Prerequisites
This is a 100-level introductory course with no prerequisites.

Course Description
During the course students will be introduced to various topics and scenarios in business communication both in speaking and writing: how to conduct a successful interview, how to manage business meetings, and how to give engaging presentations. It further looks at topics on communication barriers due to differences in decision making, levels of directness, formality, and varying cultural norms. It also aims to give students opportunities to collaborate in project work, and to carry out interesting surveys, to produce visuals and group presentations creatively and interactively.

Topics

• Identifying areas of business communication
• Barriers to successful communication, resulting from differences in formality, culture, and styles in decision-making
• Meetings and negotiations
• Writing, editing and proofreading of business emails, reports, and proposals (in writing)
• Conducting surveys, collecting information for presentations (in speaking)
• Proposals and business introductions (in speaking)

Learning Outcomes

• Identify various styles, expectations and barriers to successful business communication
• Plan, conduct and reflect on business meetings and negotiations
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in business emails, reports and proposals; edit and proofread own work.
• Set up and carry out short-term projects in groups
• Plan and deliver a short presentation in groups; provide feedback on presentations delivered by others

Assessment
Students are assessed based on the planning, delivery and structured feedback on short presentations, produced along specific written and spoken criteria, following specifications of form and content. (50%)
Their management and participation in business meetings and negotiations will be monitored (25%).
Their production of emails, reports, and proposals will be assessed (25%).

Reading
M. E. Guffy, D. Loewy (2008): Business Communication: Process & Product (7th Edition), South-Western Cengage Learning
M. S. Islam (2018): A Practical Book of Business Communication, Bangladesh

Miklós Földes is a free-lance teacher and academic tutor with a Master’s degree, originally from the Faculty of Arts, at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Since 2019 he has been an academic tutor for the Language Centre at the University of Oxford, has taught at Budapest’s IBS, ELTE, and worked as Academic Manager at Oxford Summer Courses. Between 2008 and 2017 he lived and taught in the United Kingdom. He has been a Business English teacher since 2006, and a foreign language assessor since 2000.

Prerequisites
This is a course with no prerequisites.

Course description
People are captivated by brands. Apple, Harley-Davidson, LV. the list goes on and on. What makes individuals fall in love with brands? What factors contribute to the success of these brands? What strategies do companies use to create memorable brand experiences? Such issues will be addressed in this course. This course is designed to assist students in improving their marketing abilities and raise their understanding of marketing topics from the perspective of brands.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, the students will be able to

• understand and deal with problems related to managing existing products and brands, developing new products, and executing marketing decisions on new products
• critically think about and analyze rands and product management challenges.
• obtain practical perspectives and ideas to manage brands in different sectors
• understand the process of building prestigious brands

Topics – Readings/cases

• Introduction to Branding: Strategic Insights
  • Chapter 1, Keller
  • YouTube Video Cases: 1. What’s a Brand?
  • 2. What’s branding?
  • 3. Starting the Branding Process - Building a Brand, Episode 1
• Brand Equity, Brand Elements for building brand equity
  • Chapter 2, Keller & Swaminathan
  • Chapter 4 & 5, Keller & Swaminathan
  • YouTube Video case: How Apple and Nike have branded your brain
• Brand Positioning
  • Chapter 2, Keller
• Integrating Marketing communication to build brand equity
  • Chapter 6, Keller & Swaminathan
  • Box item from the book - discuss the role of Media
  • Co-ordinating Media to build brand equity
• Building Prestigious Brands: Masstige Model
  • Article: Masstige Model and measure for brand management, European Management Journal
• Case study
  • Ivey, Canada case Luis Vuitton in Japan & Video cases
• Masstige marketing for building brand prestige and measuring Mass prestige of a brand
  • Research article 1. Toward a masstige theory and strategy for marketing.  European Journal of International Management
  • Research article 2.  Mass prestige value and competition between American versus Asian laptop brands in an emerging market, International Business Review
• Branding in the Digital Era
  • Chapter 7, Keller & Swaminathan
  • Reading: 8-T framework for Artificial Intelligence-driven branding, Inter J of Consumer studies
• Invited Guest Lecture
  • Online/Real classroom lecture by an expert for an hour.
• Case / Article /Video case Presentations

