Online discussion series "60 Minutes"
Table of contents
About the online discussion series
In the public online discussion series "60 Minutes" , scientists discuss current economic and socially relevant topics from different perspectives.
| Target group: | The event series is aimed at members and students of TU Dresden as well as the general public. |
| Format: | The events are held virtually via Zoom. No prior registration is necessary. We record events that are held in cooperation with the ifo Institute. The videos will be available a few days afterwards on the ifo Institute's youtube channel and the ifo Institute's media library. |
| Contact: | Dean's Office of the Faculty of Business and Economics Dr. Uta Schwarz Phone: 0351 463 33141 |
Online discussions in summer semester 2025
06.05.2025: Reducing bureaucracy: What is important?
Companies and business associations criticize excessive bureaucracy. They see it as a considerable disadvantage for business locations and a major obstacle to investment. Almost all political parties are now campaigning to reduce bureaucracy and digitize public administration. However, the actual reform results have so far been disappointing. Why is that? Why are so few concrete measures being taken forward? How can administration really be reduced and/or accelerated?
Discussion: Sabine Kuhlmann (University of Potsdam & Deputy Chairwoman of the National Regulatory Control Council) / Sarah Necker (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg & Director of the Ludwig Erhard ifo Institute for Social Market Economy and Institutional Economics Fürth) / Moderation: Christian Leßmann (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics)
Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuhlmann ist Professorin für Politikwissenschaften, Verwaltung und Organisation an der Universität Potsdam und Stellvertretende Vorsitzende des Nationalen Normenkontrollrats der Bundesregierung © Photothek_Trutschel
Prof. Dr. Sarah Necker ist Professorin für Volkswirtschaftslehre an der FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg und Leiterin des ifo Forschungszentrums für Soziale Marktwirtschaft und Institutionenökonomik in Fürth © ifo Institut
Prof. Dr. Christian Leßmann is Professor of Economics, esp. International Economics at TU Dresden. © Klaus Gigga
Zoom link and video recording: The online discussion will take place as a webinar in Zoom. Please use the following Zoom link to participate. The event will be recorded and will be available as a video in the ifo Institute's media library and on the ifo Institute's youtube channel a few days later.
26.06.2025: Open Data - Added value for citizens and society?
Details of the event will follow soon.
Review of previous online discussions
Numerous 60-minute discussions have taken place every semester since WS 2020/21. You can gain an impression of the topics discussed on the following pages.
WS 2024/25
13.11.2024: Migration: How to manage immigration and facilitate integration?
© ifo Institut / TU Dresden
In Germany, there are sometimes emotional debates on the topic of migration. The recent state elections in eastern Germany in particular were dominated by this topic. We want to discuss this topic on the basis of scientific findings. What types of migration are there? Can migration be controlled? How can the integration of migrants into the labor market and society be facilitated? What tasks and responsibilities do Federal and State governments and municipalities have in this context?
Discussants: Panu Poutvaara (ifo Center for Migration and Development Economics and LMU Munich) / Hans Vorländer (TU Dresden and Expert Council on Integration and Migration) / Moderator: Christian Leßmann (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics)
Summer semester 2024
29.05.2024: Hydrogen economy
© ifo Institut / TU Dresden
"Green" hydrogen is generally regarded as a substitute for fossil fuels. It is produced by electrolysis from renewable electricity and is therefore considered CO2-free. However, the technical hurdles for the widespread use of hydrogen for industrial processes are high: not only must a sufficient number of electrolysers be created, but the necessary network infrastructure and storage facilities are not yet available. In addition, the necessary infrastructure for importing hydrogen must also be created, as it will hardly be possible to meet demand in Germany from domestic sources. Whether a cost-effective and sufficient supply of hydrogen is possible was discussed on 29.05.2024.
