Sports, Culture & Event Management

- Event typologies and classifications
- Event planning models and planning stages
- Event life cycle
- Stakeholder analysis
- Event idea generation
- Event logistics and operations
- Event evaluation

- Specific characteristics of the international sports market
- Fundamental concepts and theories of international sports and sports management
- Structure of the sports system in international and comparative perspective
- Globalization and global governance in sport
- Changing values, diversity, inclusion, and gender issues in sports management

The course will build on the approaches to value-based controlling, utilizing:
- Zero based budgeting
- Performance measurement
- Contribution margin calculation

Concepts examined will include:
- Basic budget planning
- Classification in the planning process
- Assessment of organization and project success
- Actual vs. target comparisons
- Key performance indicators

Students gain fundamental insights into various fields of cultural management and deal intensively with the central tasks of cultural management. These include: Fundamentals of cultural policy, economic characteristics of the cultural sector (profit and non-profit), different financing and funding concepts, current cultural mediation and cultural education practices, audience development and change management as well as different cultural leadership models. These aspects are not only considered in an international comparison, but also in their mutual interdependence and are intensively examined using case studies. All of this is done using an approach that is critical of discrimination and sensitive to diversity.

The course combines learning through outdoor and indoor components with keynote speeches and reflection:
- The development of teams in their compositions
- Target perspectives and risks (work-life management)
- Leadership in a team
- Organization of cooperation
- Social coherence
- The assessment of roles
- Potential for conflict including causes and solutions

The course presents:
- An overview of the digital marketing tools currently in use
- The framework conditions when using digital marketing
- The special challenges regarding interaction and fast pace in digital marketing
Based on case studies, current best practice digital marketing campaigns are discussed, and own marketing concepts are designed.

- Planning, organization, and implementation of the program
- Meetings and discussions with experts from sports, culture, and event management
- Visits to foreign trade centers, embassies, and international institutions (e.g. Goethe Institute)
- Participation in courses at partner universities developing teams in their compositions

- Understanding projects and structured project management
- Project lifecycle (selection, initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling, closing)
- Project scheduling (scheduling software, manual scheduling techniques)
- Project management methodologies

- Essential concepts and elements of leadership in a modern business setting
- Fundamental approaches to leadership (trait, skill, behavioral, and situational leadership)
- Emerging approaches to leadership (Authentic Leadership, Servant Leadership)
- Understanding and labeling one’s own views and outlooks on leadership
- Developing and applying leadership skills
- Most important characteristics and features of leadership in sports, cultural and event organizations
- Different approaches and understandings of leadership

- Fundamental concepts of strategy and strategic innovation (general strategy)
- Key concepts of strategic positioning and general competitive strategy frameworks for industry analysis. (Michael Porter)
- Innovation strategy for creating unique products, services, and market positions (Blue Ocean Strategy)
- Tools for translating strategic vision into organizational action (The Balanced Scorecard, and others)

⦁ The meaning of culture
⦁ Points of view and perceptions
⦁ The cultural filter and the concept of the window
⦁ Assumed normality and unmet expectations
⦁ Stereotypes and their impact
⦁ The cultural iceberg model
⦁ Cultural dimensions, with a focus on collectivism and individualism
⦁ Intercultural competence and dialogue, with a focus on the developmental model of intercultural sensitivity
⦁ The link between culture and communication
⦁ The personal iceberg metaphor
⦁ Defensive communication styles (coping stances) versus congruent communication
⦁ Active listening and empathy
⦁ Self-awareness and conscious communication

In an increasingly diverse and digitally connected world, cultural institutions face both challenges and opportunities in reaching and engaging audiences. Against this background the seminar explores innovative strategies that cultural institutions carry out for building meaningful relationships with current and potential audiences and creating public value.
Through a combination of theoretical insights, practical case studies and expert talks, the seminar will examine how cultural organizations expand their reach, foster DEIB, and create lasting impact within their communities. It will also be explored which societal, political, organizational and economic obstacles cultural institutions face during this process. Topics will include audience segmentation, digital engagement, innovative mediation concepts, community building strategies, accessibility and barrier reduction, public value creation and evaluation methods. Participants will gain tools to better understand audience needs and behaviors, and to design innovative outreach initiatives in the analogous and digital sphere that are both sustainable and socially relevant.