Pedagogy
The course uses a mix of lectures, case and article discussions, exercises and a presentation. A set of readings/cases are assigned for most of the classes. Students are expected to read them before the class. The seminar approach is found most suited for a course that examines in greater depth a functional area of marketing. Also, group work suits well for these forms of learning. Six groups will select cases/article/video case for in-depth study and class presentation.
In addition to the classes, the course will include two online sessions, one in the week before and one in the week after the course. Information about the time of the sessions as well as the link will be provided a couple of weeks before the course.

Assessment
Students planning to obtain ECTS credits for the course will write a 45-minute in-class examination. Grading will be based on two written examinations (50%) and contributions to classwork (50%).

Reading Materials

• Recommended textbook: Strategic Brand Management, 5/e. Kevin Lane Keller, Vanitha Swaminathan, Pearson Education.
• Ivey, Canada case: Luis Vuitton in Japan
• Journal Articles:
  • Paul, J. (2019). Masstige model and measure for brand management. European Management Journal, 37(3), 299-312.
  • Deryl, M. D., Verma, S., & Srivastava, V. (2025). 8‐T Framework for Artificial Intelligence‐Driven Branding: A Strategic Typology. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 49(1), e70002.
  • Paul, J. (2018). Toward a ‘masstige’ theory and strategy for marketing. European Journal of International Management, 12(5-6), 722-745.

Dr Justin Paul holds three Doctoral Degrees. PhD in Marketing from the University of Brighton, England; PhD in International Business from IIT Bombay, and an honorary doctorate from Calcutta. He currently serves as Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Consumer Studies (IJCS), a consumer research journal with the highest impact factor in the world. A former faculty member of the University of Washington, he is the Provost & Dean of the AACSB & EQUIS accredited NM Institute of Management Studies, India. He is also a professor of PhD & MBA programs at the University of Puerto Rico, USA, and holds/held honorary or distinguished visiting professor positions at the University of Reading, UK, University of Versailles- France, Aarhus University, University of Porto-Portugal, Deakin University, Indian Institute of Management (IIM-K), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, IE- Madrid, University of Chicago, WU-Vienna, Universities in Japan, Korea, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Croatia, China, Kosovo, and Lebanon.
Ranked among the World’s top 72 highly cited Professors in Business & Economics subject areas, his citations are increasing at a record rate of 1000 per month, with an H Index of 90., He has served as MBA Director & AACSB Co-Ordinator at Nagoya University, Japan, and as Department Chair & Director-Executive Education at IIM. Dr. Paul introduced the Masstige model and measure for branding, the CPP Model for internationalization, the SCOPE framework for small firms, the 7-P Framework for International Marketing, and the TCCM Framework for literature reviews. He has taught full courses in Denmark, France, Lithuania, and Poland & serves/ed as keynote speaker at 100s of conferences including UVSQ -France, GAMMA, EMOK-Hungary, KSMS-Korea, Polish Academy & often in India. He has been an invited speaker in over 500 conferences held in different countries, including AEMARK-Spain, MIT Boston, Fudan & UIBE, China, UAB- Barcelona and Madrid, IE & CEU Madrid, and Uni of Valencia. He has published three best-selling case studies with Ivey & Harvard. He is known as an author/co-author of books such as Business Environment, International Marketing, Services Marketing, Export-Import Management, and Management of Banking & Financial Services by McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press & Pearson respectively. He is/was an Associate Editor with the Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, European Management Journal, & Journal of Strategic Marketing.

Large-scale investment projects require you to make complex financial decisions, for which you need a broad skillset from business planning through capital budgeting to financing. 

