MA - Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Management

Foundation Module: 11 CREDITS

Course	Credits
1. Philosophy	4
Philosophy is the study of basic knowledge of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. The course equips students with general theoretical knowledge and fundamental principles that direct cognitive and practical activities. Therefore, Philosophy should be taught before the principal subjects in the program.
2. Foreign Language	4
This course aims to developing knowledge and skills in English, especially English for Business. During the course, students participate in group discussions, case studies, role-plays, writing and listening exercises to practice skills of problem identification, analysis and solution, together with communication skills in English. This is helpful for students in working environment.
3. Research Methodology for Business	3
This course introduces a fundamental understanding of scientific research methods, the process of approaching, designing, and conducting empirical research and analyzing problems in the fields of business and finance. The course is practically oriented, so the theory parts are associated with exercises and hands-on activities to ensure that students can immediately apply the knowledge being imparted. On that basis, the course will help students orientate the selection and development of research ideas in sustainability management and sustainable finance into a feasibility study proposal for a graduation project or any scientific report.

Core Module: 24 CREDITS

Course	Credits
4. Advanced Corporate Finance	3
Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course that is required for all MBA students. It is therefore designed to cover those areas of finance that are important to all managers whether they specialize in finance or not. At the end of the course, you will be able to analyze capital structure of a firm or evaluate an investment project. In order to reach this goal, we will cover the following topics: - Corporate financial and governance management; - Investment decision; - Risk and return; - Market efficiency, corporate financing and dividend policy. - M&A and corporate restructuring
5. Circular Economy and Sustainable Development	3
The course will cover the core principles of a circular economy and sustainable develoment. The course aims to provide students with a rich understanding of the merits and challenges of transitioning from linear economy to a more resource-efficient and circular economy for sustainable develoment. Drawing from multiple disciplines, including engineering, management, econmy and sustainability sciences, students gain knowledge of the core and fundamental principles of the circular economy and development sustainability as well as is also provided circular economic models being applied on the world. Besides, it will focus on real-world applications, testing the feasibility of circular systems and analyzing their design so that students synthesize and apply the knowledge gained.
6. Business and the Environment	3
This course will explore current environmental challenges and opportunities facing firms. It will provide students an overview of the relation between doing business and environmental sustainability. It aims firstly to give students a look at main drives of environmental changes, secondly to the shifting roles of government and non-government agencies, and lastly to the business responsibilities as well as opportunities. The course focuses on lifting the skill sets of students in three groups: the knowledge of the intersection of environmental sustainability and business, strategic planning, and critical-thinking skills. Critical thinking is the foundational skill for strategic planning, and strategic planning is the lens through which we will study business and environmental sustainability.
7. Corporate Sustainability Management	3
Sustainability management matters because we only have one planet and we must learn how to manage our organizations in a way that ensures that our planet is maintained. The course is designed to introduce you to the field of sustainability management. This is not an academic course that reviews the literature of the field and discusses how scholars think about the management of organizations that are environmentally sound. It is a more practical, professional course organized around the core concepts of management and the core concepts of sustainability. We will examine one or two cases in management and/or sustainability along with some background material designed to help you answer questions posed at the end of each case exercise. The cases always pose practical issues for decision makers to address—but issues that are best addressed with a firm grounding in the literature of management and sustainability.
8. Environment: Law and Policy	3
The course provides basic concepts of environmental law in the global context, international legal regulations on environmental protection, the process of formation and development of Vietnam's environmental protection law, the content of the law on environmental protection, sub-law documents providing guidelines for the implementation of the environmental protection law, regulations on handling and sanctioning violations of environmental regulations and policies in Vietnam.
9. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment	3
Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is a planning process that aims to predict, evaluate and mitigate the impact on the environment of a proposed project, program or policy prior to its commencement, and to approve only environmentally acceptable undertakings. ESIA is hence a mechanism for avoiding or mediating some of the potential costs of development. The purpose of this course is to help students develop a comprehensive and critical understanding of the theory and practice of ESIA in the world including developing countries. The course examines ESIA in general and in specific jurisdictions. It also examines the technical and policy issues involved in the production and the appraisal of environmental impact assessments. Using a broad definition of “environment”, various components of ESIA are addressed, with an emphasis on principles, legal and institutional frameworks, stages in the process, and specific analytical techniques. Additionally, the course will focus on the ecology of human societies and the social impact of development on communities and regions. The ecology of human societies is about connections between ecological and human social, cultural, and organizational processes. It is a very broad and general subject that crosses numerous scientific disciplines. Together, readings and lectures will provide you with a “big picture” of what human ecology and social impact are about from an interdisciplinary point of view. This learning process will help us generate a new appreciation for the complex world in which we live.
10. Principles of Sustainable Finance	3
The transformation towards a sustainable future requires a financial system that is aligned with sustainable development. As crucial factors in the financial system, businesses and policymakers are increasingly integrating environmental and social (E&S) sustainability considerations into their decisions on finance and investment as well as financial policies. Sustainable finance practice has been not only a trend but also becoming the new norm for businesses because the search for profit has been more affected by limited resources and climate change. This academic-based but practice-oriented course enables students and professionals to build a solid understanding of the nexus between finance and sustainability, covers diverse aspects of sustainable investement and provides tools to assess risk and financial performance when environmental and social factors are integrated.
11. Corporate ESG Reporting	3
This course provides students with an understanding of sustainability reporting by organizations. Topics include an overview of what organizations currently report about their Environmental, Social, and Economic performance, and what organizations should be reporting about their sustainability performance. Regulation of sustainability reporting, greenwashing, and external assurance of sustainability reports are also covered. The main objective of the course is to equip students with the knowledge required for the understanding as to how to measure, evaluate and disclose social and environmental corporate performance. The course will emphasize the interplay between sustainability strategy, organizational architecture and performance, providing the practical knowledge and insights for embedding sustainability into the corporate daily practice. Students will gain familiarity on how to disclose sustainability information using several international reporting frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and pertinent assurance practices to be applied in relation to sustainability reporting.

