Englisch - Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Universität ...

CeRiMa: Center for Risk Management
Risks and risk management have
always been a core issue for economists
and researchers, not least since
the current economic and financial crisis.
The University of Paderborn has
teamed up with businesses in the Ost -
westfalen-Lippe region to respond to
the demand for research in this field
by setting up a dedicated teaching and
research center.
CeRiMa is attached to the Faculty of
Business Administration and Economics
and conducts applied research into risk
management for small and mediumsized
enterprises. Established on June
1, 2010, it is managed by Prof. Dr.
Bettina Schiller, chair of Banking and
Finance. Current research areas
include:
www.upb.de/cerima
Risk management in the SME sector:
SMEs face a large number of risks, the
nature of which is often quite different
from the risks facing major global corporations.
So far, little research has
been undertaken on developing a risk
management concept specifically for
SMEs. A new research area, “Risk
Management for Entrepreneurs”, will
be launched in the course of 2011 in
response to increasing demand from
SME businesses for strategies for corporate
succession.
Risk prioritization: Businesses face a
large number of short- and long-term
risks and therefore have to prioritize
when it comes to dealing with these
risks. There is, however, no efficient
and effective method for doing so.
CeRiMa is working to close that gap
in research.
Fuel and commodity price risks: These
days fuel prices are typically subject
to unpredictable fluctuations, which
is a major risk for logistics companies
whose business success stands and
falls with the price of oil. Fuel price
risks constitute a specific area of
research, as do the risks associated
with operating renewable energy
plants. A new research area, “Market
Price Risks in Agriculture”, will be
added to the CeRiMa agenda in 2011.
Other services and teaching activities:
Besides research, CeRiMa also provides
valuable services for businesses. The
Center is hence very interested in building
relationships with the private sector
to ensure its research remains relevant
in practice. It designs and conducts
empirical studies on risk managementrelated
issues, and offers seminars and
lectures for businesses that are interested
in gaining first-hand insights into
the research activities in this field. In
the 2010/11 winter term CeRiMa also
began to offer courses and seminars
on risk management for students, an
activity the Center plans to continue
and extend going forward.
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
CeRiMa: Center for Risk Management
Above: The CeRiMa team (from left): Prof. Dr. Bettina Schiller (Director)
Below (from left): Dr. Peter Karl Becker, Christian Brockschnieder M.Sc., Dr. Christian Brünger, Diplom-Ökonomin Christina Jerger (until March 2011),
Stephan Mund MBA, Philipp Peitz M.Sc., Dipl.-Wirt.-Inf. Philipp Rustemeier
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