Prerequisites
This is a 100-level introductory course with no prerequisites.

Course description
The course aims to give an overview of all the essential corporate financial principles, skills, and challenges that financial decision-makers would face in case of large investment projects. Besides the necessary methodological background, the course will take a rather practical approach in the form of an extensive, real-world-based case study. Participants will thus become familiar with the various tasks they have to solve and the interdependencies they have to be careful about, in order to make sound financial decisions. Teaching methods will include complex case studies on the topics below as well as extensive group work (analysis, presentation, discussion).

Topics

• Introduction to basic corporate financial principles (shareholder value maximization, NPV, IRR, cost of capital, stand-alone principle, sunk costs etc.)
• Financial perspective of accounting statements (project (free) cash flow, EBIT, net working capital, capital spending, depreciation etc.)
• Business planning (market analysis, forecasts, evaluation of information, identification of key drivers, analysis of relationships between variables etc.)
• Understanding technical project content and its reflection in valuation
• Preparation of pro-forma financial statements
• Project financing and cost of capital (equity and debt, leverage, CAPM, WACC etc.)
• Debt financing and implications (cash flow waterfall, covenants and related calculations etc.)
• Sensitivity analysis

Learning outcomes

• understand the basic objectives and principles of financial decision-making
• be able to prepare a business plan for an investment project
• develop skills on synthesizing and translating relevant information for financial decision-making
• understand the requirements and implications related to debt financing
• be able to assess the economic attractiveness of a project
• improve professional teamwork, presentation, and argumentation skills

Assessment
Students planning to obtain ECTS credits for the course will write a 90-minute in-class examination. Grading will be based on the written examination (80%) and contribution to class work (20%).

Reading materials
Course notes distributed on the sessions

Marcell Dülk is assistant professor at the Department of Finance and Accounting. He received his PhD in corporate finance and has been teaching and publishing in international scientific journals in this field for several years. He is also a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Hungary, he thus has significant practical experience in firm/project valuation. Formerly, he also worked at the strategy department of Budapest Electricity Plc. He graduated with honors as engineering manager and studied abroad in the U.S. at Indiana University Bloomington’s Kelley School of Business for an academic year on HAESF scholarship.

Prerequisites
This is a 100-level introductory course. Prerequisites: introductory microeconomics and econometrics. 

Course description
Climate change is observed through the lenses of cost-benefit analysis and discounting, uncertainty, and equity. A discussion on the relationship between climate and international security as well as an analysis of fundamental quantitative techniques toward the assessment of climate change complete the policy and analytical dimensions of the course

Topics

• Pollution Control 
• Impact & Valuation of Climate Change
• Pricing of Exhaustible Resources
• Climate and Development
• Optimal Climate Policy and Discounting 
• Uncertainty and Equity

Learning outcomes

• become conversant with the analytical tools and theoretical discussions on climate
• understand why the economies of Global South has priority in COP29 meetings
• be able to identify the effects of climate change in contemporary livelihoods
• learn how to interpret different optimization and simulation methods 
• analyze the economics of climate and its transformation

Assessment
Students planning to obtain ECTS credits for the course will write a 45-minute in-class examination. Grading will be based on the written examination (80%) and contribution to class work (20%).

Reading materials

• Tietenberg Tom and Lynne Lewis. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Pearson
• Education Inc., Boston et al., 9th Edition, 2018.
• Tol, Richard SJ. Climate economics: economic analysis of climate, climate change and climate policy. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.
• Papers assigned to the individual topics (to be announced before the course).

Theocharis Grigoriadis is associate professor at the Department of Economics and the Institute for East European Studies of Freie Universitaet Berlin. Trained as a political economist, he obtained a PhD in Political Science (Political Economy) at the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Economics (World Economy) at Saint Petersburg State University. He holds a Master of Arts in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University.

Target group

• Students from all disciplinary background are invited to participate. No prerequisites are required.
• Participants interested in starting an own company or bringing to market an new idea/technology.

