technical operating principles of selected energy technologies
- Technological influencing factors such as efficiency, material properties and energy efficiency
- Fundamentals of technology development cycles and maturity levels
- Basic requirements for technical systems and organizational conditions
- Technical and organizational barriers to the development and introduction of new technologies
- Classifying technologies on the basis of simple technical criteria and characteristic values

- Advanced analysis methods for energy and sustainability data
- Modeling of basic forecasts and classifications using statistical and algorithmic methods
- Data validation and quality checks, including error and plausibility analyzes
- Fundamentals of time series analysis for consumption and generation data
- Interpretation of analytical models for decision support in energy and sustainability management
- Development of data-based recommendations for action and evaluation of analytical results
- Current methods and tools for advanced data analysis in the energy sector

This module is completed as part of the semester abroad at a partner institution. It serves to specifically foster leadership skills, intercultural understanding and global competence. The students develop the ability to lead international teams, to make productive use of diversity and to critically reflect on their own leadership behavior, as well as to further develop their own work-life balance strategies.

The content is formulated as examples and can be covered by courses at the partner institution:

- In-depth study of international and intercultural leadership
- Cultural dimensions and models
- Communication, trust and conflict management in international teams
- Leadership styles & global ethics
- Gender, diversity & inclusion in global contexts
- Personal leadership development and self-reflection
- International team development and virtual leadership
- Case studies of global organizations, NGOs and real estate companies

- Project work on real-world case examples, taking economic and ESG criteria into account
- Teamwork in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups
- Development and presentation of an innovative project concept

A1 – Beginner
Can understand and use familiar, everyday expressions and very simple sentences aimed at satisfying concrete needs. Can introduce themselves and others and ask other people questions about themselves – for example, where they live, whom they know or what they own – and can answer such questions. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is willing to help.

A2 – Elementary
Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of immediate relevance (for example, personal and family information, shopping, work, the local area). Can communicate in simple, routine situations that require a simple and direct exchange of information about familiar and everyday matters. Can describe, using simple terms, their own background and education, their immediate environment and matters related to immediate needs.

B1 – Intermediate
Can use clear standard language in academic and business contexts, communicate about familiar matters relating to work, school, leisure and so on, and apply relevant conversational skills. Can express themselves simply and coherently on familiar topics and areas of personal interest. Can report on experiences and events, describe dreams, hopes and goals, and give brief reasons or explanations for plans and opinions.

B2 – Upper Intermediate
Can address the main content of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics in academic and business contexts, and can take part in specialist discussions in their own field. Can communicate spontaneously and fluently enough for a normal conversation with native speakers to be quite possible without strain for either party. Can express themselves clearly and in detail on a wide range of topics, explain a viewpoint on a current issue and outline the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

C1 – Advanced
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts and grasp implicit meanings. Can use the language effectively and flexibly in academic and business contexts and express themselves spontaneously and fluently without frequently and obviously having to search for words. Can express themselves clearly, in a structured way and at length on complex subjects, using various cohesive devices appropriately.

C2 – Near-native Proficiency
Effortless communication in all language situations. Can summarise information from various written and spoken sources and reproduce reasons and explanations in a coherent presentation. Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, and convey finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

This module is completed as part of the semester abroad at a partner institution. It serves to broaden professional, methodological, social and intercultural skills in an international academic environment. The thematic focus is on global markets, economic and social transformation processes and their significance for energy & sustainability management.

The content is formulated as examples and can be covered by courses at the partner institution:

- Global economic and financial systems (world markets, trade, capital flows)
- International institutions and regulatory frameworks
- Global transformation processes
- Innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer in an international context
- Intercultural management and communication
- International case studies and project work on economic & transformation topics

This module is completed as part of the semester abroad at a partner institution. It provides theoretical and practical fundamentals on digital, technological and organizational innovations in global contexts.
The participants learn to understand and evaluate innovation processes and smart systems and to critically apply them to their use.

The content is formulated as examples and can be covered by courses at the partner institution:

- In-depth study of smart systems
- Digitalisation
- Innovation management, design thinking and agile methods
- International best practices
- Cybersecurity, data protection and ethical questions
- Interdisciplinary case studies on smart systems and technology transfer

- Fundamentals of academic work and principles of good academic practice
- Copyright, citation rules and plagiarism avoidance
- Structure of academic texts and the research process
- Introduction to empirical methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches
- Descriptive statistics and simple data analyzes
- Use of digital tools and assistance systems
- Data visualisation and documentation of results

- Introduction & in-depth study of project- and lab-based work
- Fundamentals of methodical problem solving and creativity techniques
- Use of digital tools
- Introduction to documentation and presentation techniques
- Teamwork and communication in the project context
- Implementation of small practical tasks or micro-projects
- Reflection on work processes and self-organization
- Feedback and review rounds to improve results

- In-depth study of project- and lab-based work
- In-depth study of methodical problem solving and creativity techniques
- Use of digital tools
- In-depth study of documentation and presentation techniques
- Teamwork and communication in the project context
- Implementation of small practical tasks or micro-projects
- Reflection on work processes and self-organization
- Feedback and review rounds to improve results

The students independently carry out a project in small groups amounting to 4 ECTS = 100 hours. This is based on a predefined objective. Planning, coordination, budgeting, monitoring, communication and reporting, as well as finding solutions, are the responsibility of the students. The role of the course instructor focuses on coaching the students.

