Executive MBA English edition

LEADING BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION

The Executive MBA English Edition is aimed at middle and senior managers, consultants, and professionals with an average of 12 years of work experience, who wish to guide companies on their path of business transformation, with an international mindset.

Part-time weekend, English-taught, the Executive MBA English Edition brings innovation to the center of the company’s vision, developing a systemic approach that decouples digital skills from technical ones, able to increase the company’s value from an international perspective.

With 13 core courses, each lasting one month and structured in two Wednesdays evening online, plus one weekend (Friday and Saturday) on campus, the Master aims at guiding students from management topics to business transformation ones.

In addition to these, there are 11 Focus Sessions: activities dedicated to the discussion of transversal topics, related to the world of digital business; 52 weeks of Distance Learning, to rework the contents acquired during the residential sessions; 3 one-day Hackathons: working groups on critical business issues and real cases; a final Project Work.

A unique opportunity is the International Week: in collaboration with one of the BBS Partner in the EMBA Consortium for Global Business Innovation, students will enjoy a full immersion in the world of Big Data & Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Digital Innovation with workshops, exclusive company visits and focus sessions with professionals from the digital world. An exceptional educational experience, a real chance to expand your network.

To join the Executive MBA English Edition means to become a digital transformation manager who can lead companies into the future.

 

Accreditation

EQUIS

Bologna Business School is EQUIS – EFMD Quality Improvement System accredited, one of the most important international quality assessment and continuous improvement systems for Schools of Management and Business Administration.


Riccardo Silvi

Riccardo Silvi

Academic Director
riccardo.silvi@unibo.it

" Digital transformation is not in dispute. Its effectiveness, on the other hand, yes. EMBA, one-of-a-kind, puts the digital factor at the heart of rationalization processes of value creation, innovation and business reinvention. A journey full of experiences, tools, and models in order to manage change and uncertainty. "

Andrea Pia

Andrea Pia

Executive Director
andrea.pia@akqa.com

" The Executive MBA represents a unique opportunity to develop not only your managerial skills, but above all a personal strategic view, which allows the participants to discover and focus their point of view on the world, not only on the business. An intense path of study and sharing, together with global realities and industry champions that will allow candidates to become architects of their future and of their success, in an increasingly uncertain world and therefore in need of authentic and innovative recipes. "

Structure

The Executive MBA (English edition) is a part-time program that allows you to combine study with work and family life. It features 13 core courses, each course lasts one month and the didactic sessions are held 2 Wednesdays evening online and 1 on-campus weekend (Friday and Saturday) once a month.

There are also:

  • 2 online Crash Courses in Foundations of Accounting and Data Management
  • 1 initial residential of two days Kick-off & Hackaton
  • 1 elective course in Artificial Intelligence
  • 1 day preparation of the Project Work and a last day for the presentation and discussion of the Project Work.

The program includes courses, focus sessions, meetings with managers and professionals of the business world and preparation meetings aimed at developing the project work. The contents are structured to guarantee the succession of activities and to allow participants to deepen each individual area from time to time.

CRASH COURSES IN FOUNDATIONS OF ACCOUNTING, DATA MANAGEMENT 

Before the beginning of the core courses, two optional online pre-courses allow those who need to consolidate their economic background, to acquire general economic knowledge and specifically the economic business terminology, necessary for communicating in a company.

CORE COURSES

13 core courses on specific topics and characterizing the module that develop over the three days that make up each residential;

FOCUS SESSION

11 one-afternoon focus sessions on cross-cutting themes related to the digital business world and topics such as: digital pricing, business ethics & sustainability, entrepreneurship management, diversity & inclusion, start-up management;

DISTANCE LEARNING

52 weeks of distance learning during which the participants will have to re-elaborate the contents dealt with during each residential and, with the support and indications of the tutors, create a paper on each of the main topics dealt with during classes of core courses;

ELECTIVE COURSE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The optional online course in Artificial Intelligence allows the participant to personalize his/her training experience, aligning his/her studies with the personal and professional interests.

HACKATHONS

3 hackathons of a day during which the participants, divided into groups, work on specific business issues and critical issues. Each group receives an evaluation based on the work done and this result contributes to the final evaluation of the participant.

PROJECT WORK

The project work concludes the training program and consists in the realization of a final project which starts from the analyzes carried out and developed during the previous modules.

COURSES

The course covers the strategic framework within which managers take decisions and turn their knowledge and capabilities into actions. We explore the essential concepts and tools of strategy and explain the positioning of companies in a variety of settings. You develop the skills needed to perform competitor analysis and understand how strategy formulation, deployment and effective execution relate to competitive advantage.

