Education Program "International Finance and Investments" | Інститут міжнародних відносин Київського національного університету імені Тараса Шевченка

Master's educational program

"INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS"

Level of higher education: Second (Master's) level of higher education;

Degree of higher education: Master's degree;

Field of knowledge: 29 – International relations;

Speciality: 292 – International economic relations;

Selective specialized blocks: (1) International investment practice; (2) International financial activities.

Language of teaching and assessment: Ukrainian;

The scope of the educational program: 90 ECTS credits, 1.5 years;

Type of program: educational and professional;

Form of education: full-time.

Dear stakeholders!

We bring to your attention a new project description of the EP "International Finance and Investments" dated December 9, 2022.

We bring to your attention the draft of the updated description of the master's level educational and professional program "International Finance and Investments".

We would be grateful for recommendations, suggestions and wishes regarding the educational program.

Please send your offers:

to the e-mail address of the Department of International Finance: kmf_348@ukr.net
to the e-mail address of the guarantor of the program Pavlo Dziuba: pavlo_dzyuba@ukr.net
by phone of the Department of International Finance: +380 (44) 481 44 89

The purpose of the program:

Training professionals in international economic relations in international finance and investments, who can solve modern complex tasks and problems of practical nature, conduct research and carry out innovations under uncertain conditions and requirements.

Educational program "INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS" (International Economic Relations)

The components of the "International Finance and Investments" program are:

MANDATORY COMPONENTS:

1. International Financial Management

Discipline is aimed at the study of relations that arise and develop in the process of financial management of multinational enterprises, in particular during periods of wars and military conflicts; their development and implementation of financial strategies for attracting, distributing and redistributing financial resources and asset management; forming the optimal global capital structure and achieving the maximum positive effect of financial leverage; implementation of the corporate dividend policy. It covers fundamental material in the field of international financial management, in particular the concept of the time value of money, individual criteria for accepting international projects, sources of attracting financial resources for multinational corporations in global markets, mechanisms for redistributing resources in global internal networks, approaches to the formation and optimization of a global corporate structure capital, directions of formation and maximization of cross-border financial leverage, principles and directions of implementation of dividend policy, certain empirical aspects of international financial management on the example of specific multinational corporations.

2. International Lending

The discipline "International Lending" consists of two content modules: "International credit as a component of international economic relations. The mechanism of bank credit activities: loan price, collateral, assessment of the borrower's creditworthiness", and "International financial and credit institutions. Syndicates of banks. Banking monitoring of lending". The first substantive module is devoted to the study of the following issues: definition of the main theoretical foundations on which international bank lending is based; analysis of the main principles of credit price formation; determination of the mechanisms of international lending; assessment of the borrower's creditworthiness when granting an international loan; definition of security for international bank loans. The second substantive module is devoted to the study of the following issues: research on the organization of credit operations on international credit lines; analysis of bank syndicates in modern conditions; disclosure of issues of monitoring credit activity and identification of problematic credit debt; research of risks in international credit activities; study of the credit market of Ukraine. The content of the discipline involves the study of a defined range of issues, considering the specifics of military operations, in particular the example of Ukraine and other countries.

3. International Enterprise and Direct Investments

The discipline "International Enterprise and Direct Investments" consists of two content modules: "Strategies of development and organization of activities of international companies" and "Instruments of regulation and influence on international investments and activities of international enterprises". The first meaningful module reveals the issue of forming corporate strategies for transnationalization of the firm; resource strategies of an international enterprise international product strategies; financial strategies of an international enterprise and mechanisms for organizing intra-company financial transactions. The second meaningful module is devoted to the disclosure of such issues as modern instruments of regulation and influence on international investments, of restrictive and stimulating nature, the importance of currency control in the mobility of international financial flows, taxation of operations of international enterprises, the role of the investment climate in attracting foreign investments, mechanisms, and advantages of creating free economic zones. The discipline focuses special attention on the functioning of multinational enterprises in the conditions of wars and military conflicts and related international sanctions.

