Microcredentials Course Offer

Course form

Lecture

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

none

Course Description

Learning outcomes

The overriding goal is to foster knowledge and skills re entrepreneurship. After successful completion of the module, students

• understand challenging entrepreneurial contexts,
• perceive entrepreneurial activities as a meaningful career perspective
• apply specific entrepreneurship methods and tools such as Business Model Canvas and analyze markets and competitive situations
• evaluate business decisions and assess (market) information
• develop an individual attitude towards entrepreneurial activity

Contents

• Introduction to Entrepreneurship
• Recognizing opportunities and generating ideas
• Feasibility
• Developing an effective business model
• Industry and competitor analysis
• Assessing a new venture’s financial strength and viability
• Building a new-venture team
• Getting financing or funding
• Unique marketing issues
• Importance of intellectual property
• Preparing for and evaluating the challenges of growth
• Strategies for firm growth / franchising

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Tuesdays, 11:30-15:30 (UTC+2), from September 21st until February 1st

Blended learning: asynchronous approach (all content available at ILIAS) combined with live sessions to discuss the case studies and to answer any queries

Even if you cannot join the live sessions, you can still take part for this course. In this case, please let the lecturer know that you take part asynchronously only.

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment

Online exam via e-assessment or oral exam via online conference

Places available

10

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Bernhard Wach: bernhard.wach@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Seminar

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge in human resource management and business organization is recommended.

Advanced knowledge in human resource management is also recommended.

Course Description

Learning outcomes

By completing, the module students dispose of the following skills: They…

• are able to explain the characteristics of the international human resource management (IHRM) in contrast to the national oriented human resource management (HRM).
• are able to describe the central issues of the HRM in an international context.
• have the ability to understand and describe the effects of the internationality of companies on the various areas of activity of the HRM.
• are capable of analyzing fundamental problems of the HRM and deriving strategic and operational measures.
• are able to apply what they have learned in practical case studies.

Contents

• introduction and basics of IHRM: group work related to the delineation between HRM and IHRM on the basis of scientific articles
• cultural context of IHRM: cultural comparison on the methodical basis of the Hofstede- & GLOBE model
• organizational context: standardization vs. localization of HRM practices
• IHRM in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, alliances, SMEs
• sourcing for global markets: approaches to staffing, the roles of expats, selection criteria of expats, dual career couples
• international performance management: control and performance appraisals
• international training: development, careers and talents; pre-departure, on assignment, re-entry programs and issue (resolution)
• international compensation: comparison of different assignment packages including simplified calculation
• international industrial relations (unions, European Union, codes of conduct) and trends/future challenges (e.g., security and safety, role of non-governmental organizations)

Interactive involvement and group work is a key feature of the course. Yet, due to the online course design certain interactive features will be constrained; potentially feasible in online format are guest lectures of business professionals (tbd)

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Mondays, 15:45-19:00 (UTC+2), from September 20th until January 31st

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment type

Written examination (1.5 hours)

Places available

10

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Bernhard Wach: bernhard.wach@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Lecture

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

None

Course Description

Learning outcomes

• Students can explain basic terms in the context of taxation of individuals, corporations and business partnerships.
• They are capable of describing the procedure of the determination of the income tax, corporation tax and trade tax.
• They are able to explain several types of legal forms connected to the legal consequences.
• They are able to apply their knowledge in tax cases recognizing the fiscal problems and assigning the correct legal consequences.
• They can explain the problems of the double taxation and the steps in relation to their reduction.
• They can assess tax regulations.

Contents

• company profit taxes: income tax, corporate tax, trade tax
• taxation of national companies regarding various forms of organisations
• fiscal configuration (for example tax group, transfer of company assets,restructuring)
• basics of the international corporate taxation like double taxation, less taxation, double taxation agreements and European law
• taxation of foreign investors in Germany (inbound investments)
• taxation of international activities of domestic investors (outbound investments)
• determination of profits (transfer prices, determining of the business success)

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Mondays, 9:45-11:15 (UTC+2), and on Tuesdays, 15:45-17:15, from September 20th until February 1st

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment type

Presentation = 50% and written examination (60 min) = 50%

Places available

3

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Cornelia Kraft: cornelia.kraft@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Seminar

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

None

Course Description

Learning Outcomes

Students understand financial risks linked to international trade and cross-border investment. This class enable students to do a risk assessment and to hedge financial risks like currency risk, interest rate risks and credit risk by using various financial instrument in spot and forward markets.

Contents

• Exchange rate systems
• Balance of Payment and exchange rate parities
• Foreign exchange market
• Hedging of currency exposure by using forwards, Futures and options
• Cross Currency Swaps
• International Finance (Factoring, Forfaiting, Assets Backed Securities, Leasing)
• Methods of international payments (documentary collection, letter of credit, guarantees)
• Merger and Acquisitions
• Crypto Currencies and Blockchain Application

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Wednesdays, 15:45-19:00 (UTC+2), from September 22nd until February 2nd

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment type

Written or oral exam

Places available

3

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Rainer Lenz: rainer.lenz@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Lecture

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

None

Course Description

Learning outcomes/skills

At the end of module, the students are able to differentiate between the different aspects of the international marketing. They are able to apply the 4 Ps in the international environment and to analyse and evaluate the different needs of the markets in order to achieve marketing goals. Finally, they are able to create marketing strategies for international companies.

