A Masters in Business Innovation for C-Suite Officers

 

Innovation has become a pressing need for the successful company of the 21st century and the Deusto Masters in Business Innovation is aimed at top executives who want to learn the latest practices and apply them while they work.

 

We've interviewed Professor Oswaldo Lorenzo who teaches on the programme to discuss some of its benefits.

 

The 12-month part-time programme comprises seven modules in five European cities: Bilbao, Madrid, San Sebastian, Florence and Cambridge, and is offered in collaboration with Cambridge University's Judge Business School. The next class starts on 11 March 2013 and there are still a couple of spaces left!

 

I teach two seminars called Process-based Management and Information Technology. The first one concerns the need to think cross-functionally within organizations. Participants learn to take more integrated or holistic perspectives of organizations.

 

The managers on the course can learn how to manage cross functional needs and improve the value chain. In the IT seminar, we discuss how information technology can be used to design and improve products or services. In both seminars we discuss team work and new roles, since nowadays it's common to see organizations with different process owners.

 

I joined Deusto a year and a half ago and I really like that it’s a very international environment. We recruit people with a high interest in innovation, both students and teachers. The people here are very creative and have good ideas about changing society, and the great benefit for me as a professor is that it is very rich for discussions and debates.

 

The students are mainly aged between 30 and 50 with around ten years of experience. They come from different areas of their organizations but the common thread is that they are interested in innovation. Positions directly related to innovation are few these days so you find students from marketing, product development, process innovation, change management and so on.

 

The Deusto programme is highly focused on innovation. Topics such as marketing, operations, finance and human capital are covered from an innovation perspective. Other modules are strategy for innovation, innovation processes, leadership for innovation, and entrepreneurship for innovation.

 

The programme is aimed at people who want to search for new business opportunities; improve the development, implementation and commercialization of strategic ideas; create a culture that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship within their organization; and try out innovation in practice through the applied innovation project.

 

In the Basque country, we have an important tech and innovation cluster of companies and we can draw best practices from them. Tecnalia, one of the biggest IT companies is in the area. We have Sherpa, the new digital system for android and the entrepreneur in charge has won prizes from MIT and Stanford. We also use famous worldwide examples from companies like Apple, Google, and consumer goods companies like Procter and Gamble.

 

I think the format of the programme, which is delivered in different cities like Cambridge, Florence, and Bilbao and gives them a multicultural environment to learn in. Cambridge is the world’s leading destination for venture capital investment after Silicon Valley and Florence gives students the opportunity to experience the Renaissance. Seeing the connection between past eras of innovation and  current times is a very important experience.

 

Students have also told me that they’ve enjoyed having being taught by people from firms such as McKinsey and Tecnalia.  It’s a good mix of academics and practitioners.

 

Another unique feature of the MBI is that it allows you to develop your own innovation project as an entrepreneur, or an innovation project for your own company, which can be done with support from a tutor.

 

The next class for the part-time Deusto Business School Masters in Business Innovation starts on 11 March 2013 and there are still a few spaces left! Click here for more details and to apply.