Cinti Luciani Andrea
Nogueira Antonio Roberto Ramos

Elements of accounting, budgeting and cost analysis. The measurement and interpretation of economic and financial performance of the company. The economic and financial analysis forecasting and budgeting. The calculation and analysis of costs in decision-making and management control. Management control as an operational mechanism. The systems of strategic control and strategic cost management.

Raffoni Anna

An effective marketing strategy requires a deep understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the perception of value for the customer. The course explores the processes related to the articulation of marketing plans in different contexts and environmental sectors. Market orientation; segmentation and positioning; product development; pricing and management of distribution policies. Integrated communication.

Tomesani Nicola

This course provides the relevant knowledge for comprehending and managing a business financial performance. Specifically, it focuses on the measuring and understanding of financial and value creation ratio, on cost analysis for business decision making on performance measurement systems for supporting implementation and monitoring of business strategy. The course finally provides an analytical perspective of business analysis.

Silvi Riccardo

The course provides a framework for understanding and analysing investment and financial decisions of corporations. Lectures and readings provide an introduction to present value techniques, capital budgeting, capital structure decisions, corporate cost of capital, initial and seasoned equity offerings and an introduction to corporate risk management.

Baschieri Giulia

COURSE – The course focuses on the process of value creation in the operative system, clarifying the definition of the structural characteristics: the expanded production system and fixing the boundaries of the company; vertical integration policy and production decentralization; managing the material flow, stocks and warehouses; process of planning production activities; procurement policies and management of the supply system. The course also encompasses current issues such as lean production, the use of RFID technologies and mass customization.

Blome Constantin
Chierchia Lucia

Detailed explanation of Digital Platforms and underlying reasons for adopting them in a business environment. Strategic and innovative technical details as microservices and API management will be exposed to provide a full picture of which are the key features that make a digital platform really valuable and effective for an organization. The key capabilities of an omnichannel platform will be illustrated. The course will provide to participants the standard tools used to select software and solutions that best fit a specific application. Participants will play with a high-level general-purpose solution (IFTTT) to better understand how much easy is to create new services on top of open platforms. The platform business model fundamentals will be provided to give a full understanding of what make a digital platform a digital business ecosystem.

Pia Andrea

Enterprises are designing new paths to deploy digital trasformation.

The course – guided by GELLIFY – will offer a journey to discover the key mechanisms of emerging technologies: artificial intelligence, IoT, advanced robotics, blockchain, cybersecurity…

Distinctive elements of the program are the dialogue with sector experts – from startups and big techs – and the interactive workshops – through GELLIFY proprietary method and tools.

The on-campus weekend of the course may take place at GELLIFY HUB, where advanced technologies are applied on innovative use cases, to make participants touch their potential.

The course presents the world of Business Intelligence and its most recent variations. The course aims to illustrate on one hand the opportunities and competitive advantages that Data Driven decisions entail in the company, on the other it introduces the problems and risks that a Business Intelligence project entails presenting basic elements related to methodologies and techniques. Organizational and technical issues (architectures, methodologies, techniques) will be complemented by the analysis of case studies and lab activities.

Golfarelli Matteo

In this module, students will be exposed to the principles and tools of design thinking applied to business models, using these tools in a guided path, with the following target:

Understand the meaning of “Customer Centricity” and the approach to designing digital services and business models

Analyze the needs of consumers and define new services that best satisfy them

Know and apply tools for the design of all the elements of the business model

Evaluate the business potential of an innovative idea

Create a “pitch deck” of the new business idea

Understanding the difficulties related to the implementation of innovative business models (“The Innovator’s dilemma”) within a ‘traditional’ company, and strategies that have proved useful in overcoming them.

Gatti Luca

The challenge of innovation passes through people. To create business innovation we need conscious leaders, able to facilitate the work of heterogeneous teams and get the most out of people both in terms of problem finding and change making. In the course, starting from what the neurosciences have taught us about how people “work”, we are going to decline an innovative way of people management that can help us, even at cross-cultural level, to improve the drivers of performance.

Ghini Massimiliano

The digital age has brought with it the proliferation of channels and technologies which in turn have radically changed the context in which marketers find themselves operating. It is therefore necessary to update the way in which marketing is understood and thought up to the digital age.

The course illustrates the new skills and marketing skills to be introduced: data and analytics, customer experience, content, omni-channels and personalization.

Pia Andrea

The course is designed in order to give the participants the tools to carry out their final project work. Participants will be divided into groups.

