uni'alumni 2013_ENG

center in the community has been unbe- lievable. It has been great for our image. The master plan for the medical center calls for around 400 million euros in investments over the next 25 years. What are the main points of the first construction phase? The goal is to concentrate patient treat- ment, research, and administration in their own particular areas. As far as patient treatment is concerned, the new Cancer Clinic is the first step. The second will be to expand the surgery department and modernize the operating rooms. Third, we will establish a large mother- child center. At the same time, we will be constructing buildings for various fields of research. We managed to secure almost 75 million euros in third-party research funds in 2012, but we have long reached the point where our current facilities are no longer sufficient. How do you see the future of sports medicine at the medical center? We need to come to terms with our doping past, and it will need to be dealt with in a legal context. But that is not the problem of the medical center’s current management. We aim to focus on exercise medicine – with regard to diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, or cardiovascular diseases. It is not the job of a university to help athletes jump higher and further. To sum things up: Where does the medical center stand today, and where do you want to go with it? We want to play in the Champions League. I believe that we will witness a reorganization of university medicine, because the federal government will start providing funding again. The purpose of this funding won’t be to provide develop- mental assistance on the periphery, how- ever, but to make the best even stronger. We need to be among the top five in Ger- many – and we are. » www.uniklinik-freiburg.de “It is the degree program I always wanted to do myself, but back then it didn’t exist,” says Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kessler, professor of business taxation, on the Master of Business Administra- tion (MBA) in International Taxation at the Center for Business and Law (ZBL) of the University of Freiburg. That’s why he established it in 2004. The four-semester program allows tax con- sultants with sufficient professional experience to specialize in the theory of international taxation. Several grad- uates of the program now hold impor- tant positions at companies like Bayer, ThyssenKrupp, or Dr. Oetker. The concept is called “blended learn- ing” and combines web-based trainings on the Internet with week-long on cam- pus phases held every two months. All important information is assembled for the students on an online platform: from lecture notes and sources to learning modules with multiple-choice or cloze tests. In addition, the platform features virtual conference rooms in which work groups can meet. The on-campus phases help the students to consolidate and extend what they have learned. The courses are taught by top-notch lecturers. Preparing for the Tax Consultancy Examination For students who wish to specialize in national taxation and have not yet taken the tax consultancy examination, the Center for Business and Law and the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University also offer a degree program with online elements. The Master of Arts in Taxation enables students to combine a master’s pro- gram with the state examination, while at the same time gaining professional experience. “It was clear early on that I would only be able to study alongside a full-time job. Taxation in Freiburg is a young degree program that allows me to do this and already has a good repu- tation,” says Matthias Reetz, auditing assistant at the BDO auditing firm and taxation student. A special feature of the seven-semester program is that it allows a flexible integration of modules designed to help students prepare for the tax consultancy examination – they can take the courses at external institutions and have the credits recog- nized for their master’s degree. Lars Schönewerk » www.zbl.uni-freiburg.de The director of the programs is Wolfgang Kessler, professor of business taxation. Theory of Taxation on the Internet and on Campus CONTINUING EDUCATION: “TAXATION/INTERNATIONAL TAXATION” The degree programs at the Center for Business and Law are designed for tax consultants with professional experience or students who wish to prepare for the tax consultancy examination. Photo: Mehlhorn 31

uni'alumni 2013_ENG

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