Centre for risk managers and new methods in banking risk research
The Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation (FIRM) is affiliated to the Society for Risk Management and Regulation in which renowned banks as well as service providers, associations and the state of Hesse are involved. Based at both Frankfurt universities, FIRM promotes research and teaching in the fields of risk management and regulation – the Goethe University‘s House of Finance is responsible for guiding research; the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is responsible for teaching. Two high-ranking representatives of the two universities, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang König from Goethe University‘s House of Finance and Prof. Dr. Udo Steffens from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, have assumed the leadership of the institute as presidents. In 2009, the Institute approved support for the first research projects; teaching began in summer semester 2010 with a part-time Masters Programme in Risk Management & Regulation.
One of the direct lessons of the financial crisis is that there are needs for action in the area of risk management for every bank. An overview of the teachings and research on this topic make clear the need for a consolidation in Germany. As a whole, there is a broad, but rather fragmentary, service in bank-specific risk management. For this reason, as an academic centre, the Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation is pursuing a clear objective:
- in teaching - training and continuing education of risk managers
- in research - practice-oriented research on topics of risk management and the regulation
Cross-university structure
The Frankfurt financial centre stands for excellent and practice-oriented research and teachings in the field of economics and finance, as impressively demonstrated by the research institutions that have located here, such as the House of Finance of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. For the first time, FIRM is now uniting the expertise and networks of both universities into one platform. With a split headquarters at both the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, FIRM has a cross-university presence.
Within the institute, both universities cooperate in organising their research and teachings. As presidents, two high-ranking representatives of the two universities (Professor Wolfgang König of the House of Finance of the Goethe University and Professor Steffens of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) have assumed the leadership of the institute. The structures of the institute are explicitly directed at an integration of both further research and training institutions and representatives of the financial system.
Training of future top managers in risk management
The Executive Masters Programme in Risk Management & Regulation comprises 60 ECTS credits during studies lasting 18 months. A first academic degree is one of the admission requirements for this course which was launched during summer semester 2010 at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
Any job in the field of risk & regulation requires related professional experience in the financial sector as a result of which the Executive Master is primarily geared towards employees working in banks, other financial institutions and supervisory bodies who have already gained practical experience in this field. The format of the Master requires at least two years of professional experience prior to admission with the option of completing the Master while pursuing a regular job.
In Juli 2011 the "Masters in Risk Management and Regulation" has received the official accreditation by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditiation (FIBAA) and is now recognized by German standards as "Master of Science" (MSc). "A further confirmation of our work," said Prof. Dr. Udo Steffens, President of the FIRM and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management which is entrusted with the implementation.
Learn more about the Executive Masters Programme in Risk Management & Regulation with Frankfurt Schools YoutTube-Video:
