“The growth of our business and the expansion of the needs of our clients demand an ever-larger number of ever-more qualified employees.” UBS 2006 This is the quote that greets you when you log-on to www.privatebanking-linz.at – the web site for the new Professional Masters in Private Banking which will be offered for the first time by the Johannes Kepler University, Linz. The first programme starts in March 2008 and runs for two years. Professor Teodoro Cocca is the chair of Asset and Wealth Management at JKU and the driving force behind the degree. “What we can see is that a private banker has many sources to be educated in quantitative skills either through personal study or a variety of taught courses. There is much less education available that focuses on the qualitative or soft skills within the context of private banking looking at distribution networks, pricing and strategy issues,” he says. The first course aims to have 15-20 students and will be taught in four cities, rotating between them, to give an exposure to the variety of institutions in each of the countries. The four cities are Linz, Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich. Four semesters will be taught over the two years with four full weeks and nine weekends of tuition. Subjects range from the legal and regulatory environment to the investment process, asset management, financial planning and marketing and will cover the on and offshore markets. The programme is to be offered only in German. Professor Cocca will run the programme, mostly as a chairman, but 80 per cent of the teaching will be by industry practitioners. Indeed the list of contributors does read like a who’s who of the German speaking private banking world with senior management from the likes of UBS, Pictet & Cie and Julius Baer presenting alongside representatives from the smaller regional private banks. Students will be expected to have five years experience in private banking or a related field and a university degree or equivalent. The main target group is relationship managers. It is not, however, for chief executives. “We have had some executive management express interest but we have had to suggest that this may not be for them.” says Professor Cocca. “There is certainly a market for seminars for senior management, providing an environment for sharing of ideas and space to think. But there are no plans for the university to offer such courses at this point.” Interest in the programme has been high but the test will be just how many individuals decide to register for what promises to be not just an educational experience or a lot of work, but possibly one of the best networking opportunities in the business.