oikos Finance Academy: the future of finance research, made present

Finance is changing rapidly. A growing number of investors, companies and policy-makers worldwide are slowly, but steadily, recognising the deep mutual interconnections between finance and sustainability. The COP21 agreement of last December and the growing adoption of responsible investment strategies are just examples of this more general trend. We may have finally embarked on the journey towards a financial system more respectful of people, the planet and the future generations.

We are, nevertheless, sailing on sight. Academic research serves as an important navigation system. However, many of the existing financial and economic models are not made for this journey, the outcome of which is still in the dark. The scope and complexity of the sustainability challenges ahead call for a new generation of finance scholars with highly creative, analytical and critical thinking. They will have to question the validity of the current systems and design new compasses made for the future. And this needs to happen now.

The challenge is huge, but there are reasons not to despair. From September 11 to 15 2016, fourteen young scholars gathered in Reading (UK) to discuss their research in the field of finance and sustainability. The occasion was the 6th oikos Young Scholars Finance Academy, co-organized by oikos and the Henley Business School. The aim of the Finance Academy platform is to support young researchers in finance and sustainability to advance their works and expand their international research network. The 2016 edition saw the engagement and support of an outstanding Faculty composed by Professor Jill Atkins (University of Sheffield, UK), Professor Michael Barnett (Rutgers Business School, USA) and Professor Sébastien Pouget (Toulouse School of Economics, France).

The young scholars received constructive feedback on their working papers from both the Faculty and other participants. The discussion topics ranged from the financing challenges for social businesses, to the integration of sustainability criteria in bank lending, to the relevance of low-carbon indices to tackle climate change, to name but a few.

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The learning experience was further enriched by faculty workshops dedicated to important methodological, empirical and practical aspects of academic research. Throughout the Academy, the exchange of suggestions and ideas on sustainable finance continued: casually over dinner; surrounded by a stunning English countryside; or rolling on the Thames during a river cruise.

On September 15, the group finally moved to City of London to join a larger audience of faculty members, practitioners and young scholars at the oikos Roundtable “Academic Research and Sustainable Investing. Seizing the Synergies. The roundtable, co-organized by oikos and the Henley Business School and hosted by UBS, presented a further occasion to identify the main barriers for sustainable investing and explore next steps to strengthen the interactions between academia and practice. As it turned out, the need to further integrate sustainability into finance research – a clear priority on the oikos agenda – resonated strongly with all attendees.

In the tradition of previous academies, the overall event was extremely well-perceived by all the participants and faculty members. “The oikos Finance Academy was one of the best experiences in my PhD so far. I highly recommend it for sustainable finance scholars” said, for instance, Helen Toxopeus from the Erasmus School of Economics (Netherlands). Of the same opinion is also Anna Geddes, from ETH Zürich (Switzerland): “The academy was the perfect forum to gain valuable and constructive feedbacks on my PhD work”. Most importantly, the Finance Academy certainly facilitated the meeting of some extraordinary researchers committed to making a positive impact in the way finance is understood, taught and practiced. And considering the quality of their works, they are already making it.

by Stefano Ramelli, oikos PhD fellow


esg-trading-simulationFinance Academy 2016oikos-roundtable

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oikos International

posted September 30, 2016

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Updates from the oikos Associate – Digital Economy

As the summer passed, oikos Associate Christoph was busy reading, writing and planning. In his position, he joined the management team in mid-July to identify and research the sustainbility challenges connected to the Digital Economy, i.e. the increasing digitalization of many realm of daily life and work.

Christoph shares his progress in this short video. Look forward to interesting new insights into an emerging field.

Watch the video here:

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oikos International

posted September 28, 2016

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Book Fair

Join oikos Lausanne at their book fair. Exchange books, find new ones and take advantage of the principle of recycling. The fair runs every other day from Sep 26 through to Oct 7.

Find more information here.

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oikos International

posted September 23, 2016

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Achieving the seemingly impossible by Chris Taylor

To conclude our recent five-day programme in the Republic of Georgia we did an exercise where a group sits down without using chairs. You may have been part of this yourself. Forming a tight circle, each person sits on the knees of the person behind. Through collective effort, the seemingly impossible is achieved. It’s a lot of fun – often causing surprise and hilarity in equal measures.

It seemed a fitting way to end. The theme of our event was Management Education for a Better World – an in-depth exploration of how we can use collaborative approaches to learning to develop collaborative approaches to solving the world’s challenges.

The event was hosted by Oikos International, the global student movement for sustainability. It was co-facilitated by two students from Austria, Anna Beyer and Julia Weber, whom I have been mentoring for the last two years. We have co-facilitated sessions in New York, Switzerland and at the Paris Climate Talks, all supported by our partners at GRLI who have been keen to support the next generation of responsible leaders. This was by far our longest and most demanding session.

Georgia is an incredibly interesting country. It nestles between continental Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. Not surprisingly its history is rich, its culture is diverse and its traditions are strong. Georgia has been a more or less intact nation since around the sixth century and was introduced to Christianity in the fourth century…

Continue reading the article here.

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oikos International

posted September 23, 2016

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oikos Carbon Credits Game 2016

Participate in oikos Kolkata’s annual event! Read more about the project here.

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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Prague Student Opportunities Event

Meet oikos Prague, learn more about their projects and how to get involved. Find more information (in Czech) here.

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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Fresh Perspective Speaker Series Event with PwC

Amanda Mesluk from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Canada) will share her take on sustainability and the impact it is having on the accounting profession. Find more information here.

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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euforia Training Program for oikos Members

Interested in Social Entrepreneurship? Want to learn methods and tools to transform your ideas into concrete action? Join the eTP for oikos members! Read more here.

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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Information event and Encourage @oikos&Pizza

Get to know oikos St. Gallen and hear from “Encourage – das mutige Containerhaus” who will share the importance of not forgetting one’s vision and values while coping with daily business. Read more about the event here.

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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The oikos Summer School 2016 in Short

The third oikos Summer School took place in Tbilisi; in the heritage country of Georgia, with the theme of “Education for a Better World-Transforming Management Education”.

The Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, better known as Tbilisi State University (TSU), is the oldest university in the Caucasus region. TSU hosted this Summer School for international and Georgian students. The event lasted for 5 days, had 30 participants from 6 countries and was financed by Tbilisi State University, Global Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and PASHA Bank. oikos Summer School was facilitated by COMMIT.

The oikos Summer School 2016 took an in-depth look at the kind of management education we need for a better world. The world faces its biggest ever challenges: climate change, war, mass migration, growing concentration of wealth and power.

Over the course of the Summer School participants had the opportunity to explore their own leadership skills, looked at how they want to develop them and how they wanted to make a difference in the world. They also worked collaboratively with others to design and rehearse new and innovative approaches to management education – changes that can be implemented in their university.

On the first day, after a warm welcome by Ani Lomouri, the president of oikos Tbilisi, oikos International Executive Board Member Levan Pangani talked about oikos and introduced facilitators, Julia Weber and Anna Beyer. Julia and Anna told the participants what layed in store for the next 5 days. PASH Bank’s representative Diana Tigishvili also gave a speech to the participants and highlighted the importance of the project.

The opening ceremony was broadcasted by Imedi TV. During the Summer School participants were involved in different kind of sessions, experienced different learning methods and prepared their own sessions for presentation.

Day 5 was started with the speech of dean of Faculty Economics and Business TSU. Participants introduced  their sessions to the guest audience and shared their reflections to each other. Each participant was awarded a certificate.

Written by: Ani Lomouri 

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oikos International

posted September 19, 2016

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