4. Scientific and Empirical Study of International Economic Relations

The main discipline includes scientific-theoretical and practical aspects of the study of international economic relations. Current theories, models, and concepts of international trade, foreign investment, international labour migration, international finance, international economic integration, and globalization of economic processes are considered. The practical part is aimed at the use of qualitative and quantitative methods of MEV research of analytical, systemic nature and economic-mathematical models, and game theory in the relevant divisions of the world economy.

5. International Business Insurance

The study discipline "International Business Insurance" is mandatory for students of the "International Economic Relations" speciality at the "Master's" educational qualification level of the "International Finance and Investments" educational program. The subject of its study is the insurance mechanism for financing the risks of international transactions. The peculiarities of providing insurance protection against property risks and liability risks arising during the implementation of international business projects are studied.

6. International Financial Markets and Banking

The discipline is aimed at studying the essence and direction of the development of international financial markets. The main concepts, terms and categories characterizing the nature of international financial markets and their role in the world economy are considered. Subjects, objects, components, infrastructure, tools, and mechanisms of functioning of international financial markets are studied. The main types, technologies, and methods of conducting international banking activities, and their evolution based on the achievements of scientific and technological progress and innovative development are studied. The peculiarities of the development of banking activity and its effectiveness on international financial markets are analysed in the conditions of strengthening integration processes in the global financial space, as well as under the influence of military operations and military conflicts using the example of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

7. Diplomatic Protocol and Business Etiquette

discipline is devoted to the study of principles, norms, applied aspects of the application of diplomatic protocol and business etiquette, etiquette in international interaction, as well as factors, criteria, and the significance of ethnocultural differences in cross-cultural communication. Students get acquainted with the protocol norms of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and regional features of cross-cultural communication. Considerable attention is paid to the study of business etiquette and ethics. The discipline continues the cycle of training specialists in the field of international economic relations and has an applied orientation.

8. Foreign Language

An academic discipline is a part of the educational and professional program of training specialists at the educational and qualification level of "master". The course program provides a comprehensive study of phonetics, vocabulary, and grammar of the English language by the profile of the Institute for communication in English in oral and written form and solving problems of interpersonal and intercultural interaction. The communicative orientation of English language learning is implemented by forming students' speaking skills in the main types of speech activity - listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as initial skills and skills in translation.

9. International Portfolio Investing

The discipline is aimed at studying the relationships that arise in the process of international portfolio investing, the management, review, restructuring and evaluation of the efficiency of the investment portfolio, primarily from the standpoint of an institutional investor, in the context of optimizing investment characteristics of risk and return. It covers fundamental material in the field of international portfolio investing, including portfolio theory, capital market theory, arbitrage pricing theory, and the theory of international diversification of investment portfolios. International portfolio investments are considered according to the new methodology of the IMF - BOPM 6. Among other things, the discipline provides for consideration of new global and local risk and return architectures under the influence of military conflicts.

10. Theories of Foreign Direct Investments

The discipline is aimed at studying the evolution of the conceptual foundations of foreign direct investments and multinational enterprises. The most famous theories of multinational enterprises are studied, starting from their origin in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. to the present day. Most of the basic theories are devoted to the analysis of the reasons, essence, and features of foreign operations of companies from the point of view of the industrial organization of the company. At the same time, part of the theories of direct foreign investment includes macroeconomic analysis. Theories explaining the influence of direct foreign investment on the economy of countries, structural shifts in the world economy, formation of various forms of production-investment, and financial interdependence between countries are considered. The fundamental theories justifying the causes of the emergence of international firms, modern trends of their activity, strategy, organization, and mechanism of their functioning are analysed.

11. Theories of International Finance

The discipline is an important component of the process of training specialists in international economic relations, international finance and investment, and modern professional requirements which include an understanding of the basic theories of international finance. It will allow students to understand the main provisions of the theory of purchasing power parity, the theory of interest rate parity, the theory of expectations, the theory of the optimal currency zone, and the relationship between interest rates and changes in exchange rates in the future. The discipline is also aimed at a detailed study of significant macroeconomic models: the Mandell-Fleming model and the Krugman AA-DD model, and their application to the analysis of international economic relations, to the development and analysis of models of the development of national economies, determining their role in the modern world economic system. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the theories of the balance of payments.

