50 years Department of Economics and Management

In 1972, the Department of Economics and Management was founded at the University of Karlsruhe (TH). 2022 - 50 years later, this event offers a special occasion to celebrate and to look back on the department's history.
What happened back then....
Opening KD2 Labs
The DFG-funded Karlsruhe Decision & Design Lab (KD²Lab) in the heart of Karlsruhe is one of the largest computer-based experimental laboratories worldwide. With its excellent infrastructure for economic, neuro- and psycho-physiological experiments in a highly controlled environment, it offers optional conditions for interdisciplinary and internationally recognized cutting-edge research, especially in the areas of human decision behavior, human-machine interaction and social interaction.
The lab has two technically and spatially separated lab areas with 40 soundproof and air-conditioned computer cabins, two large team rooms for conducting group experiments, and a Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab.
The idea for the KD2Lab emerged back in 2009 in the course of research by Christof Weinhardt [spokesperson for the DFG project], Marc T.P. Adam and Tanja Schultz [co-spokesperson for the DFG project]. Together with the research groups of Professors Albers, Ehrhart, Ebner-Priemer, Puppe, Satzger, Seifert and Stork as well as Dr. Hey, the KD2Lab was successfully submitted to the DFG. With the support of DFG, KIT and the state of Baden-Württemberg, physiological measurement equipment (eye trackers, Bioplux devices, etc.) could be purchased and the KD2Lab was housed in central premises at Karlsruhe's Kronenplatz. After several years of construction, the official opening ceremony took place in April 2016.
More about: https://www.kd2lab.kit.edu/index.php
Unfortunately, Stucky's Café no longer exists today. However, you don't have to do without good coffee. Since 2021, there is the intro Café at Kronenplatz, where the WiWi Fachschaft and some institutes as well as the dean's office of the KIT Faculty of Economics are located, which convinces with its coffee specialties and food!
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Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Economic Theory
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Institute for Economic Theory and Operations Research
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Institute for Applied Business Administration and Corporate Management
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Institute for Economic Policy and Research
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Institute for Manufacturing Economics and Labor Science
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and finally the Institute for Applied Computer Science and Formal Description Methods, founded in 1971.
After the founding of the Faculty, the number of institutes initially grew to seven (winter semester 1975/76) and in 1982 to ten.
Today, the research focus at the KIT Faculty of Economics is concentrated in nine institutes, which are:
https://www.wiwi.kit.edu/forschung.php näher beschrieben werden.
The industrial engineering course as we know it today was introduced at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) in 1969. However, a purely economics-based course of study had already existed since 1946. Starting in 1947, there were training plans for technical economists and industrial engineers. However, at that time the course of studies had a different orientation: Industrial engineers saw themselves as engineers with additional knowledge of economics. (Cf. Hermann Maurer/Klaus Neumann: Faculty of Economics. In: Fridericiana. Faculty of Economics. Jubiläum 1825-1975, Sonderdruck 1975, pp. 73-83, here p. 73.)
This profile has changed over time. With the increased establishment of chairs in business administration, the technical economist was joined by a technical business economist (cf. ibid., p. 73.) According to the 1989 Faculty Guide, the program was introduced "to adapt the education of economists to the developments in business and administration during the last two decades" (Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften/Universität Karlsruhe (TH) (ed.): Fakultätsführer, Karlsruhe 1989, p. 10 f.). Special focus was placed on sound knowledge in mathematics, operations research and applied computer science.
Even today, the industrial engineering course at the KIT Faculty of Business and Economics is characterized by a high proportion of computer science. The aim is to enable industrial engineers to solve economic-technical problems by means of quantitative methods.
The diploma program in industrial engineering was offered in three specializations: business planning, operations research/computer science, and insurance, as shown in the 1989 curriculum in the figure on the right. In today's bachelor's program, students choose their focus of study individually according to their strengths after completing the three-semester basic studies. Students can choose from a wide range of specialization profiles, for example in controlling, energy management, automotive engineering, information security and many others.
Until the summer semester of 1972, the Department of Economics was part of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University (TH) of Karlsruhe. After the Industrial Engineering course had become increasingly popular in the early 1970s, the desire for a separate faculty was great. After intensive discussions, the Faculty of Economics was founded in the winter semester of 1972/73.