Best Free MOOCs In Business In September

Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies

School: Università Bocconi

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link: REGISTER HERE

Start Date: September 4, 2017 (5 Weeks)

Workload: 3-4 Hours Per Week

Instructors: Erica Corbellini and Stefania Saviolo

Credentials: Corbellini is the Professor of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management at SDA Bocconi, where she also serves as the Director of the Master in Fashion, Experience & Design Management (MAFED). She has published five books (and edited five more) on fashion marketing and management. Saviolo heads the school’s Luxury and Fashion Knowledge Center and founded its MAFED program. Her areas of expertise are strategic, brand, and international business strategies. She has authored or co-authored eight books on the fashion industry and holds a Ph.D. in International Law and Economics from the University of Bergamo.

Graded: Students will receive a signed Certificate of Accomplishment for completing this course.

Description: Driven by case studies, this courses takes students “behind the scenes” of fashion and luxury brands. In particular, it covers the best practices and emerging trends in branding, retailing, creative, and international development. Along with focusing on market drivers and changing business models, the course will touch on fashion as a “balancing act,” that must weigh “tradition vs. innovation, expertise vs. experimentation, [and] casual vs. stylish…to increase the brand value by nurturing the brand heritage and at the same time staying fresh, relevant, and contemporary in the global marketplace.” As a result, students will understand the process behind how companies create the “right story, value, and experience.” The content will be delivered through video lectures, PowerPoint sides, readings, and interviews with thought leaders, with content mastery evaluated through quizzes and peer-evaluated assignments.

Review: No reviews.

Additional Note: If students are looking for additional information beyond the course, the instructors encourage them to read two of Saviolo’s books: Management in Fashion and Luxury Companies and Lifestyle Brands: A Guide to Aspirational Marketing.

Principles of Valuation: Risk and Return

School: University of Michigan

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link:  REGISTER HERE

Start Date: September 11, 2017 (6 Weeks Long)

Workload: 5-10 Hours Per Week

 Graded: Students can choose to explore course videos, discussions, and ungraded assignments for free, but they won’t be able to submit graded assignments, earn a certificate, or complete a specialization without paying a $79 fee.

Instructors: Gautam Kaul and Qin Lei

Credentials: Professor Kaul has won five Excellence in Teaching awards at Ross, along with earning the Victor L. Bernard Leadership in Teaching Award in 2009. He is widely published in financial journals and teaches a variety of introductory and advanced courses, including Corporate Finance, Investment and Financial Institutions, and Sustainable Enterprise. Lei, a Ph.D. holder from the University of Michigan, joined the University of Michigan staff in 2013 after earning the MBA Outstanding Teaching Award at Southern Methodist University in 2012. He currently teaching courses in applied investment management, options and futures, and capital markets. His most recent research has been published by the Journal of Financial Markets and the Journal of Industrial Economics.

Description: This course covers the valuation of stocks and bonds using the principles of time value of money (TVM). According to the syllabus, the course will also “develop a theory of risk based on the intuitive concept of diversification” before introducing the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and examining the relationship between the risk and return against key statistical concepts.

Review: “The best course on Coursera Platform. It is rigorous, challenging, stimulating and motivating.” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Note: This course is the first part of an “Introduction to Finance: Valuation and Investing” specialization, a four course series that includes a capstone project. To learn more about these courses and register for them,  REGISTER HERE.