22. July '24
A group of five professionals, three men and two women, are standing around a table at Hochschule Coburg, smiling and engaging in conversation. Behind them, two screens display financial graphs and charts in an office setting.
A group of five professionals, three men and two women, are standing around a table at Hochschule Coburg, smiling and engaging in conversation. Behind them, two screens display financial graphs and charts in an office setting.
from Natalie Schalk
A professor from India will pass on their financial expertise to students at Coburg University of Applied Sciences: for the first time, the English-language MBA Financial Management course has invited two experts from BIM Trichy, a university in southern India, as guest professors in the summer semester of 2024 to teach different approaches to company valuation using Bloomberg applications.
War, disruptions on the supply side, rapid technological developments: Many factors influence the development of the financial markets. The valuation of investments can be complex. There are different theoretical approaches for companies, options, dividends or intellectual property such as patents. And what about the valuation of a start-up? “As an investor, you need to know when you should buy, keep or sell an asset,” says Suraj Jadhav. The 37-year-old is studying the English-language Master’s in Financial Management at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and is deepening his understanding of the world of finance. He has just covered the valuation of companies in different settings with a new elective: “Investment Valuation with Bloomberg Applications”, which will be taught by two visiting professors from the Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM Trichy) at Coburg University of Applied Sciences for the first time in the summer semester of 2024.
International round at the Bloomberg Lab in Coburg
For Prof. Dr. V.P. Sriraman and Prof. Dr. Sadrita Deb, this is their first visit to Germany. But how did they get from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu to Coburg in Franconia? It’s actually quite simple: “I met her at a conference in London a year ago,” explains Prof. Dr. Victor Randall, head of the MBA Financial Management course in Coburg. “Her presentation inspired me so much that I thought: We need these professors in Coburg to teach a course on investment valuation with Bloomberg applications.” And now they are all standing in front of two large monitors in the new Bloomberg Lab (International Common Room (ICR) in Room 10 of Building 9), analyzing charts, graphs and figures displayed on large monitors. Bloomberg is a global information service that combines financial software tools such as analytics and statistics with real-time market prices and live financial data. The visiting professors teach corporate finance and valuation in India – and are Bloomberg experts. “All financial companies usually have Bloomberg terminals,” says Prof. Dr. Sriraman. “Bloomberg has many, many functions.” For example, if students start a career as an investment banker, they can use this important tool immediately. The Indian professor smiles. “I hope this course will be really useful to them in their future careers.” Prof. Deb adds: “If they mention on their CV that they are Bloomberg-certified, it will definitely give them an advantage.” The professor explains that her course combines theoretical knowledge of the various valuation concepts, methods and challenges with practical learning by doing. Bloomberg applications enable students to interpret real-time data.
International expertise, Franconian life skills
The ability to assess investments is extremely useful: Shrenik Chowdhari reports: “Assessing assets not only helps me at work, but also in my private life, where I have to make informed investment decisions.” The 27-year-old FM student is also excited to see how he can apply his knowledge during his internship at Allianz. And it will help him with his Master’s thesis, in which he is looking into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Like his fellow student Suraj Jadhav, who is looking forward to his internship semester at BMW, he came to Coburg from India to study FM. Suraj is also currently writing his Master’s thesis. “Studying in Coburg was a real turning point for me, a game changer, because I like nature and it offers a quiet environment where you can just think about yourself, focus on your studies and enjoy nature. And I’ve met quite a few local families. They are really welcoming.”
“Students from India and other cultures should come here because they not only learn interesting subjects, but also acquire important life skills.
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Prof. Dr. Parthasarathy Sriraman confirms that the place is “picture perfect”. There are fewer students and the courses are smaller. From Sriraman’s point of view, this is a clear advantage. However, he also recommends studying here for another reason: “The students become more independent and self-reliant because they have to take care of their diet, they have to take care of their work and also their studies and many other things at the same time.” This is completely normal for German students – but Prof. Dr. Sadrita Deb also sees this as a particular advantage: “Students from India and other cultures should come here because they not only learn interesting subjects, but also acquire important life skills.”
Further information
The FM program offers weekly Bloomberg workshops in the winter semester 2024/25, which are open to all enrolled students. Registration at the FM master’s office in building 5 room 101.
