The Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences has maintained a cooperation with the PBC School of Finance at the Tsinghua University in Beijing for more than 20 years now. The abbreviation PBC stands for People’s Bank of China, i.e. for the Chinese central bank. Similar to the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences, the faculty focuses its teaching and research on areas related to central banking – mainly monetary policy, financial markets and supervision – and likewise has around 400 students enrolled. In addition, like Hachenburg, it is a campus university which offers its students board and lodging on site. In contrast to the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences, however, it not only provides education for the central bank and bank supervisory authorities, but for other public and private banks, too. 

© PBC School of Finance

From late October to early November 2024, three professors from our University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg had the pleasure of delivering a series of lectures in English for MA students on the topic of “Central Bank Administration”. Oliver Kruse kicked off the three-week programme with an insight into the digital transformation taking place on capital markets in Europe and the implications from the supervisory perspective. Andreas Kremer then took over to introduce and explain the European monetary union, the European banking union and plans for the capital markets union. Erich Keller brought the cycle of lectures to a close with a set of presentations dealing with measures taken by the ECB and banking supervisors in the context of the sovereign debt crisis, the financial crisis and the pandemic.

With the US presidential election taking place during Erich Keller’s stay, Jingfang Li from the Dean’s office of the PBC School of Finance bet with him shortly before the election that Donald Trump would triumph, while Mr Keller was of the opinion that Kamala Harris would win the race. The stakes were high, with the loser set to sing a song in front of the MA students during a lecture.

© PBC School of Finance

The last photo shows Erich Keller losing his bet in the lecture room, enthusiastically singing the European anthem “Ode to Joy”, in which Friedrich Schiller celebrates the classicist ideal of the brotherhood of man. A number of the master’s students were familiar with the musical piece composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1823 and clapped along. After his performance, Mr Keller mentioned that he would not be entering any more wagers with Jingfang Li. In a similar bet, he had already gambled on the wrong person in the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in November 2016.

© PBC School of Finance

For all three Hachenburg professors, it was an intensive exchange of ideas and experiences with the PBC School of Finance students and colleagues. Valuable impressions and perspectives were gained for their work at the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences.

Furthermore, the three professors are already looking forward to next April and the start of the 2025 round of the student exchange programme between the two universities when ten students from the PBC School of Finance visit Hachenburg for a week. In return, ten German students will take part in a summer school in Beijing for two weeks in July 2025.