Prof. Dr. Rubén Ascúa from Argentina gave a guest lecture on "Current economic issues from Latin America" on December 4 as part of the IHRM Master's degree course in Human Resources. The English-language lecture was part of the course "Integrated Management System and Corporate Success" by lecturer Eric A. Reynaud and was held at the invitation of the academic head of the degree program, Prof. Dr. Ascúa. Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Martin.
Prof. Ascua studied business administration and economics in Argentina and the USA with a PhD in economics from San Diego. Prof. Ascua is now a full professor of economics at the Universidad Nacional de Rafaela (UNRaf) in the province of Santa Fe and a proven expert in small business and entrepreneurship. Prof. Martin and Ascua have known each other for a long time and have carried out various joint research projects and publications, including the international GESt study.
The city of Rafaela, with 93,000 inhabitants, has a high social and recreational value and is located within a day's drive of the economic metropolitan region of Buenos Aires. The province of Santa Fe is located in the north-east of Argentina and is therefore comparatively close to the neighboring countries of Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay by Latin American standards.
In an integrative view of economic and business aspects based on the title of the lecture, the lecturer explained to the students the special economic features and clustering of the Latin American part of America. In addition to South America, the economic structure also consists of Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. However, Mexico is often assigned to North America because of the free trade zone with the USA.
He then went on to discuss the macroeconomic factors and growth prospects for the coming years. In addition to countries such as Brazil and Mexico, which are primarily the focus of European companies, Argentina and Chile are also relevant target markets for foreign direct investment. The People's Republic of China is also becoming increasingly important in Latin America as a targeted investor and buyer of consumer goods, including beef.
Finally, the speaker presented some selected German companies that have production sites in Argentina and are therefore suitable for a practical semester of study for Ludwigshafen students: VW, Mercedes-Benz, Mahle, Festo or thermofin. Prof. Ascua is happy to provide assistance in arranging an internship semester or a university stay in Argentina. The German-Argentinean Chamber of Foreign Trade in Benos Aires also offers valuable information for stays abroad in Argentina.
UNRAf is a young, fast-growing university that provides further information about its range of courses at https://www.unraf.edu.ar/, also in English and German. The degree programs offered include business administration, business informatics and industrial engineering. Of particular interest to IPO and IHRM students for a semester abroad is the five-year Bachelor's degree in "Work Relations", which is comparable in length to a European Master's degree.