Course description
Business success and competitive advantage are increasingly based on innovation, rather than merely price competition and cost efficiency. Innovating includes also identifying, creating and seizing new commercial opportunities, especially through the creation of start-ups and new ventures. Therefore, managers at all levels and entrepreneurs need to understand the dynamics and mechanisms of innovation. This includes being able to handle the following issues: where do innovative ideas comes from? how can they be transformed into successful products launched on the market? which barriers and opportunities emerge during the innovation process? how can the business network surrounding an innovation or a start-up be developed and exploited to improve the chance of success? how can start-ups and innovations be developed in a socially responsible and sustainable way? 
The course addresses the issues above in both theory and practice. The relevant models and concepts are first introduced by the teacher and then applied by students to a series of practical cases, discussed either in pair or by the whole class. Participants will also train in developing and defending their own start-up ideas in front of panel of peers during an “entrepreneur-venture capitalist” roleplay.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this module students will develop skills enabling them to

• analyze the complex structures and processes involved in product innovation and start-ups in order to identify opportunities and problems;
• elaborate how products and start-ups can create value to developers, entrepreneurs and users;
• identify, evaluate and affect the key actors and resources involved in the complex business networks around innovations and start-ups;
• understand the nature of disruptive innovations and how new ventures enable handling them;
• account for different perspectives on entrepreneurial opportunities, and their connection to responsible entrepreneurship
• formulate, model, plan and present to external parties a business idea.

Assessment
To successfully complete the course, participants will have to prepare, analyze and deliver to the teacher an own case of innovation or start-up process. The final evaluation is based on the class presentation and a term paper prepared in groups.

Enrico Baraldi is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at Uppsala University (Sweden) and is Project manager at PLATINEA – Platform for Innovation of Existing Antibiotics (Sweden). His research covers industrial networks, innovation management, business strategies, academic entrepreneurship and industrial and research policy. He is involved in identifying, developing and promoting solutions to address the challenge of antibiotic resistance, including new economic models to stimulate antibiotics R&D and policy measures against antibiotics shortages.

Prerequisites
This is a 100-level introductory course with no prerequisites.

Course description
The course aims to develop students’ negotiation skills. We’ll do lots of negotiation exercises in class in which students will have to achieve the best outcome on the basis of confidential information with a partner with their own confidential information. The concepts needed to analyze negotiations will be introduced in connection with these scenarios.

Topics

• Distributive and integrative negotiations
• Best alternative to negotiated agreement (BATNA)
• Reservation price and zone of possible agreement (ZOPA)
• Value creation through trades
• The role of information and trust
• Mental errors leading to bad outcomes

Learning outcomes

• know how to prepare for negotiations
• understand the role of conflict and collaboration in negotiation
• be able to identify and employ the most common negotiation tactics
• learn how to deal with difficult negotiators
• be able to deal with your and your partner’s emotions

Assessment
Students planning to obtain ECTS credits for the course will write a 45-minute in-class examination. Grading will be based on the written examination (50%) and contribution to class work (50%).

Reading materials
Richard Luecke: Harvard Business Essentials: Guide to Negotiation. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2003. (recommended) 

Gábor Forrai is professor at the Department of Argumentation Theory and Marketing. Trained as a philosopher, he obtained his PhD at the University of Notre Dame and was a visiting scholar in Oxford, Edinburgh, Frankfurt and Marburg.
János Tanács is associate professor at the Department of Argumentation Theory and Marketing. He has been teaching negotiation for over 15 years on various levels, from beginning courses to advanced skills training programs offered to CEOs.

Target group

• Students from all disciplinary background are invited to participate. No prerequisites are required.
• This course is ideal for students pursuing marketing, business, management, and entrepreneurship, as well as those interested in sustainability and its application in a globalized world.