Contents

• International Marketing as a coordinative task
• Forms of market internationalisation (market selection and evaluation)
• Market entry strategies (waterfall and shower strategy)
• Specialties of the international marketing mix (4 Ps)
• Degree of standardisation and differentiation in marketing
• Coordination of cultural distances of the markets
• The use of customer satisfaction analysis as the basis for a strategy building process
• The use of CRM in international marketing in regard to the coordination process

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Wednesdays, 8:00-11:15 (UTC+2), from September 22nd until February 2nd

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment type

Written examination of 90 minutes or presentation of 80 minutes plus free discussion of 10 minutes. The evaluation is according to the whole content of the 24 lessons during the semester. Points are given in the written exam for keywords, math problem and the general impression if the student has understood the topic.

Places available

15

Enquiries about course content

Bernhard van Lengerich: bernhard.van_lengerich@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Seminar

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge in the field of production and logistics recommended

Course Description

Learning outcomes/skills

On successful completion of the module, students are able to

• present the principles of production and logistics networks in a global environment,
• deal independently with issues from the field of production and logistics management under realistic conditions (time pressure, uncertainty and changing economic framework conditions), 
• draw up, assess and present alternative courses of action based on company and environmental analyses, taking into account the interdependencies between the functional and design areas of an internationally operating company, 
• select the methods and techniques customary in production, logistics and general business administration and use them on a case-by-case basis,
• formulate strategic goals and take them into account or adjust them in the context of repeated operational decisions,
• recognise interactions between internal and external influences and take them into account in the planning and decision-making process,
• organise themselves in a team while taking project management into account and log the outcomes of planning and decision-making,
• present and defend project outcomes in a professional manner to other team members and outsiders.

Contents

Operational planning, decisions & control in procurement, production and distribution:

• Raw material procurement (supplier, quantity, just in time (JIT), warehouse, incoming inspection)
• Transport (warehouse, wholesaler, retailer, end-customer)
• Human resource decisions (recruitment, redundancy, training)
• Prices (major customers, end-customer differentiation)
• Haulier vs. transport company (comparison of quotes, delivery priorities)
• Sales (price, customer service)

Strategic planning, decisions & control in procurement, production and distribution:

• Basic orientation (make or buy (MoB), e-commerce, internal process optimisation, suppliers, order quantities, delivery cycle)
• Establishment of regional warehouses (construction, purchase, cooperation)
• Strategic alliance (cooperation with suppliers of merchandise)
• Logistics service provider (short- or long-term commitment)

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom on Mondays, 11:30-15:15 (UTC+2), from September 20th until January 31st

Credit Points

6 ECTS

Assessment type

Combined examination composed of project work, lecture and presentation (in the case of a simulation game) OR Written examination OR oral examination

Places available

3

Enquiries about course content

Jürgen Donner: juergen.donner@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Lecture (synchronous, 4h per week),
Practice (synchronous, 2h per week)

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics

Study Type

Graduate (Master level)

Prerequisites

Knowledge in programming with Python, in statistics, and in data science

Course Description

Learning Outcomes

Students have acquired the competence to transfer practical problems to the conceptual world of artificial intelligence and to solve them using intelligent agents and corresponding algorithms.

• Students understand the mathematical basics of the procedures and algorithms and can adapt them.
• They know the advantages and disadvantages of different search and problem-solving strategies and are able to independently select and apply suitable algorithms.
• Students are able to develop software agents for complex stochastic, non-fully observable (multi-agent) environments using Python.
• Students will be able to apply reinforcement learning to real-world problems and understand its basic concepts such as discounting, temporal-difference learning, policies, and value functions.
• Students have practiced scientific working (recognizing, formulating and solving problems), have trained their abstraction ability and have practiced their communication skills through free speech in groups.

Contents

• Intelligent Agents
  • Types of agents
  • Properties of environments
• Problem solving
  • Uninformed and informed search
  • Search algorithms (e. g. A*-search)
  • Full and partial observability
  • Believe-states based search
  • Adversarial search
  • Multi-agent environments and game trees
• Knowledge
  • Knowledge representation for agents
  • Ontologies and semantic networks
  • Inferences (Generalized Modus Ponens)
  • Graphplan
• Uncertain knowledge and probability logic
  • Markov chains
  • Bayesian networks
• Learning
• Rewards
• Exploration vs. Exploitation
• Temporal difference learning
• Experience replay
• Practical exercises in Python (e. g. using Tensor Flow and SPADE)

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom from late September, 2021 until early
February, 2022; The detailed timetable will be published in August/September, 2021

Credit Points

5 ECTS

Assessment type

Written exam or oral exam

Places available

5

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Schwede: christian.schwede@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Lecture

Faculty

Faculty of Minden Campus

Study Type

Graduate (Master level)

Prerequisites

 None

Course Description

Learning outcomes

Students who have completed this module know different formal methods of modelling sequential and distributed systems. They can evaluate these systems using examples and analyse and model them using a suitable method. They know about the applicability and limitations of these methods and of modelling in general.