12. Strategic Management of Multinational Enterprise

The course of strategic management considers the vision, and mission of the organization, the study of principles, methods and models of analysis of internal and external environments, and studies the theory and practice of strategy formation and implementation, such as corporate governance and business ethics for the development of effective strategic leadership. In addition to familiarizing students with new concepts and models, the course is aimed at forming the student's ability to integrate and apply their knowledge to make strategic decisions while working with cases.

13. Pre-diploma Practice

The general purpose of pre-diploma practice is to systematize, generalize, consolidate and deepen the theoretical knowledge and skills acquired by students during the study of the "International Finance and Investments" educational program, based on the study of the work experience of organizations of various organizational and legal forms in which they undergo the practice. In the process of practice, students gain organizational and professional experience following the requirements for the student's level of training. The goals of the educational practice of students studying under the educational program "International Finance and Investments" are the development of students' analytical abilities, skills in working with scientific publications and databases, the formation of a holistic view of the development of modern scientific research and educational programs in the field of the world economy: international economic relations, international finance and investment. Pre-diploma practice is conducted to consolidate the knowledge acquired during training, acquire professional work skills, as well as collect, systematise, and summarise materials for the preparation of a master's thesis. Also, passing educational practice contributes to the formation of social and personal competencies necessary for future work in a professional environment.

14. Master’s Thesis Writing

Modern multi-level training of students in higher educational institutions ends with the writing and presentation of a master's thesis. To obtain a master's degree, the most prepared students who have demonstrated the ability for creative scientific work and have mastered the educational material are recruited. Together with the state exams, the successful presentation of the final research paper is the main requirement for providing the young specialist with the appropriate qualification level. The qualifying master's thesis is an independent scientific study, which is a generalization of the student's educational, methodological and scientific work in the chosen speciality and his ability to practically use the acquired knowledge. That is why the preparation of a master's thesis and its presentation before the examination committee (EC) is an important and responsible stage of training an international economist.

OPTIONAL COMPONENTS:

Selective specialized block «International Investment Practice»:

1. Global Value Chains of Multinational Enterprises

The course examines the theoretical foundations, the evolution of development, practical aspects of functioning and modern trends in the reconfiguration of global value chains, as well as studying the dependence of the effectiveness of the functioning of global value chains on the conditions of the external environment (political, economic, regulatory, technological, etc.). The purpose of the discipline is to familiarize students with the key concepts of the functioning of global value chains of international enterprises, as well as the peculiarities of their development and reconfiguration (in particular, under the influence of military conflicts, including the example of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine) in modern conditions.

2. Business Ethics in International Investing

The discipline is aimed at studying the main ethical issues, challenges and problems that arise during the international investment process. It covers the main approaches and methods for preventing, solving, and regulating ethical and social problems that can arise in both foreign direct and international investments. The discipline is also aimed at the study of socio-ethical relations that arise between various stakeholders of the investment process, the rules of ethical behaviour of their participants generally accepted in international financial markets, and the main methods and strategies of ethical management of investment projects by multinational enterprises. The discipline examines several cases regarding the ethics of the behaviour of international companies because of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, on the example of exiting the markets of the aggressor country.

3. Business Plan of Multinational Enterprise

Discipline is included in the cycle of disciplines of free choice of students of the educational program "International Finance and Investments" and is studied in the 1st year during the second semester in the amount of 90 hours and the discipline is completed by credit. The discipline is an important component of the process of training specialists in international finance and investments, modern professional requirements for which include the ability to draw up a business plan, as well as the ability to present it. The discipline provides students with the acquisition of a system of theoretical knowledge of business planning and practical skills in drawing up business plans; forming an understanding of the role of business planning in the conditions of a changing and turbulent external environment to ensure the effective operation of national and international enterprises; acquiring skills in presenting a business plan to potential stakeholders – investors, creditors, business owners, etc.