Course description
In today’s increasingly interconnected and environmentally conscious world, businesses face growing pressure to develop sustainable relationships with their stakeholders. This means considering the economic, environmental, and social impacts of these relationships and acting ethically and responsibly. Business relationships enable exchanges between companies and serve as pathways for organizational, environmental, and societal change. They bring together buyer and seller organizations, along with their employees, for potentially long periods of time, fostering mutual learning and the development of shared norms. The dynamics within and around business relationships can have significant consequences across supply chains and distribution channels, either driving or hindering sustainable development. 
This course introduces the fundamental principles, challenges, and practices involved in building and maintaining sustainable business relationships. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, real-world case studies, and interactive discussions, students will examine what sustainable business relationships are, why they are essential for long-term business success, and how they can be effectively implemented across industries and cultural contexts.

Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, students will be able to:

• Explain the concept of sustainable business relationships and their relevance in modern business environments.
• Analyze the benefits and challenges of implementing sustainability in business relationships.
• Apply frameworks and strategies to build sustainable relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Evaluate real-world cases of sustainable and unsustainable business relationships.
• Reflect on societal, cultural and ethical dimensions of sustainability in business contexts.

Assessment
The assessment for this course is designed to promote collaboration, critical thinking, and communication while maintaining fairness and individual accountability. The final evaluation comprises the following components: Group Presentation and Report, Interactive Group Workshop and Role-Play, Individual Peer Review and Reflection.

D.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.) Ilkka Ojansivu is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland. His research interests include business relationships, business networks, and B2B projects, with a focus on sustainability, interaction processes, institutionalization, boundaries, temporary organizations, and ontology. 

Prerequisites
This is a 100 – level introductory course with no prerequisites 

Course Description
The tourism industry is increasingly recognized not merely as a service sector but as a dynamic field of strategic management. With tourism being one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide, it’s essential to not only grasp the operational side of tourism but also the strategic decision-making processes involved. This course focuses on both, theory and real-world application and aims to provide students with the opportunity to understand the tourism system and its key players, as well as to recognize their role and personal impact within the industry. Hungary, with its rich cultural heritage and growing tourism potential, provides an excellent real-world example of how strategic management can be applied to promote a destination effectively on the global stage and so help enhance its appeal to international tourists.

Topics covered in the course

• Competitive landscape of the international tourism market
• Introduction to relevant service providers in the tourism industry
• Emerging Trends in Tourism and their challenging adaption such as climate change and overtourism 
• Hands-on evaluation of successfully positioned destinations in international tourism

• Group project: Creating and presenting a marketing concept for Hungary as a successful tourism destination in the global tourism market where it can leverage its unique assets to attract international visitors

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students can: 

• understand current issues and trends in the global tourism industry 
• analyze the human and environmental impact of tourism towards sustainable travel 
• develop skills to create and discuss the importance of marketing planning in tourism 
• discuss critically the future of tourism in Hungary 

Assessment
Students planning to obtain ECTS credits for the course will develop a marketing concept for promoting Hungary as a tourism destination in group work and present it to the class. Grading will be based on the depth of content and the technical design of the presentation (80 %), as well as participation in the class discussion of the ideas and results (20 %).

Reading Materials
Course notes distributed during sessions.

Recommended literature:

• Forbes Gaughan M.: (2024) Tourism: Economic Development for any size community, ed.: Independently published 
• Inkson C.:/Minnaert L.: (2022) Tourism Management- an Introduction, 3^rd ed. SAGE 
• Fletcher, J.:/Fyall, A.: Gilbert/D.: Wanhill, S.: (2017) Tourism Principles and Practice, 6^th ed.: Pearson

Gabriele Tragschitz-Koeck is a self-employed entrepreneur with over 30 years of working experience in the field of tourism and leisure management. She has collaborated in several marketing projects, e.g. for the EXPO 2020 in Dubai, UAE and for the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She is senior professor at a Tourism School and College in Vienna, Austria and is lecturing at different universities in Austria as well as in international programs in Malta, Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Holding a Master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management she has published several books on Marketing and CRM in the tourism industry..