This course addresses the behavioral foundations and development strategies in sport organizations through both individual and organizational lenses, with a particular focus on how behavior impacts leadership, performance, inclusion, and change. It introduces key concepts in individual behavior, including motivation theories, and examines group dynamics and team leadership, and organizational-level behavior, including leadership theories and political behavior within sport organizations. An additional focus is placed on organizational culture, organizational development frameworks, change management theories, resistance to change, and communication strategies during transformation processes. Contemporary issues and the impact of globalization on organizational behavior in sport are also critically discussed.
Case studies are used to integrate theory with practice.

- Introduction to event venue management
- Overview of clusters of event venues
- Features of selected clusters of event venues
- The significance of architecture and the concept of space
- Stakeholders of event venues
- The question of construction costs
- Interaction between construction and business
- The lifecycle of event venues
- Planning, financing and construction of event venues
- Market and demand analysis as a basis
- Site factors and site selection
- Development of financial concepts, business plans
- Strategic and operational management of event venues
- Application of strategic management methods to event venues
- Successful strategic positioning of event venues in the marketplace
- Interaction of strategic management and operational management of event venues
- Challenges in the operational management of event venues (including facility management)
- Special features of conference and congress infrastructure
- Special features of infrastructure in the leisure industry (e.g. garden shows, waterfront development)

The opportunities offered by widespread digitization and technological advancement play an increasingly central role in the cultural sector. Therefore, this seminar explores the evolving landscape of cultural production, dissemination, and experience in the age of digital transformation. Participants will critically examine how digitality and the processes of digitization are reshaping cultural institutions, artistic practices, and audience engagement. Main themes circle around topics like opportunities and limitations of the digitization of cultural heritage and creative content in general, the role of immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in cultural institutions and projects and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on artistic creation, curation, and interpretation. Through theoretical frameworks, case studies, expert talks and hands-on exploration of digital tools, students will gain insight into both the possibilities and limitations of digital spaces in cultural contexts. Ethical considerations – such as accessibility, data privacy, authorship, and cultural representation – will be critically reflected upon throughout the course.

Key concepts underpinning sport and social development are presented and critically discussed. The potential social outcomes of sport will be presented, and the conditions for positive outcomes discussed. The different forms of sport-based social initiative will be presented, and concrete steps in their planning and delivery will be outlined.

- Introduction to human resource management in an event setting, e.g. the ‘pulsating organization’
- Recruitment, selection, training and development of the event workforce
- Motivation and retention of the event volunteers
- Aesthetic and emotional labor in the event industry
- Moral, ethical and legal aspects of human resource management in an event setting incl. e.g. working conditions of the event workforce

- Structure, content and function of research proposals
- Phrasing and contextualizing research questions
- Interdisciplinarity as opportunity and challenge
- Establishing the current state of knowledge and systematically evaluating the literature
- Closing and contextualizing the research gap
- Managing information and knowledge
- Choosing and justifying appropriate research methods
- Quality criteria of empirical research in social sciences
- Research ethics and data protection
- Academic writing

To optimally prepare students for challenges in professional life, practice-oriented tasks are worked on in groups, preferably based on assignments from partners in business or public institutions, or through field experience gained under the supervision of the course instructor. Students contribute their previously acquired knowledge and apply it to projects. In addition to deepening and enhancing their subject-specific expertise, complementary competencies such as social skills, teamwork, problem-solving and decision-making competence, risk management, and budgeting competence are also fostered.

Based on a client briefing, students work independently on the assigned projects, receiving guidance from the course instructor only when necessary. Planning, coordination, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation, and final reporting are carried out by the students. The role of the course instructor is focused on project coaching.

- Critical reflection and scholarly discussion of research-related issues within the context of the individual Master’s Thesis
- In-depth analysis and peer exchange on personal challenges encountered during the research process
- Facilitation of collaborative learning processes and reciprocal academic support throughout the development of the Master’s Thesis

The course will focus on the following points:
- Future of sport, culture and events in terms of importance
- The use of marketing tools in projects
- Scientific analysis of marketing campaigns in practice
- Current trends in international business in both theory and practice
- Economic, political and social impacts
- Industry and R&D activities
- Digital developments
- Creation and evaluation of trends, fashions, booms
- Work-life management

- Differences and interfaces between qualitative and quantitative social research with a focus on sports, culture, and event management
- Development of research design and research planning
- Sampling strategies and sample selection in qualitative and quantitative studies
- Instruments for qualitative and quantitative data collection
- Methods of data analysis: qualitative content analysis, factor analysis, regression analysis
- Examples of empirical studies from sports, culture and event management

- Generative AI as a toolbox for Students
- Basic understanding of Generative AI like Large Language Models (also reasoning models)
- Deployment of AI Agents
- Perception of Gen AI contents through the lens of (pop-) culture
- Ethical implications