Discussants: Dominik Möst (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics) / Frithjof Staiß (Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg) / Moderator: Joachim Ragnitz (ifo Dresden and TU Dresden)
WS 2023/24
09.01.2024: Sustainable fiscal policy: investment over debt
Germany faces many challenges. The financing requirements are considerable, particularly for investments in climate protection and the energy transition. The public infrastructure has a considerable investment backlog. Can these huge tasks be reconciled with the debt brake enshrined in the Basic Law? Do we need exceptions or adjustments to the debt brake? What role do special budgets play in this? How can sustainable financial policy succeed in this environment?
Discussants: Lars Feld (Walter Eucken Institute / Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) / Jakob von Weizsäcker (Minister of Finance and Science, Saarland) / Moderator: Christian Leßmann (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
Summer semester 2023
09.05.2023: Management in times of "polycrisis": How can organizations deal with the contradictory challenges of multiple crisis situations?
The collective experience of living in times of multiple, overlapping and sometimes mutually reinforcing crisis situations is increasingly being described in public with the term "polycrisis". The polycrisis underlines the high degree of complexity that is currently making political and business decisions more difficult: for example, solutions that provide short-term relief in relation to the energy crisis can have a long-term negative effect on the climate crisis; the coronavirus crisis almost triggered a crisis of confidence in democracy; and the ongoing Ukraine crisis also made itself felt in 2022, not least as an inflation crisis in Western Europe. What management challenges arise from the polycrisis in the private and public sectors? How can and how should political and business decision-makers deal with these challenges? To what extent can academic concepts such as the polycrisis help managers to deal more effectively with the world's multiple crisis situations?
Discussants: Juliane Reinecke (University of Oxford) / Daniel Geiger (University of Hamburg) / Elke Schüssler (JKU Linz) / Moderator: Blagoy Blagoev (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
13.06.2023: The urgent transformation of the hospital landscape
© ifo Institut
In the coalition agreement of the federal government, it was agreed to tackle urgently needed reforms in the hospital sector. In May 2022, the "Government Commission for Modern and Needs-based Hospital Care" was set up to answer the urgent questions with a broad range of specialist expertise. How can patients in medical emergencies be better cared for in hospitals in the future? How can better medical care be reconciled with accessibility and demographic trends? How can hospitals be relieved of unnecessary tasks and services? What criteria should be used to remunerate hospitals in future? These and other questions were discussed in this edition of "60 Minutes" with two prominent members of the government commission.
Discussants: Boris Augurzky (RWI Essen) / Jochen Schmitt (Center for Evidence-based Healthcare, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus) / Moderation: Marcel Thum (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
WS 2022/23
24.01.2023: A fragmented world in transition - from the financial to the energy crisis
© tud
The last few years have been characterized by short successions of crises - financial crisis, Covid crisis and most recently the energy crisis. In a joint event of TUD Lectures and 60 Minutes on 24.01.2023, experts discussed the characteristics of the current upheavals and the challenges and risks they pose.
Discussants: Dominik Möst (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics) / Werner Gleißner (Future Value GmbH and TU Dresden) / Franziska Stölzel (UNU Flores) / Moderator: Thomas Günther (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
13.12.2022: What's next for old-age provision?
The shortage of skilled workers has now reached large parts of the economy. Trainee positions remain unfilled, opening hours are being shortened and colleagues have to fill the gaps by working overtime. However, the decline in the working population is a particular challenge for statutory pension insurance. There are currently only two working people for every retired person. In 2050, the ratio will deteriorate to around 1 to 1.3. How can pensions be made secure in this situation? What measures are needed for contribution payments and pension entitlements? Can a migration policy help in a targeted manner? What opportunities and risks does the planned funded pillar entail?
