| Main fields of research | - International Economic Policy
- Swiss Foreign Economic Policy
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| Further fields of research | - World Trade Organization WTO
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
- The new Protectionism
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| Teaching Activities | Teaching Activities by Dr. Thomas A. Zimmermann (Selection)
2012; 2011; 2010; 2009; 2008: Lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH); in the Executive Master of Business Administration in Supply Chain Management (MBA-SCM); Course on "The Global Economy"; Topics covered: Regionalism, foreign direct investment, international financial architecture, globalisation of the world economy and role of developing and emerging markets, current macroeconomic issues (current economic situation, financial crisis, markets for natural resources and agricultural products, international macroeconomic imbalances); Course language: English.
2013; 2012; 2011; 2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006: Lecturer at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy / Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italia; Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations / Alta Scuola di Economia e Relazioni Internazionali (ASERI); in the Master of International Relations Management (MIRM; formerly: Master of European Studies and Global Affairs); Course on "International trade policy and the WTO". Topics covered: the political economy of international trade; the WTO as an international organization; GATT; GATS; TRIPS; WTO dispute settlement; regionalism; the role, challenges as well as special and differential treatment of developing countries; new topics such as investment, competition, trade facilitation, trade and the environment, social aspects of international trade; the Doha Round; research questions and methodologies. Course language: English.
2013; 2012; 2011; 2010; 2009: Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen; Lectures in the seminar No. 4,348 in preparation of the annual "oikos Model WTO". Topics covered: the political economy of international trade; the WTO as an international organization; GATT; GATS; TRIPS; WTO dispute settlement; regionalism; the role, challenges and special and differential treatment of developing countries; new topics such as investment, competition, trade facilitation, trade and the environment, social aspects of international trade; the Doha Round; research questions and methodologies. Course language: English.
2010: Lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences (HSLU) - School of Economics; in the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) Business Administration (MBA); Course on Globalisation and the world economy; Topics covered: Trends in globalisation, the multilateral trading system (WTO), regionalism, European integration, foreign direct investment, international financial architecture, the role of developing and emerging markets, current macroeconomic issues (current economic situation, financial crisis); Course language: German.
2007: Lecturer at the China International Law School in Shanghai; organized by the Center for International Business and Commercial Law (CIBCL) in co-operation with Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Course on "International Trade Policy and the WTO"; Topics covered: WTO, GATT, GATS, TRIPS, WTO dispute settlement, regionalism, WTO accession procedures, China in the WTO; Course language: English.
2000/2001: Lectuer at the University of St. Gallen; public policy programme; seminar on WTO issues / International Economic Policy I (KF STAWI IBZ; Seminar No. 5,223; jointly with Alexander Roitinger); Topics covered: WTO, GATT, GATS, TRIPS, WTO dispute settlement, regionalism special and differential treatment of developing countries, new topics (investment, competition, trade facilitation, trade and the environment, social aspects of international trade), research questions and methodologies; Course language: German.
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| Projects | Dr Thomas A. Zimmermann is a research associate at SIAW-HSG. On behalf of the Institute, he teaches international economics in education and professional development programmes. He is a regular lecturer in the Masters programme of in international relations (MIR) at the Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations (Alta Scuola di Economia e Relazioni Internazionali; ASERI) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, and in the MBA programme in Supply Chain Management (MBA-SCM) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technolgy (ETH) in Zurich.
His interests in research and teaching focus on international economic relations and economic policy. Dr Zimmermann dedicates particular attention to topics that lie on the crossroads of politics, economics and the law, and that are of relevance from the perspective of policymakers and the private sector. His research has concentrated so far on European economic integration and on economic relations between Switzerland and the EU, on the multilateral trading system (World Trade Organization; WTO), on foreign direct investment (FDI) and, more recently, on the rise of economic interventionism in the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis. His teaching activities cover further areas of interest for the world economy (such as the increasing weight of emerging and developing markets, evolving corporate strategies, the current international macroeconomic situation etc.).
In his main job, Dr Zimmermann serves as head of the division "Organisation, Legal Affairs and Accreditation" and Member of the Board at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Berne. |
| Affiliations | Head of the Division "Organisation, Legal Affairs and Accreditation" and Member of the Board at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Berne
Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Lecturer and Member of the Faculty at ASERI (Alta Scuola di Economia e Relazioni Internazionali; Postgraduate School for Economics and International Relations) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Milan, Italy
Lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH), Switzerland
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| Awards | Trinational Economic Award 1997 (Drei-Länder-Wirtschaftspreis 1997; Switzerland; Germany; France) by the Association of Chambers of Commerce in the Southern Upper Rhine Valley (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Handelskammern am südlichen Oberrhein) for the diploma thesis on the topic "The non-participation of Switzerland in European integration processes and its consequences for industrial firms in the Canton of Schaffhausen" ("Die Nichtteilnahme der Schweiz am europäischen Integrationsprozess: Betriebswirtschaftliche Auswirkungen auf die Industrieunternehmen im Kanton Schaffhausen") |
| Additional Information | Thomas A. Zimmermann was born in 1971 in Singen am Hohentwiel, Germany. After school (J.-P.-Hebel school in Gottmadingen / Hegau-Gymnasium in Singen) and military service, he studied "Europäische Wirtschaft" (European / international economics and management studies) at the University of Bamberg, Germany, and at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy. In 1998, Mr. Zimmermann became a doctoral student at the University of St. Gallen where he also worked as scientific collaborator and personal assistant to Prof. Dr. Heinz Hauser at the Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economic Research (SIAW-HSG). During this time, he also spent one semester at the Faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He was awarded his doctoral degree in October 2004 for his thesis on WTO dispute settlement reform.
Since November 2003, Dr Thomas A. Zimmermann works at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Berne. He first served as country relations officer for North America and the Caribbean in the Americas division of the Bilateral Economic Relations Department before becoming, in April 2006, head of staff and personal advisor to the Secretary of State, Mr. Jean-Daniel Gerber. Since 1 May 2009, he is head of the division "Organisation, Legal Affairs and Accreditation" and a member of the Board at SECO. At the same time, he continues to be active as research associate at SIAW-HSG. |