Specialization Module (Choose either module) 12 CREDITS

Course	Credits
- Module 1: Sustainable Finance

12. Technology of Internet of Things	3
This course will introduce the basic knowledge of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the potentials and challenges of IoT application in practice. Students will be equipped with theoretical knowledge and practical application of IoT Technology in the fields towards Industry 4.0 and sustainable development from which students could apply the technology Internet of things in practice in different applications.
13. Impact Investing	3
Impact Investing is a discipline which seeks to generate social benefits as well as financial returns. From boutique beginnings, Impact Investing has surged into the mainstream of global money management, now affecting trillions of dollars of assets. The greatest demand is for strategies and products that promote social good while having expected returns competitive with non-impact options. This finance elective will provide a detailed introduction to this emerging sector of impact investing, equipping students with vital, practitioner-focused skills in the following areas: - Basic of investment management and diversification strategy; - Equity, debt and alternative investment structuring for early- through late-stage social ventures; - Assessment of impact and financial value for companies and investment portfolios; - Legal and governance strategies to preserve mission-focus throughout organizational scale; - Roles of investment funds and philanthropy in building the impact investing marketplace.
14. Climate-related Financial Risk Management	3
Climate change and its negative impacts on economic activity and social life have become increasingly present and intensifying on a global scale in the last decade of 2010s. Science generally recognizes climate change as the cause of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, tropical hurricanes, etc., incorporating the latent risks of business operations disruption and property damage. Therefore, accelerating the transition to a low-carbon or carbon-neutral economy is an ambitious goal of many countries. In the financial sector, it is becoming growingly important to identify, measure and manage the financial risks associated with climate change. This module supports individuals working in many fields, including: risk managers in financial institutions; analyst and portfolio manager; corporate risk managers; specialists in financial supervisory organisations, government agencies and NGOs working on policies that are directly or indirectly related to financial risks posed by climate change. The course content is organized into open topics, encouraging students to actively participate in discussions, analysis and assessment of financial risks of economic organizations / financial institutions due to the impacts of the climate change. Students will also learn methods for measuring and disclosing the information of climate-related financial risk.
- Elective course: select 1 out of 3	3

