Energy & Sustainability Management

- Electrochemistry
- Mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Electrical engineering
- Design, operating principles and performance parameters of energy generation plants

- Hybrid and agile project management frameworks
- Stakeholder, risk and complexity analysis in energy & sustainability management
- Design thinking & user research in energy & sustainability management using personas, customer journeys and service blueprints
- Rapid prototyping for product, service and process innovations

- Smart cities and smart communities as strategic urban and regional development approaches
- Digital and infrastructural technologies such as IoT, mobility solutions, energy systems and data platforms
- Urban transformation processes with a focus on energy, mobility, spatial structure and governance
- Analysis of urban planning and spatial planning fundamentals for smart neighborhood concepts
- Diversity and inclusion principles in smart city concepts
- Assessment approaches for smart measures with regard to sustainability, quality of life, costs and acceptance
- Stakeholder management and participatory decision-making processes in municipal transformation projects

- Concepts and principles of the circular economy and the bioeconomy
- Regenerative systems and their role in sustainable transformation processes
- Material and value chains in the context of resource efficiency and circularity
- Systemic relationships between natural and technical cycles
- Potentials, limitations and trade-offs of circular and bio-based economic models
- Modeling and assessment of circular and regenerative systems approaches

- Fundamentals and models of innovation management
- Processes, drivers and barriers of organizational innovation
- Methods and approaches for sustainable and transformative innovation
- Assessment of technologies, business models and market opportunities
- Innovation culture, leadership and organizational framework conditions
- Strategic integration of innovation into sustainable corporate development

- Fundamentals of sustainable and multimodal mobility systems
- Electromobility, charging infrastructure and energy system integration
- Sharing models, mobility-as-a-service and new mobility services
- Autonomous and digitally connected mobility
- Barriers to transformation
- Mobility concepts for companies, cities and regions

- Fundamentals of integrated building design and sustainable building physics
- Energy simulation
- Building energy demand, load profiles and performance analysis
- Planning and assessment of energy-efficient building and supply concepts
- Optimization of energy and operating concepts across the life cycle
- Strategic decision-making processes based on simulation results

- Technological and systemic deepening of innovative energy concepts
- Selected innovative energy concepts such as sector coupling, power-to-X approaches, decentralized energy supply, smart energy systems, energy storage technologies, and data and automation potentials
- Innovation pathways in the context of renewable and hybrid supply systems

- Fundamentals of energy economics and the specific characteristics of energy commodities
- Market structures and price formation mechanisms in European energy markets
- Roles of market participants in energy trading and the regulatory framework
- Price, volume and credit risks in energy trading
- Basic concepts of hedging and strategic procurement decisions
- Interactions between the energy transition, CO₂ pricing and market design
- Impact of volatile markets on risk profiles and strategic management decisions

- Fundamentals of sustainable development
- Basic ecological concepts
- Climate change, drivers and fundamental mechanisms of action
- Social and technological transformation processes
- Fundamentals of resilience in ecological, technical and social systems
- Interactions between sustainability, transformation and ecosystems
- Introduction to scientific sustainability concepts

- In-depth market mechanisms in electricity, gas and flexibility markets
- Methods of advanced risk management in energy trading
- Fields of innovation among energy suppliers and market participants
- Strategic behavior in volatile energy markets
- Effects of regulatory changes on trading, portfolios and investments

- Fundamentals of energy & environmental law
- Regulatory instruments & legal framework conditions for renewable energy, grids and energy efficiency
- Environmental legal standards, permitting procedures and compliance requirements
- Interfaces between energy law, market mechanisms and corporate strategies
- Governance, participant roles and responsibilities in energy & environmental law
- Legal risks, fields of conflict and transformative challenges

- Compliance requirements and regulatory framework conditions in the sustainability context
- Sustainability metrics, environmental and social indicators as well as ESG analysis approaches
- Methods of sustainability assessment and life cycle assessment (LCA)
- Design of integrated sustainability and risk management strategies
- Governance and accountability systems for sustainable corporate management
- Linking sustainability, controlling and risk management
- Design of sustainability and risk reporting systems

- Principles of system resilience in ecological, economic and social systems
- Identification and analysis of climate risks, vulnerabilities and exposures
- Development of adaptive climate adaptation strategies and measures
- Systemic modeling of interactions between climate, society and infrastructure
- Risk and adaptation assessment based on scientific indicators and scenarios
- Governance and management approaches for resilient systems
- Strategic decision-making under uncertainty and trade-offs
- Effectiveness and transformation analysis of resilience and adaptation measures

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

- Preparation for the study trip: thematic and organizational planning
- In-depth study of international energy & sustainability management
- Visits to companies, projects, trade fairs or universities in the destination country
- Specialist discussions with practitioners, authorities, project developers or research institutions
- Observation of international management and sustainability strategies
- Intercultural communication and professional conduct in an international context
- Follow-up: presentation of results, reflection and transfer into the studies

- Introduction & advanced study in 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 a project context
- Implementation of small practical tasks or micro-projects
- Reflection on work processes and self-organization
- Feedback and review rounds to improve results

- Fundamentals of professional scientific communication and principles of clear, accessible presentation
- Audience-oriented writing and presenting for expert and non-expert audiences
- Storytelling methods for the structured and narrative preparation of complex content
- Design and analysis of media formats
- Visualization of data and arguments using digital tools
- Communication ethics, transparency and responsibility in conveying science-related topics

- Big data fundamentals in energy & sustainability management
- Data quality, data governance, ETL processes and data pipelines
- Exploratory data analysis & feature engineering for large data volumes
- Modeling methods
- Big data tools & ecosystems

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

- Identification of relevant research fields and derivation of a precise master's thesis research question
- Structuring of theoretical foundations and definition of key concepts and variables
- Development of an initial research design including method selection and feasibility
- Analysis of data and source availability as well as ethical and organizational framework conditions
- Discussion and presentation of the planned master's thesis project

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

- Methodological grounding
- Quality criteria of empirical research
- Methodological risks & bias in research
- Presentation and peer discussion of the research design

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

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

- Scientific dissemination
- Scientific presentation skills
- Publication ethics & quality assurance

- Preparation of the master's thesis
- Scientific writing & argumentation
- Preparation for the final examination

- Fundamentals of strategic communication in change and innovation processes
- Communication as a driver of organizational resilience
- Narratives, storylines and framing in transformation contexts
- Stakeholder and participant communication in the energy & sustainability field
- Communication in crises, uncertainties and conflicts
- Psychology and dynamics of resistance & acceptance
- Communication requirements in innovation and change projects

- 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 analyzing stress and resources (work-life balance)
- Mechanisms of gender roles, bias and structural disadvantage as well as practical approaches to gender-inclusive design of work and learning environments
- Practical exercises on team building and collaboration in international settings

- Mediation in an organizational context
- HRM-related fields of conflict
- Methods of collaborative leadership
- Mediative intervention techniques
- Facilitation methods for conflict situations