Tristan Janning, an economics major at Heidelberg University in Germany, embraces a challenge. As an international student studying at Southern for the 2024-25 academic year, he researched green bonds — fixed-income investments used to fund projects with a positive environmental impact. His faculty mentor, Samuel Kojo Andoh, professor of economics, encouraged him to present his findings at Southern’s Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference. Janning’s goal: to make the topic accessible to an audience that included those without an economics background — and to do so in English, his non-native language.
“It was a challenge to condense my research down to 15 minutes and not be distracted by an internal line of thought, especially since English is not my first language,” says Janning, who is professionally proficient in English and has basic skills in Swedish. He earned the Outstanding Business Presentation Award.
A Home for Research
Janning’s research touched on a variety of topics, including bond costs, investor preferences, and the importance of liquidity (how easily bonds can be sold). He used the university’s Bloomberg Terminals, a premium financial software platform offering real-time market data, analytical tools, and trading capabilities. At Southern, Bloomberg Terminals are housed in the new School of Business building, giving students hands-on access to industry-standard technology.
Janning used the terminals to ensure his research focused solely on certified green bonds — those that had undergone a third-party verification process.
“I’ve always been interested in the general topic of green finance,” says Janning, who came to Southern through an exchange program between Germany and the state of Connecticut. He selected Southern out of other options because of its prime location between New York City and Boston as well as its strong economics program.
“Europe is a leader in issuing green bonds. While they’re still a small segment of the market in the U.S., they are behaving much like traditional bonds — and investors are interested,” he says. ■
Read more from Southern Alumni Magazine