15. Applied Corporate Valuation	3
Determining the value of a firm or a firm’s securities together with understanding relevant value drivers represent essential capabilities of key decision makers in firms. Therefore, the course “Applied Corporate Valuation” focusses on this essential functional capability to provide students with the know-how of mastering valuations in a business setting. Generally, the objective of this course is to develop the intuition, tools and skill sets to value companies and their outstanding securities. The principal focus will be on the valuation of equity in public and private corporations. A strong emphasis will be placed on the application of these concepts in real-world situations. The class discussions will cover the analysis of past financial performance and the projections of future performance. We will examine the estimation of cash flows and discount rates in the treatment of discounted cash flow valuation models, followed by the analysis of the application of various enterprise and equity value multiples (such as EV/EBITDA, EV/EBIT, P/B, P/E). We will also examine a number of additional valuation issues within the context of mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and other special situations. As this course builds upon skills developed in previous finance and accounting courses, students should be familiar in the areas of financial statement analysis and capital budgeting. In addition, they should be familiar with introductory concepts in statistics.
16. Sustainable Consumption and Production	3
Sustainable Consumption and Croduction, or SCP, are integral activities in the circular economy. In fact, throughout the history of human civilization development, people, since ancient times, have known to reuse or recycle tools. That ability has evolved over time with the advancement of technology, culture, society, and even religious beliefs. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen natural resources over-exploited, climate change depriving and threatening the livelihoods of millions of people in dozens of countries across continents. Therefore, responsible and sustainable consumption and production are urgent requirements for all industries and fields. This module will shed light on the challenges and prospects of sustainable production and consumption and the impact of changing production-consumption behavior on the sustainable development of the economy; and introduces vital local and global approaches, policies, and frameworks aimed at ushering in more sustainable patterns of consumption and production. The module is structured into themes that focus on specific areas such as cleaner production, sustainable tourism or food consumption. Students will engage in active discussion on issues ranging from energy efficiency to climate-smart agriculture, from SPC tools, policies, and international agreements to changing individual behavior.
17. Advanced International Finance	3
The course examines important issues in international finance, both corporate and asset pricing, using a mixture of classes involving lecture/discussion and the analysis of cases. After a review of international finance fundamentals, we will examine international capital budgeting decisions, which require an understanding of exchange rates and the determination of an appropriate cost of capital. To do this, our valuations will use both discounted cash flow analysis, adjusted net present value analysis, and various multiples. We will also explore forecasting, currency risk and political risk. Finally, the course discusses various tools to manage these different types of cross-border risks.
- Module 2: Sustainable Management

18. Pollution Prevention and Control	3
This course provides students an introduction to issues related to environmental pollution, with emphasis on causes, pathways, risks, mitigation and prevention, thereby, develop a basic understanding of pollution prevention and how pollution prevention programs can be implemented in industry and application of engineering methods to pollution prevention. We also examine the principles of pollution prevention, environmentally friendly products, processes, and manufacturing systems; study of the impacts of wastes from manufacturing and post-use product disposal, environmental cycles of materials, sustainability and principles of environmental economics. By the end of this course, students will have a good understanding of the dynamic nature of human- environment relationships, and the multidimensional characteristics of environmental pollution and pollution prevention, through the use of Vietnamese and international examples
19. Sustainable Business Strategy	3
The course is designed for students who aspire to: - learn the relevance of sustainability to their specific industry or business function (e.g. marketing, finance, operations), - understand the interaction of business, government, and civil society in addressing society’s sustainability challenges, and engage with business to advance government or NGO initiatives. - pursue sustainability – related career roles in the private sector This course seeks to develop students’ understanding of business sustainability and put concepts into practice. More broadly, the goal is to provide students with a strong foundation to become the next generation of responsible business leaders. Students will assess activities from different functional areas of business in the context of developing sustainable practices, including firm’s social, environmental, and economic performance. Diverse viewpoints regarding opportunities available to business through sustainability will be explored in the context of alternative strategies for the firm. Toward that end, classes will combine analysis of lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and interactive activities.
12bis. IoT Technology	3

