Current seminar offers
Dear Students,
In the winter semester of 2025/26, the Chair VWL I will once again offer an economics seminar and proseminar—this time on the topic of Industrial Policy and EU Competitiveness. Under the subtitle "Industrial Policy for a Competitive and Future-Proof EU: Economic and Regulatory Challenges", we will explore how forward-looking industrial policy can be designed to sustainably secure the EU's international competitiveness.
A central reference point for our discussions will be the Draghi Report on EU Competitiveness, which was published under the leadership of Mario Draghi in September last year. This report identifies three key challenges:
- “Closing the innovation gap with the US and China”
- “A joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness”
- “Increasing security and reducing dependencies”
These topics serve as examples—the seminar will, like the Draghi Report, cover a broader range of industrial economic and regulatory challenges. By linking theoretical models with empirical studies, we aim to develop and discuss possible solutions together.
To get an overview of the seminar’s content, we recommend reviewing the Draghi Report. The European Commission also presented the “Competitiveness Compass”: a „new roadmap to restore Europe’s dynamism and boost our economic growth”, as recently as January 2025.
The seminar is designed as an integrated proseminar and seminar. As a prerequisite for participation, students should have completed the course Competition Policy and Strategy in the Bachelor's program and Economics of Regulation, Economics of Innovation, and/or Industrial Economics in the Master's program.
Topic allocation will take place in a kick-off event on October 17, 2025, at 2:00 PM in lecture room HS 45. Prospectively on November 21, 2025, you will present the intended contents of your seminar paper in a poster session. The final presentations will take place in a block seminar on February 6 and 7, 2025 (subject to change). Each presentation will be accompanied by a discussant’s response. After the presentations and before the final submission, you will have the opportunity to incorporate feedback into your paper. Attendance at the kick-off event, the poster session, and the final presentations is mandatory. Unexcused absence from any of these compulsory sessions will result in exclusion from the seminar. The final grade will be based on the seminar paper (approx. 3,200 words), the presentation, and the discussant’s response.
You can register via StudIP between July 21 and August 10, 2025. Please register early. Further details on the seminar’s structure and content will follow shortly.
Best regards,
Your Team at Chair VWL I