Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine
Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance
Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
Luxembourg Centre for European Law
Luxembourg Centre for Socio-Environmental Systems
The University of Luxembourg has teamed up with the University of Liechtenstein and the University of Kassel (Germany) to promote sustainable finance education through the SLSF (Student Literacy in Sustainable Finance) project, funded by an Erasmus+ grant. Under the coordination of the University of Liechtenstein, Jang Schiltz, Associate Professor within the Department of Finance, is leading the project in Luxembourg.
The goal of the project is to evaluate the sustainable finance literacy of university students, develop a comprehensive cross-faculty curriculum that can be deployed throughout higher education settings to provide the knowledge and skills needed to understand and engage with sustainable finance principles and practices and develop an automated tool to test sustainable finance literacy. The project kicked off in 2024 and is now yielding its first results.
Bringing sustainable finance to the classroom and beyond
The first phase of the project consisted in creating and conducting a survey among university students in Europe. The survey gathered data on both how sustainable finance is perceived as well as the general level of financial literacy. The survey results are used for an academic paper as well as the the development of a four-theme curriculum which teaches students the basics of sustainable finance while also bringing debate into the classroom.
Students begin by learning the definition of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and gaining a general understanding of financial markets before moving on to more in-depth topics. At each stage in the curriculum, they are given the opportunity to reflect upon larger, societal themes of responsibility and ownership, conflicts of interest and trade-offs. For example, a part of the programme is devoted to understanding and recognising greenwashing as well as critically evaluating ESG labels and certifications. With new-found awareness of sustainable finance concepts and exposure to both the risk and benefits of sustainable funds, students are invited to also apply their knowledge to their personal investment strategies.
To complement the curriculum and bring sustainable finance literacy to a wider audience, Prof. Jang Schiltz and his team are responsible for the development of an online self-assessment tool that can be used by anyone, including the general public, to test their level of sustainable finance literacy. The tool, which applies Item Response Theory methodology, adapts to the level of the learner and thus can be helpful for beginners as well as those familiar with the subject.
‟ Fundamental and applied research in sustainable finance is particularly well-developed in Luxembourg. The project, whose output includes academic articles and a public workshop on sustainable finance literacy, will extend the reach of our research to other European countries.”
Associate Professor
A strategic priority for the University of Luxembourg
The University of Luxembourg is at the forefront of education and research in sustainable finance. The founding of the Chair and research programme in Sustainable Finance, supported jointly by the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance and Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, has provided a framework for the establishment of a second-year sustainable finance track within the Master of Finance and Economics, a professional certificate in Sustainable Finance, and numerous academic and industry outreach events. These initiatives fall under the Sustainable and Societal Development strategic key area at the University.
Read more about the project: https://www.slsf-erasmus.com/