- Elective course: select 1 out of 3	3

16bis. Sustainable Consumption and Production	3

20. Creativity and Innovation Management	3
The course introduces the fundamentals of creativity and innovation management. This course is designed to introduce learners to the concepts, opportunities and challenges as well as the role of creative and innovative management in organizations. The readings and discussions will focus on concepts and frameworks to analyze how companies create, commercialize, and capture value from innovative products and services. In addition, this course also provides students with the techniques and tools to form and support creative and innovative activities in organizations. Learners will be aware of the necessary conditions for creativity and innovation as well as the types of innovation in the organization. The subject of Creative and Innovative Management is related to previous subjects such as Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership and Strategic Management.
21. Entrepreneurship Management	3
The module provides students with foundational knowledge about entrepreneurship. This knowledge is divided into four parts. Part 1 will introduce the prospects of entrepreneurship. The content of this section covers issues such as the nature and importance of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial thinking, entrepreneurial intentions, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The second part provides knowledge related to creating a business and launching a business. The analysis of business ideas and opportunities, legal aspects, business plans, marketing, organization, and finance will be discussed in detail in this section. The third part deals with finding and exploiting sources of funding for businesses. Finally, part 4 will outline solutions for management, development and international market search for businesses.

Graduation and Internship 13 CREDITS

Course	Credits
22. Topics on Sustainable Energy	3
The course will cover students with knowledge of sustainable and renewable energy forms, including: solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, bioenergy, tidal energy, hydroelectricity, and hydro Energy. The course will provide knowledge about the origin, basis of formation, exploitation technology and effective use of these forms of sustainable energy. In addition, students will be equipped with theoretical and practical knowledge when taking advantage of each type of renewable energy in economic issues, management and environmental protection towards sustainable development from which they can operate. use in sustainable energy management.
23. Financial Econometric Modeling (SF) – Assignment; or Business Data Analytics (SM) – Assignment.	3
This course focuses on the theory and applications of financial time series analysis, especially in volatility modeling and risk management. Students are expected to gain practical experience in analyzing financial and macroeconomic data. Real examples are used throughout the course. The topics discussed include the following: (1) Analysis of asset returns: autocorrelation, business cycles, stationarity, predictability and prediction, simple linear models and regression models with serially correlated errors; (2) Volatility models: GARCH-type models, GARCH-M models, EGARCH model, GJR model, stochastic volatility model, long-range dependence; (3) Forecasting evaluation: out-of-sample prediction and backtesting; (4) High-frequency data analysis (market microstructure): transactions data, non-synchronous trading, bid-ask bounce, duration models, logistic and ordered probit models for price changes, and realized volatility; (5) Nonlinearities in financial data: nonlinear and Markov switching models; (6) Continuous-time models: simple continuous-time and diffusion models, Black-Scholes pricing formulas and jump diffusion models; (7) Value at Risk and expected shortfall: Riskmetrics, extreme value analysis, peaks over threshold, and quantile regression; (8) Multivariate series: cross correlation matrices, simple VAR and VEC models, pairs trading, factor models and multivariate GARCH models.
24. Final Project	7

UEH Master

Foundation Module: 11 CREDITS

Core Module: 24 CREDITS

Specialization Module (Choose either module) 12 CREDITS

Graduation and Internship 13 CREDITS

Total credits: 60 CREDITS