Discussants: Jörg Rocholl (ESMT Berlin) / Martin Werding (Ruhr University Bochum) / Moderator: Christian Leßmann (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
01.11.2022: Sustainability standards and labels for companies
Sustainability standards and labels help companies to focus on economic, ecological and/or social sustainability when manufacturing their products or providing services. In addition, they can serve as a distinguishing feature for the companies themselves compared to companies that operate in a conventional manner. This also makes it easier for stakeholders to recognize sustainable products and services and make sustainable purchasing decisions. These positive effects are offset by the fact that the orientation function and credibility are impaired if too many sustainability standards and labels appear on the market. The 60-minute discussion "Sustainability standards and labels for companies" took a closer look at the issues and showed how sustainable standards and labels can be developed to achieve environmental quality, social justice and economic prosperity.
The panelists were: Claudia Brück (Fairtrade Germany) / Samanthi Dijkstra-Silva (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics) / Stefan Hörmann (Global Nature Fund) / Moderation: Prof. Dr. Remmer Sassen (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics and IHI Zittau)
Summer semester 2022
12.07.2022: Unconditional basic income
© ifo Institut
The introduction of an unconditional basic income (UBI) has been discussed in Germany for many years. All citizens should be paid a fixed monthly amount without any conditions attached. A comprehensive basic income would replace all existing social benefits and thus radically simplify and debureaucratize social security. How high would such an unconditional basic income have to be? How high would taxes have to be to finance the basic income? What behavioral reactions would such a system trigger? What would the new autonomy bring - for life satisfaction and for precarious work? What have we learned from the field experiments on basic income?
Discussants: Ronnie Schöb (FU Berlin) / Jürgen Schupp (DIW Berlin, infrastructure facility "Socio-Economic Panel") / Jürgen Wegge (TU Dresden, Faculty of Psychology) / Moderation: Marcel Thum (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
Supplementary literature:
Scientific Advisory Council to the Federal Ministry of Finance (2021), Unconditional Basic Income, Berlin.
10.05.2022: War, sanctions and macroeconomics
© ifo Institut
The war in Ukraine is causing unimaginable human suffering in Europe. In order to exert influence on the conflict by non-military means, severe sanctions have been imposed on Russia at various levels. What effect do the sanctions have on Russia and the global economy? Are the sanctions tough enough? What consequences could there be in Germany? And can the impact on the global economy also affect China in order to position itself more strongly in the conflict?
Discussants: Rüdiger Bachmann (University of Notre Dame) / Stefan Kooths (Kiel Institute for the World Economy) / Moderator: Christian Leßmann (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics)
03.05.2022: Real Facts: Communication through science
© ifo Institut
The major crises of recent years - the migration crisis, accelerated climate change, the coronavirus crisis and the war in Ukraine - were or are accompanied by fake news. False information circulating in the public domain has contributed to many misperceptions among the population. The panel will shed light on the role of science in times of fake news. Can scientific consensus on basic facts counteract false information? Where has science successfully reduced distortions in public perception? Where do scientific views and public opinion diverge particularly strongly and why? What role do the media play? Can good science communication mitigate the social divide? How can scientific results be used to reach decision-makers, e.g. politicians or executives?
Discussants: Anna Kerkhof (ifo Institute for Economic Research, Center for Industrial Organization and New Technologies) / Anna Sophie Kümpel (TU Dresden, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Institute of Media and Communication) / Marina Münkler (TU Dresden, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Institute of German Studies) / Moderation: Marcel Thum and Thomas Günther (TU Dresden, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics)
WS 2021/22
16.11.2021: Are algorithms the better managers?
01.02.2022: Challenges of the biodiversity crisis for the economy
WS 2020/21 and SoSe 2021: Discussions on Corona, Economy and Finance
08.12.2020: Corona warning apps: support in the fight against the pandemic?
14.01.2021: Corona debt: A threat to companies and the state?
2021-01-21: How coronavirus is changing the economy and companies
28.01.2021: Corona and the impact on the inpatient and outpatient sector and the production of healthcare services
18.03.2021: Corona and the "V" on the financial markets
15.04.2021: Corona and the (high) schools
06.05.2021: The world of work during and after corona
18.05.2021: Corona and digitalization in the healthcare sector
01.07.2021: How do we deal with (life) risks?