4. International Investment Management

The discipline is aimed at studying the relationships that arise and develop in the process of managing international investment portfolios in terms of selecting securities and evaluating their investment characteristics, developing basic investment strategies, making optimal portfolio decisions, and evaluating the effectiveness of such management. It covers fundamental material in the field of international investment management, in particular the main types of international investment strategies, the main methods of evaluating shares and approaches to the formation of equity portfolios, existing models for evaluating debt securities and portfolios of debt securities, separate methods of optimizing international investment portfolios, concepts of performance evaluation international investment management. Within the framework of individual topics, the discipline focuses on the transformation of international investment strategies under the influence of wars and military conflicts, in the example of the case of Ukraine.

5. International Investment Projects: Case Studies

The course examines the basics of investment project management, the principles of development and optimization of the capital investment budget, traditional and modified methods of evaluating the effectiveness of projects, and examples of investment projects of international companies. The discipline aims to acquaint students with the key stages of implementation of international investment projects, as well as methods of risk analysis, forms and ways of attracting project financing based on specific examples - cases.

6. International Audit and Financial Analysis

The purpose of the discipline is to acquaint students with the main content, features and components of modern problems of international audit development, mastering the methodology of conducting research in the field of financial analysis. In mastering the course, an important role is played by developing students' professional skills in the field of financial analysis, helping to acquire relevant knowledge in empirical work related to international auditing, and the ability to work in state bodies and business entities in the field of analysing the activities of business entities object its financial and credit relations.

7. Tax Policy of Foreign Countries

Students get acquainted with the methodological principles and main tasks of the academic discipline, as well as with the problematic issues of the course; study the main principles and types of tax systems of the world's leading economies, the peculiarities of the formation of tax policy after the Second World War, the principles of tax administration in foreign countries, in particular the order of organization of tax services and control over the payment of taxes, the ratio of direct and indirect taxes. The discipline is aimed at revealing the specific features of the tax systems of the world's leading market economies (the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Scandinavian countries), and the key events in the development and formation of the tax mechanisms of these countries, the main vectors and priorities tax policy for an efficient market economy, particularly under the influence of wars and military conflicts.

8. Mergers and Acquisitions in Global Capital Markets

The discipline is focused on theoretical and applied aspects of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In the framework of the course, the main motives of cross-border joint ventures, mechanisms for the implementation of agreements, issues of strategic growth and development of the company in the context of transnational joint ventures, methods of structuring cross-border joint ventures, legal, tax and accounting aspects of agreements are studied. The course is based on standard Western textbooks on S&P, scientific articles, and business cases. Applied aspects of the course are based on recent real deals in the international and Ukrainian markets. In mastering the course, an important role is played by the acquisition of business case-solving skills, as well as the study of relevant processes in the conditions of military conflicts, in particular, because of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the corresponding effects of this war at the local, regional, international and global level.

Selective specialized block «International Financial Activities»:

1. Current Problems in International Finance

The purpose of the discipline is to acquaint students with the main content, features, and components of modern problems of the development of international finance, mastering the methodology of conducting research in the field of international finance and international economic relations. Mastery of the discipline is designed to develop students' professional skills in the field of financial analysis, to help acquire relevant knowledge in empirical work related to international finance, and the ability to work in state bodies, and business entities in the field of analysis of the business entity's activities, its financial and credit relations. Within the framework of the discipline, special attention is paid to the development of international financial relations in the conditions of military conflicts, under the influence of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as in the conditions of the sanctions regime of the development of the international economic relations.

2. International Financial Engineering

The discipline is aimed at studying the relationships that arise and develop in the process of creating and developing financial technologies, understanding their role, goals and objectives. It covers fundamental material in the field of international financial engineering, including modern IT trends in the financial market, innovations in financial IT technologies, financial foundations of capital management of corporations, and main products of international financial engineering. The discipline aims to provide students with knowledge and skills in designing complex financial products for managing risk, liquidity and profitability, developing combined investment strategies in accordance with the structure of demand from clients on various international financial markets.