Depending on the structure and characteristics of a system, they can independently carry out modelling with formal languages, automata, graphs, Petri nets. They work with the mathematical terminology of propositional and predicate logic.

They can also formulate exemplary requirements for software or hardware models in the specification languages LTL and CTL and carry out simple model checking. Furthermore, the students know the basic methodical procedure of software verification according to the Hoare calculus and are able to apply it to simple examples.

Content

• Basic concepts of modelling
• Modelling with formal languages and automata
• Graph-theoretical models
• Modelling with Petri nets
• Propositional logic
• Predicate logic
• Examples from Model Theory
• Introductin to Model Checking
• Linear Temporal Logic (LTL)
• Computation Tree Logic (CTL)
• Programme verification according to the Hoare calculus

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom from late September, 2021 until early February, 2022; The detailed timetable will be published in August/September, 2021

Credit Points

5 ECTS

Assessment type

two graded e-assessments

Places available

5

Enquiries about course content

Birgit Christina George: bc.george@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Seminar

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

At least level B2 English skills

Course Description

Learning outcomes

Students can design plastic parts with respect to the special behaviour of the material and the possibility to mold the part. They can select the proper material for a dedicated application with the knowledge of their behaviour in the process and the later use. They know special mold techniques and can engineer a simple mold.

Content

• Plastics as engineering materials, special properties
• Production process to mold plastic parts
• Process simulation
• Injections molds (general design, heat control, demolding techniques)
• General design of plastic parts

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom from late September, 2021 until early February, 2022; The detailed timetable will be published in August/September, 2021

Credit Points

5 ECTS

Assessment type

To be announced

Places available

3

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Jaroschek: christoph.jaroschek@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Lecture (2 hours per week) and seminar (2 hours per week)

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

General knowledge in mechanics & dynamics is recommended

Course Description

Learning outcomes

The students have in-depth knowledge of the power and energy
requirements of motor vehicles depending on their respective usage profiles and real cycles. They understand the various theoretical driving cycles and have mastered the simulation tools for the evaluation of energy requirements for both theoretical and real driving cycles of motor vehicles. The students are familiar with the various drive configurations and components of electrically powered vehicles as well as the different drive concepts of hybrid vehicles and understand in particular the differences between the energy conversion systems of conventional and electric power train systems. They can simulate driving cycles of electric vehicles based on the characteristics of energy storage and energy converters through well-founded knowledge of the vehicle‘s longitudinal dynamics and can design the power train of electrically driven vehicles as required. The students can evaluate the possibilities and limitations of electromobility with regard to the respective application profile of the particular vehicle and know the requirements of electric vehicles when connecting to the electrical power supply.

Content

• Longitudinal vehicle dynamics: power and energy requirements
• Vehicle power train of conventional drive systems
• Vehicle power train of alternative drive systems
• Energy converter in the vehicle power train
• Hybrid drive systems
• Driving cycles: theoretical driving cycles / real driving cycles
• Recording and evaluation of real driving cycles
• Energy balance based on a self-driven driving cycle
• Comparison of mobile energy storage systems
• Storage of electrical energy
• Charging and running down characteristics
• Requirement-based design of electric vehicles
• Primary energy supply / energy flows
• Potential contribution of electric vehicles to networked energy storage, to offset peak loads in electricity grids

Timetable

Weekly live sessions via Zoom from late September, 2021 until early February, 2022; The detailed timetable will be published in August/September, 2021

Credit Points

5 ECTS

Assessment type

Written online exam

Places available

30

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr.-Ing.: Herbert Funke: herbert.funke@fh-bielefeld.de

Course form

Project seminar

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics

Study Type

Undergraduate (Bachelor level)

Prerequisites

The course is most apt for students in their third or fourth year of studies in a STEM discipline with some experience in stochastics and mathematical modelling, though there are no specific prerequisites. Some experience in spreadsheet software and/or other basic software tools as well as basic economic knowledge is also desirable.

Course Description

Learning outcomes

Students gain insights in various methods of quantitative risk analysis and risk management, with applications in, e.g., financial portfolio optimization, asset liability management, and statutory company risk reports. They apply their knowledge by working on small projects and case studies, using MS Excel and possibly other suitable software tools. Moreover, they present their work to other participants in the course. Thus, they also gain key competences in team work and communication skills.

Content

Selected topics in quantitative risks analysis and risk management, such as financial portfolio optimization, value-at-risk of a company, and risk management by financial derivatives with practical examples and case studies. Thematic priorities are fixed with the students in the first course hours.

Timetable

Self-organized project work; appointments by agreement with the lecturer

Credit Points

5 ECTS

Assessment type

Project work and final project presentation

Places available

2

Enquiries about course content

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Claudia Cottin: claudia.cottin@fh-bielefeld.de