International Award for ESG Research: Tim Brasch Completes His Doctorate

Tim Brasch has successfully completed his collaborative doctoral program at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg—and has received international recognition for his work. For a joint research paper with his doctoral advisor, Prof. Dr. Christian Eckert, the insurance researcher was honored with the Dorfman Doctoral Student Support Award at an international conference in Mexico.

Tim Brasch has successfully completed his joint doctoral program between Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. In his dissertation, “Essays on Sustainability in the Insurance Industry,” he examined sustainability assessments and their significance for the international insurance industry.

How meaningful are insurance companies’ ESG scores? What factors influence these ratings, how have they evolved over time, and what is the relationship between an insurer’s ESG commitment and its enterprise value? Tim Brasch addressed these questions during his doctoral research.

The research project, funded by HUK-COBURG with third-party grants, was based at the Faculty of Economics at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Together with his doctoral advisor, Prof. Dr. Christian Eckert, professor of insurance and IT management, Brasch published three research articles in international journals. The two researchers also presented their findings at international conferences in countries including China, Japan, and Mexico.

Research Findings Impress International Community of Experts

Tim Brasch received the Dorfman Doctoral Student Support Award at the 59th Annual Conference of the Western Risk and Insurance Association in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the joint research paper “Deconstructing ESG Scores: An Analysis of LSEG and the Insurance Industry.” The award recognizes the best research paper submitted by a doctoral student.

“Tim Brasch has pursued his doctoral research over several years with great dedication, a high degree of scientific rigor, and remarkable perseverance,” says Eckert. “I am particularly pleased that his research has not only been published in international journals but has also received special recognition from the academic community in the form of the Best Paper Award.”

At FAU, the collaborative doctoral project was initially supervised by Prof. Dr. Nadine Gatzert. Following her death, Prof. Dr. Martina Steul-Fischer took over supervision on short notice and worked with Eckert to see the doctoral project through to its successful completion.

HUK-COBURG Continues Its Funding

This successful completion also marks the end of one of the doctoral projects at the faculty funded by HUK-COBURG. However, the collaboration will continue: HUK-COBURG has extended its support and once again provided external funding.

“This continued funding demonstrates how well the training of young researchers, applied research, and collaboration with the insurance industry can be combined,” Eckert emphasizes. “I am very pleased that we can continue this successful collaboration and build on our joint work with Tim Brasch.”