The Master’s Thesis is a scientific, application- and problem-oriented written work with a clear connection to the subject areas and specializations of the study program. The research question developed by the student is addressed independently in a scholarly manner, without external assistance, using properly cited sources and appropriate tools. This approach ensures that students are capable of addressing a problem both scientifically and in an application-oriented way. As part of the colloquium, students receive support and guidance in writing their Master's Thesis. The selection of the topic, the structuring of the work, and the planning of the schedule are to be carried out independently by the students. This process particularly involves critical engagement with potential research questions and hypotheses. Supervisors provide direction and support throughout this process. Scientific methodology and formal presentation are discussed during individual coaching sessions, along with issues related to time management.

- Critical reflection and scholarly discussion of research-related issues within the context of the individual Master’s Thesis
- In-depth analysis and peer exchange on personal challenges encountered during the research process
- Facilitation of collaborative learning processes and reciprocal academic support throughout the development of the Master’s Thesis
- Preparation for the oral defense of the Master’s Thesis, including the presentation of key content, lines of argumentation, and methodological decisions

- system’s thinking and complexity
- regenerative design vs. sustainable development
- planetary boundaries
- impact of SCEM activities on planetary boundaries
- C2C design
- regenerative management principles
- different reporting approaches and their strength and weaknesses
- psychology of climate change & collapse

A large proportion of cultural offerings are part of the so-called third sector. They are civil society organizations, pursue public welfare purposes, contribute to social change and in some cases exhibit characteristics of alternative forms of organization. Governance structures are examined, including the roles and responsibilities of boards and the challenges of managing volunteers and other stakeholder expectations.
The seminar will also consider financial structures of non-profit organizations and different revenue sources and address challenges of financing, also regarding the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic values. The seminar will analyze financing strategies from the public hand to crowdfunding. Special emphasis is placed on impact analyses and their potential for organizational development and the search for cooperation and financing partners.
Students will analyze real-world examples of non-profit organizations to understand practical applications of governance principles and fundraising strategies. Future directions in non-profit management in sports and culture will address innovation in fundraising and digital transformation.

- Terminology of Risk Management
- Fundamentals of Risk Management in the Event Context
- Legal Frameworks and Standards
- Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
- Structural, Technical and Organizational Safety Measures
- Crowd Management
- Emergency Management
- Application and Reflection (Analysis of Real-World Case Studies)

Key concepts underpinning global sports governance – including autonomy, neutrality and structural issues – are presented and critically discussed. Principles and concepts of good governance are discussed, and students reflect on the practical implementation of such standards. The overall structure of global sports is likewise presented and analyzed.

Cultural governance has different systems and levels of action around the world: Boards play a role in the Anglo-Saxon world, cultural policy in European countries as well as in some former colonized countries. In democracies, they share the same concerns such as participation and representation, organizational development, social change and democratic principles. However, governance can also be used as an ideological instrument, as can be observed in illiberal democracies. The seminar deals with the systematic categorization of forms and norms of cultural governance at the field level and at the level of individual organizations. Questions of transformation and current social and political challenges provide the context do understand the role of governance in the arts world.

- critical thinking as a transformative tool for analyzing and reshaping sport and cultural management practices.
- foundational theories from critical sociology, culture and sport management to analyze and explain how power, ideology, and inequality shape decision-making and stakeholder relationships in current managerial praxis
- ethical dilemmas and political dimensions of stakeholder relations to explore tensions between market-driven factors and social responsibility
- human rights as a critical framework for governance and inclusion to analyze how participation, accessibility, and equity can be undermined by institutional norms and global inequalities
- current practical examples from the fields of sports and culture that require a critical approach

What is dramaturgy?
– The internal structure with a focus on storytelling
– Storytelling from the perspective of neuroscience
– The external structure
– Dramaturgical models with regard to narrative tension

Staging
– Transmedia storytelling
– Creativity techniques for event staging
– Practical development of a staging concept through group exercises
– Staging opportunities for the event manager

The Script

New forms of event staging – digital and technological effects
– The emergence of new event formats
– Social media marketing as an event tool

- Introduction to foundational texts on media usage
- Iconography and oral traditions
- Historical understanding of writing systems
- Writing press releases and announcement texts (flyers, posters, brochures, etc.)
- Public speaking (radio, television, corporate videos, etc.), presentation skills, welcoming speeches, and lecture delivery
- Innovative idea distribution as a competency in academic training