Keynote Address

Every year we present a well-known personality from science, society, economy, politics or sports as speaker at the SEPAWA CONGRESS. Be it current topics or perennial favorites, it will certainly spark your interest.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens FuestIFO Institut e.V.

Europe 2024/2025: Between energy crisis and
geopolitical challenges

Thursday, 17 October 2024 from 13:15 – 14:30 hrs in the Auditorium

Curriculum vitae

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Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest,

born in 1968, is President of the ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich e.V., Managing Director of CESifo GmbH, Professor of Economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Director of the Center for Economic Studies (CES) the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

He is, among others, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Federal Ministry of Finance, the European Academy of Sciences and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Market Economy Foundation (Kronberger Kreis) and the Family Business Foundation. From 2018 to 2021 he was President of the IIPF (International Institute of Public Finance e.V.) and from 2019 to 2022 a member of the Franco-German Council of Economic Experts. In 2013 he was awarded the Gustav Stolper Prize from the Association for Social Politics, and in 2019 he was awarded the Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize for 2018. In 2017 he received an honorary doctorate from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In July 2023 he was awarded the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art.
His research areas are economic and financial policy, international taxation, tax policy, and European integration.

Before his appointment to Munich, he worked as a professor at the universities of Cologne (2001-2008), Oxford (2008-2013) and Mannheim (2013-2016).

He is the author of books and has written many commentaries and articles on current economic policy issues in national and international specialist journals. He also writes for newspapers such as Handelsblatt, FAZ, Die Zeit, SZ, WirtschaftsWoche, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.

Topics & personalities

Every year, SEPAWA invites a renowned personality from the fields of science, society, business, politics or sports are invited to give a keynote lecture. In recent years, these were:

Dr. Theo Waigel spoke in 2023 on the topic “Politics and Economy in Unsteady Times”. Although he referred to the problems in the world, he had a lot of material that gives courage if everyone sees and uses their opportunities.
At the first post-COVID live congress in 2022, Jens Bode, as Innologe, inspired the audience with the topic: “The I-Point. With Your Own Talent, (Trend)Inspiration & Desire to Innovate.”
2021, Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Spitzer, neuroscientist and psychiatrist, inspired us with a lecture about the brain, the computer and mental capacity and what we have learned in the last 20 years.
2020, Prof. Dr. Dirk Notz, climate researcher, held a lecture titled “The Big Melt.” In his presentation, he shed light on global climate change. He linked his own experiences from his numerous expeditions with the scientific background of global climate change.
In 2019 Dr. Richard David Precht, author and publicist, talked about the topic “digital revolution and the future of how we work.”
2018, Antonia Rados, foreign correspondent and journalist, held a lecture with the title: “Turmoil in the Middle East – Consequences for Europe.”
In 2017, Dr. Ulf Merbold took the delegates on a space flight with a critical view onto our blue planet Earth. Anyone who has ever had the privilege to see its beauty from space should make it their mission to preserve it.
2016 Dr. Gregor Gysi gave an inspiring lecture on global consumption, its development and reduction and changes.
In the previous year, extreme mountaineer Thomas Huber was invited to talk about the “analogy between mountain and profession”.
In 2014 Prof. Dr. Gertrud Höhler, publicist and consultant, held a lecture titled “innovation starts with leadership”.
Brother Paulus, guardian of the Capuchin Convent “Liebfrauen” in Frankfurt am Main was invited in 2013. In his lecture titled “Heart Detergent”, he explained how the Ten Commandments liberate the mind and pave the way for success.