The students independently carry out a project in small groups amounting to 4 ECTS = 100 hours. This is based on a predefined objective. Planning, coordination, budgeting, monitoring, communication and reporting, as well as finding solutions, are the responsibility of the students. The role of the course instructor focuses on coaching the students.

Students gain insights into current topics, developments and research findings in energy & sustainability management. Various experts from academia, industry and research provide practice-oriented input on innovation and transfer issues. The content is explored in greater depth through moderated discussions, fireside chats or field trips, and reflected on with regard to its relevance to professional practice.

Topics covered include:
- current innovation and research trends in the sector
- examples of successful corporate and research collaborations
- approaches to knowledge and technology transfer
- digital transformation processes in the energy industry and in sustainability management
- reflection on one's own learning and transfer processes in a professional context

- Accompanying research seminar with peer feedback and presentations
- Discussion of research design, choice of methods and interpretation of results
- Reflection on practical relevance, transfer and limitations of the work
- Preparation of the final presentation & final examination

- Professional practical work in a relevant company or organization
- Application of professional, methodological and social skills in practice, including the use of individual work-life balance strategies and inclusive behavior in the work environment
- Insights into operational processes, project management and decision-making structures
- Reflection on professional profiles, roles and expectations in energy and sustainability management, including engagement with role models, diversity aspects and inclusive collaboration
- Preparation of an internship and reflection report that also documents personal insights into work-life balance and diversity in a real-world work context

Within this module, students independently write their bachelor's thesis. They work on a clearly defined research question on their own responsibility, applying suitable academic methods, systematically evaluate the findings obtained and document the results in the form of an academic paper in accordance with the formal and substantive standards of the study program.

- Fundamentals of intercultural communication
- Communication styles, value orientations and dealing with misunderstandings
- Team roles and decision-making processes in culturally diverse groups
- Intercultural conflict patterns and resolution strategies
- Building trust, empathy and perspective-taking in international contexts
- Diversity, inclusion and ethical dimensions of collaboration
- Reflection on one's own cultural background and communication preferences
- Models and methods for analysing stressors and resources (work-life balance)
- Mechanisms of gender roles, bias and structural disadvantage, as well as practical approaches to designing gender-inclusive work and learning environments
- Practical exercises on team building and collaboration in international settings

- Fundamentals of change communication, including key concepts, phases and roles in change processes
- Responsibility communication, including the importance of transparency, credibility and social responsibility in the sustainability context
- Stakeholder communication, including the analysis of target groups, communication channels and impact elements
- Communication strategies in the change process, including planning, implementing and adapting basic strategies
- Storytelling and narratives for sustainable transformation, including the targeted design of audience-appropriate messages
- Ethical aspects of communication, including responsibility, fairness and the impact of sustainable messages
- Case studies from energy and sustainability management, including practical communication tasks and scenarios

A1 – Beginner
Can understand and use familiar, everyday expressions and very simple sentences aimed at satisfying concrete needs. Can introduce themselves and others and ask other people questions about themselves – for example, where they live, whom they know or what they own – and can answer such questions. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is willing to help.

A2 – Elementary
Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of immediate relevance (for example, personal and family information, shopping, work, the local area). Can communicate in simple, routine situations that require a simple and direct exchange of information about familiar and everyday matters. Can describe, using simple terms, their own background and education, their immediate environment and matters related to immediate needs.

B1 – Intermediate
Can use clear standard language in academic and business contexts, communicate about familiar matters relating to work, school, leisure and so on, and apply relevant conversational skills. Can express themselves simply and coherently on familiar topics and areas of personal interest. Can report on experiences and events, describe dreams, hopes and goals, and give brief reasons or explanations for plans and opinions.

B2 – Upper Intermediate
Can address the main content of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics in academic and business contexts, and can take part in specialist discussions in their own field. Can communicate spontaneously and fluently enough for a normal conversation with native speakers to be quite possible without strain for either party. Can express themselves clearly and in detail on a wide range of topics, explain a viewpoint on a current issue and outline the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

C1 – Advanced
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts and grasp implicit meanings. Can use the language effectively and flexibly in academic and business contexts and express themselves spontaneously and fluently without frequently and obviously having to search for words. Can express themselves clearly, in a structured way and at length on complex subjects, using various cohesive devices appropriately.

C2 – Near-native Proficiency
Effortless communication in all language situations. Can summarise information from various written and spoken sources and reproduce reasons and explanations in a coherent presentation. Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, and convey finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

- Fundamentals of fact-oriented and data-driven communication
- Analysis and review of data quality for communication purposes
- Creation of precise data-based infographics and visualisations
- Turning technical and numerical content into short audio formats such as data-based podcasts
- Use of digital tools for the structured presentation of facts and key figures
- Evaluation of data visualisations and technical communication contributions for meaningfulness and accuracy

- Measuring current, voltage and resistance
- Interpreting the fundamental laws of electrical engineering
- Series and parallel circuits
- Capacitor and inductor in an AC circuit
- Use and wiring of electrical equipment and electrical machines
- Building basic logic functions using integrated circuits (IC)
- Electronic components