Capstones

Is it possible to predict the capital contribution (drawdown) profile of EIB’s private equity fund investments? This was the question asked to Esade students in the framework of a capstone project with the EIB. The EIB can provide equity financing primarily investing or co-investing along with funds focused on infrastructure, the environment, or small- and […]

EU scale-up firms relocate more frequently than US or UK firms and they often relocate outside of the EU and most frequently in the US, according to a capstone project led by College of Europe masters’ students in 2024 on “The European scale-up ecosystem: Evidence on late-stage enterprises location choice”

Germany is committed to continuing providing sustainable and efficient public transport. In the coming years (2025-2035) authorities both at regional and national level will dedicate increased funding for electrification, and infrastructure expansion and innovative mobility solutions according to the results of a capstone project with TU Dresden Masters’ students presented at the EIB in Luxembourg in April 2024.

What impact had the COVID-19 pandemic on EU SMEs, and how did national fiscal policies help mitigate this impact ? This was the topic submitted by the European Investment Fund to four students from the London School of Economics’ Master of Public Administration (MPA) in the framework of a Capstone programme.

How has the “EU Restructuring Directive” of 2019 been transposed into national law in eight EU countries and how it compares to UK national law? This was the topic of the first EIB capstone project carried out with students from the International and European Law programme at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in 2022-2023.

To strengthen private equity (PE) investment in sub-Saharan Africa it is necessary to create a PE support fund, to facilitate knowledge sharing, to set up PE education programme and to support its regional expansion according to the findings of the second capstone project carried out by Masters’ students of Esade (Barcelona, Spain) presented in June 2023.

Results of the first capstone project carried out by Master’s students from TU Dresden on “German regional rail transport: between hope and failure” were presented in April 2023.

The unprecedented rise in energy prices due to the war in Ukraine has had a large but heterogenous effect on European SMEs according to a capstone project on ” The impact of energy prices on SME investment and profitability” led by LSE Masters students coordinated by the European Investment fund (EIF) and presented at the EIB in March 2023.

How to help the EIB have more accurate market expectations using Text mining and Machine Learning? This was the topic of the first capstone research project with Esade Barcelona students under the mentorship of the Financial Risk Department of the EIB.

Supporting Greentech clusters and building a more conducive investment environment are the policy measures needed to develop Greentech in the EU according to a capstone project led by LSE Masters students coordinated by the European Investment fund (EIF) and presented at the EIB on 24 March 2022.