New "Family Office and Strategic Philanthropy" course

The University of Lucerne is launching the first course in Family Offices and Strategic Philanthropy in Switzerland with the Ashoka business network. The course will start next autumn.

Picture: istock.com/terrymorris

The compact course entitled "Family Office & Strategic Philanthropy: Theory, Best Practice, Instruments and Visions" will provide information on the strategic and operational structure of advising wealthy families in the area of philanthropy within and outside of a family office structure, i.e. companies whose purpose is to manage private assets.

The course was initiated by Dr. Dr. Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach, foundation and sponsoring consultant BR SPRV, book author and author of numerous specialist articles, and Prof. Dr. iur. Swen Bäuml, tax advisor and business lawyer and owner of 'INFOB - Family Office for Family Offices' as well as editor and author of numerous publications.

The course offers a comprehensive overview and interdisciplinary knowledge transfer in the areas of law, taxes, investment strategy and impact investing, organisational, process and structural know-how, family governance, succession and leadership skills, strategic philanthropy, social entrepreneurship as well as impact monitoring. Current topics such as the importance of megatrends in the development and design of family office structures are addressed. The course participants will also receive an overview of figures, data, facts and players in the foundation landscape in German-speaking countries, patronage and philanthropy. They also gain exclusive insights into the practice of philanthropy.

The international teaching staff consists of proven specialists in teaching and practice from Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and renowned philanthropists.

The course is aimed at philanthropists, employees of family holding companies or bank-independent single and multi-family offices, employees of independent asset managers and bank-related multi-family offices/private wealth management, philanthropy advisors and owners of assets in preparation for functional responsibility.

Prof. Dr. Barbara Graham-Siegenthaler, Professor for Swiss and Private International Law and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne, is the academic director of the course. Philip L. Kramer, Managing Director of the University Foundation (Stiftung Universität Luzern) and member of the University Executive Board since December 2020, is the Course Director. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Excellence Foundation Zurich for almost 10 years and in this capacity helped to establish the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich as one of the world's leading institutions in this field.

The compact course will take place mostly online from 8 September to 17 November 2023, starting and finishing on site at the University of Lucerne. It is run in collaboration with Ashoka, the world's largest social enterprise network.

Contact and further info:
Philip Kramer, Course Director, T +41 41 229 51 10, philip.kramerremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch
Speakers of the compact course
Website of the compact course "Family Office & Strategic Philanthropy: Theory, Best Practice, Instruments and Visions" (in German)