Business Society Travels to Frankfurt, "Finance Capital of Europe"
On March 2-4, 2023 members of the JCU Business Society traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, known as the “Finance Capital of Europe,” to tour the Bundesbank Money Museum and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The trip was organized by the Business Society in collaboration with the Institute for Entrepreneurship and the Frank J. Guarini School of Business.
Business Society at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The trip was a follow-up to a project that the Business Society had been working on in the Fall. It consisted of a stock market simulation, where teams of five competed against each other. Each team invested fake money and monitored their portfolios, trading stocks as they went. The project allowed students to get hands-on experience and learn how to analyze stock market trends.
Eight students, alongside Law Professor Chiara Magrini, participated in the trip: Lynch Ainsley Sariola, Assunta Mareschi, Carolina Granaci, Davide Ebraheem, Paolo Resta, Gianmarco Ariola, Yana Boeva, and Luciana Tamara Di Donna Palermo.
At the Bundesbank Money Museum, students learned about the history of money, the impacts of inflation, and the role central banking plays on the economy. They also toured the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. “We got to see real analysts working in the pit, looking at the forecasts and predicting stock analytics,” said Carolina Granaci, Events Coordinator for the Business Society.
Carolina said that the trip gave the group a glimpse into how the real world works. “It was very interesting to witness people do this job and do something that is so important and shapes our economy.” She also touched on the fact that finance has typically been a male-dominated field. “Even when we were there, we saw that the majority of the analysts were males. However, it is interesting to see that women are becoming more passionate about this topic, and more are attending the Business Society meetings.”
The next project for the Business Society is “Shark Venture,” a project based on the U.S. reality show, Shark Tank, in which entrepreneurs make business presentations to a panel of five investors or “sharks,” who decide whether to invest in their companies. Students will pitch a business idea to JCU alumni and do a presentation on the potential investments and scope of the business. “It will be a great opportunity to network and socialize as well as provide a space for new business ideas,” said Carolina.
