Degree highlight: Transfer Project

The transfer project will form an essential part of the students’ practical learning experience throughout the degree, as its aim is to encourage critical thinking and build the bridge between academic knowledge and project-based application. It will also give the students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in addressing and solving matters relating to Tax Policy, Tax Legislation and Tax Administration in a real-life setting.

• The transfer project should address a practice-oriented problem, i.e. be drawn from the student’s current workplace and linked to the broader content of the master’s programme.
• Students are expected to write a short dissertation on the transfer project. The transfer project should subsequently feed into the master’s thesis.
• The transfer project will be supervised by BSEL academic staff and mentored by tax professionals from ATAF, GIZ or practitioners from the student’s workplace. Students will work on the transfer project throughout the entire programme.
• ATAF will recognise and award outstanding transfer projects through publication in various journals and through awards ceremonies at high-level ATAF events and conferences in the presence of pre-eminent tax officials and policy-makers.

Academic excellence

• Studying in Germany and South Africa
• Lectures, interactive seminars and workshops as well as individual work on a transfer project
• Collaboration with tax practitioners on the transfer project
• ‘Best Transfer Project/Master’s Thesis Award’ presentation ceremony at high-level ATAF events and conferences in the presence of pre-eminent tax officials and policy-makers
• Publication of outstanding transfer projects/master’s thesis in various peer-reviewed working-paper series (e.g. the ATAF working-paper series, BSEL discussion-paper series)
• A certificate after the successful completion of the required modules and electives

International exchange

• Benefits derived from the international environment, highly skilled international academics as well as professional international guest lecturers
• International exchange with leading practitioners on European and African public-revenue systems

Events and study visits

• Visits to some of Africa's leading public-finance organisations, e.g. the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and ATAF, the international organisation on tax administration
• Visits to European public-finance institutions, e.g. the German Federal Ministry of Finance, German tax offices, the German Parliament and the European Commission
• Participation in ATAF events