3. Tax Management of Multinational Enterprise

The discipline is aimed at studying the theoretical foundations and practical aspects of international corporate tax management, principles, limits, tools of international planning, and development of optimal tax strategies from the point of view of the balance of load reduction and possible tax risks. It covers fundamental material in the field of international taxation, in particular the concept of international taxation, approaches to determining the tax burden of BNP, features of the use of offshore jurisdictions, holding companies, various project financing options, derivatives, etc. to optimize tax payments under the conditions of implementation of BEPS initiatives. The acquisition of business case-solving skills plays an important role in mastering the course.

4. Global Derivatives Market

The discipline "World Derivatives Market" includes the study of the main trends in the development of the futures market, the mechanisms for carrying out forward, futures, option and swap operations, as well as the main operations and hedging strategies used in these markets. The course consists of two content modules: Content module 1. "Terms market instruments" and Content module 2. "Pricing mechanism and operations on the global derivatives market". The first module is dedicated to the study of the following issues: definition of the concept and purpose of derivative securities; definition of the main theoretical foundations on which the functioning of the world derivatives market is based; analysis of the mechanism of action of forwards and the main transactions with them (hedging, arbitrage); determination of the mechanisms for carrying out futures operations and analysis of the main strategies on this market; analysis of the mechanism of action of options and basic options trading strategies; determination of the mechanism of action of instruments of the futures market - swaps. The second module is devoted to the study of the following issues: disclosure and analysis of mathematical models for transactions with derivative securities; analysis of pricing on the derivative securities market and identification of main factors and variables; disclosure of the main operations (and strategies for their implementation) on the derivative securities market (Hedging. Speculation. Arbitrage.); analysis of the main trends in the development of international derivative securities markets and the derivatives market in Ukraine.

5. International Financial Analytics

The discipline is aimed at studying the theoretical principles of formation and features of the application of modern innovative products and the latest technologies in international financial markets. The factors, content, structure and main consequences of changes in products and technologies of world finance, types and tools of the world market of financial technologies, and alternative methods of risk transfer in international financial markets are studied. Trends in the development of securitization of financial assets and risks, motivation and effects of creating structured products, methods and tools of catastrophic risk management, their place in the international capital market, etc. are determined. Forms and functional specificity of new types of financial products, methods of their analysis, features and mechanisms of action of a specific market, the relationship between risk and profitability of new financial products and their role in optimizing the structure of an international investment portfolio are considered.

6. Fundamental Analysis of International Financial Markets

To acquaint students with the main content and features of the fundamental analysis of international financial markets. The purpose of the course is to inculcate in students the skills of making investment decisions based on the analysis of fundamental indicators of the macro environment, industry dynamics and specific characteristics of public companies (key financial ratios, equity capital structure, quality of corporate management), which make them attractive in the eyes market investors, as well as based on analysis of graphic behaviour of prices.

7. Offshoring Finance

The course examines operational and regulatory issues related to offshore financial activities, as well as the analysis of preferential taxation and the main strategies for choosing the optimal offshore zone for conducting business. The discipline aims to acquaint students with the principles of conducting business using tax planning with the help of international financial offshore structures, features of offshore financial activity, as well an analysis of the scale of influence of offshore tax optimization schemes on the world economy.

8. Strategies for Optimizing International Investment Portfolios

The discipline is aimed at studying the relationships that arise and develop in the process of optimizing international investment portfolios, including using modern software, as well as basic methods for evaluating the investment characteristics of individual financial assets and developing optimal international portfolio strategies on this basis. It covers fundamental material in the field of portfolio optimization the main options and futures valuation models, option and futures strategies for international portfolio investment, approaches to the formation of portfolios of debt instruments, the main methods of optimization of international investment portfolios and software products used for this purpose in practice.

Suitability for employment

Jobs in the financial management of international economic relations, in international financial organizations, at multinational and national enterprises, in joint investment institutions, international banking institutions, central and local executive authorities, as well as research and consulting organizations.

Accreditation of educational program in the period from 23/09/2021 to 25/09/2021. Information on the self-evaluation of the educational program.