Fudan University

This course helps the students to acquire basic knowledge about bank and fintech business models and risks; understand the functioning of contemporary financial technologies and discuss their merits and flaws; evaluate the impact of digitalization and fintech firm entrants on the banking sector.

This course introduces banks and their business models and discusses how trends in financial technologies affect the banking sector. The course combines academic rigour and literature review with practical insights from case studies, e.g., based on financial statements and industry reports. 

First, we will discuss the role of banks in the financial system and why they exist. We briefly introduce the business model of banks and take a closer look at their balance sheets. We focus on the different aspects of how banks are managed and issues relating to banks’ asset and funding structure and then analyse the various risks they are exposed to, their measurement, and how banks manage these risks. 

Second, regarding FinTech and digital disruption in banking, we will develop a conceptual framework that guides us in thinking about innovation in banking and briefly introduce the financial technologies which enable respective innovation and disruption and the policies around them (e.g., Open Banking/PSD2). We then focus on analysing the business model of new fintech firm entrants competing with incumbent banks and how the use of financial technologies enhances banks’ business models. We will cover fintech lending as a complement or substitute to traditional bank lending. Finally, we peruse applications of distributed ledger technology in banking and financial markets, such as blockchains and smart contract based financial protocols, and discuss how they disrupt traditional financial intermediation processes.

This course provides students with fundamental financial concepts and theories as well as the applications in making corporate financial decisions. Part I introduces basic concepts in finance such as financial assets, opportunity cost, PVs, FVs, and NPVs. Part II demonstrates how to make firm investment decisions based on the calculation of project PV and other criteria. Part III explains why the opportunity cost of capital (the required rate of return, or the discount rate) is determined in the security market, or, the CAPM. Part IV discusses financing decisions, mainly how to financing with debt and equity and decide the optimal capital structure. 

Dynamics in the Chinese financial markets has attracted much international attention. This course provides an understanding of how the Chinese financial markets originated and developed, what reforms have been done, the Chinese characteristics, and the challenges and difficulties in future reforms. Starting with a comprehensive introduction, the course covers the major financial markets in China, including the central bank and the banking system, the security market and the foreign exchange market. The topics discussed for each market include the fundamental concepts and theories; the history and facts in China; a comparison of the domestic and international systems; examples and cases; and future reforms. 

The course aims at introducing the culture system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including the basic theory (yin-yang and five elements, viscera and their manifestations), basic skills (tongue and face diagnose), basic practice (diet therapy, moxibustion, scraping, cupping, TCM aromatherapy) and qigong(Baduanjin ). This course will provide you with an in-depth exploration of traditional Chinese medicine culture and learn how to use TCM knowledge in your daily life. You will learn about the correspondence between food and internal organs and how to apply this knowledge to improve your diet. Furthermore, you will delve into the concepts of Chinese medicine meridians and acupuncture points, master the art of brewing traditional Chinese herb teas and creating scented bags, and experience the renowned Chinese medicine fitness practice of the Baduanjin .

The course introduces the fundamental system and main principles, particularly the legal systems and the practice related to inbound investment and outbound investment of China after the Reform and Opening Up in 1978, as well as the interactions among foreign investment laws, other domestic laws, and international investment agreements. Topics: history and source of underlying international investment law, the primary substantive principles and standards which serve to protect investors and investments under international investment agreements, such as most-favored-nation treatment, national treatment, fair and equitable treatment, expropriation and nationalization, investment insurance and dispute settlement as well as wider issues relating to the criticisms of the investment treaty arbitration system. 

This course is to introduce Chinese and international students to the general knowledge of renewable energy (RE), including global energy needs; RE sources and potential; processes for RE generation, usage, storage and transportation; local applicability; and current frontiers of developments, to then guide students to more specialized areas of technical, environmental or policy-based aspects, with special focus on system integration and sustainable development. The general knowledge includes basic concepts in energy and energy systems, types of energy and their supply and demand, and major categories of RE sources and potential. The course will then move on to bioenergy, introducing various categories such as energy crops, agricultural and industrial waste, municipal waste, and algae as RE feedstock, and outline the related thermal, physical, chemical and biological processes. The material will then be examined through integrated lenses such as i) process optimization, ii) integration into existing energy and economy network, and iii) balanced sustainable development objectives.

This course introduces some of the key themes and concepts common to ancient Chinese philosophy and Greek philosophy, such as nature, wisdom, and knowledge, have often been discussed and studied in their own terms. We wish to bring the two traditions of thought together and see what happens when one meets her doppelganger.

We examine and compare some important themes and concepts common to both ancient Chinese philosophy and Greek philosophy. We will discuss in turn “saint and sage”, “knowing and ignorance”, “nature”, and “change”. Each week’s class consists of two lecture sessions (one Chinese and one Greek) and a subsequent discussion session.

The course aims to introduce Chinese traditional culture to students through Chinese Kungfu training experience, improve their blood circulation and physical fitness, have basic self-defense method, and have experience of Jing ( Spirit ), Qi ( Air ), Shen ( Concentration of Mind ) in Chinese Kungfu.

Chinese Kungfu, (also known as Wushu or martial arts) is one of the most well-known physical arts of traditional Chinese culture which is also probably one of the earliest and longest-lasting sports using both brawn and brain. Based upon classical Chinese philosophy, Kungfu has developed as a unique combination of exercise, practical self-defense, self-discipline and art over its long history. It could be divided into two types: "external Kungfu" and "internal Kungfu". In external Kungfu, you exercise your tendons, bones, and skin. In internal kungfu, you train your spirit, Qi, and mind.

This course discusses why some countries are rich but others are poor from the perspective of institutional economics. It follows Douglass North and asks why, under certain institutions, the private return of economic activities is lower than the social return. This question is addressed by studying recent development economics literature with a focus on property rights, contract institutions, taxation, and corruption. In addition, it introduces a variety of methodological approaches to address a number of empirical questions, such as what is the value of political connection in Indonesia, does third-party reporting reduces pollution in India, and why some countries have more complicated government hierarchy whereas others do not. The course builds critical-thinking skill through reading the most recent empirical development economics literature and participating in class discussion. 

This course will provide a high-level introduction to Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism by focusing on the doctrines of four pivotal philosophers in that era, namely, the Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi), Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming. Apart from discourses on their theories of metaphysics, moral cultivation, and human nature, their viewpoints will also be constantly put into comparative perspective in order to further examine the uniqueness of their philosophical reasoning.