With a data driven approach, at the end of this module, participants should be able to identify a business idea, to turn it into a business opportunity, presenting a value proposition, eventually creating the adequate business model to meet both business and organizational needs.

Specifically, starting from the definition of success, the course aims at providing the knowledge for enabling the appropriate management strategy to define deliverables and planning activities, foreseeing the resources needed to achieve project objectives.

Pia Andrea
Silvi Riccardo

Participants in our program enjoy the flexibility to choose an elective course in Artificial Intelligence. As AI is a field with vast applications, with this elective you have the opportunity to tailor your learning experience to suit your aspirations. The courses (in live streaming modality) available to deepen the topic are the following:

  1. Artificial Intelligence For Sustainability (De Filippo Allegra – March 2024)
  2. Reinventing Business With AI (Francesco Balzan, Massa Lorenzo – March 2024)
  3. AI for Smart Companies (Stefano Pio Zingaro – February 2025)
  4. Creating Value with AI (Mark Esposito – TBD)

The International Week is a deep dive into Big Data & Analytics, Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship organised in cooperation with our EMBA Consortium for Global Business Innovation partners. The week is specifically designed with lectures, company visits and focus sessions.

Due to the fast evolution of digital technologies, every year some topics of the International Week may vary.

During the last edition, the courses organised thanks to the guidance of Professors Mahesh Rajan, Professor & Faculty Director, Executive Education Programs, Lucas College and Graduate School of Business for San José State University (CA) were:

  • Data Mining & Big Data Analytics, held by Dr. David Czerwinski and Dr. Shaonan Tian
  • History and Culture of Silicon Valley, held by Dr. Anu Basu
  • Managing Innovation at Scale, held by Dr. Raj Minhas
  • Network Effects in Sustainable Supply Chains, held by Dr. Arvinder Loomba
  • Go to Market Strategy, held by Dr. Yugan Sikri
  • Venture Capital Funding, held by Dr. Sudhir Kadam
  • Blockchain Technologies, held by Dr. Robert Schwentkler

Company visits were carried out in the Ford Greenfield LabsAKQAAmazon Fulfillment CenterPlug and Play Tech Center, Jabil (Blue Sky Innovation Center) and IDEO.

Learning approach

The Master’s study methodology alternates between classroom learning and remote practical activities on the School’s e-learning platform, constantly monitored by dedicated tutors. DISTANCE LEARNING The distance study activity, a weekly work plan on the e-learning platform of the School, represents a moment of individual study supervised by the reference tutor. The platform is equipped with a forum for sharing real-time reflections and insights between professors, tutors and participants.

HOW YOU LEARN

The courses allow the participants to deepen, from time to time, a single disciplinary area, ensuring an effective progression of the educational path.

WHERE THE COURSES ARE HELD 

The Master takes place in two distinct places: one physical at Villa Guastavillani, Bologna, one virtual, the e-learning platform. Taking into account the international profile of the participants, it is given the possibility to remotely join the didactic sessions.

HOW THE COURSES ARE PERFORMED

The start of each course takes place within a residential context. The professor holds an introductory lesson, evaluates the level of competence of the participants on a given topic and informs them on how to use the material they will find on the platform and on the objectives of the module. During the following weeks the participants continue the course on the platform. The learning then follows a linear path, constantly monitored by the course tutor, always available for clarifications and further information.

About 8/10 hours of study per week are expected. The closing of the courses includes a final test to verify the level of depth achieved.

DISTANCE LEARNING

The distance study activity includes a weekly work plan on the e-learning platform of the School which represents a moment of individual study supervised by the reference tutor. The platform is equipped with a forum for real-time sharing of reflections and insights between faculty and participants.

CLASS PROFILES OF THE PREVIOUS EDITIONS

Geographical Origin

Professional background

Academic background

    TARGET

    The Master is for:

    – managers, professionals and graduate consultants with more than 5 years of professional experience who want to boost their careers in the field of digital transformation, focusing on all aspects, from strategy to big data and performance analysis, from service design to organization management.

    – managers, professionals and non-graduate consultants who are required to have at least 8 years of professional experience and have a strong interest in enhancing their careers in the field of digital transformation, focusing on all its aspects, from strategy to big data and performance analysis, from service design to organization management.

  • 36

    AVERAGE AGE

  • 12 YEARS

    PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Alumni

Kaoutar Abd

Solution Project Manager Lighting, Gewiss
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2022/2024)

"The Executive MBA program is one of the MUST DO experience for any professional seeking to understand how to lead successful business organizations. The learning methodology is based on stimulating discussions with Elite from the field sharing a life experience of success and lessons learned, which has an immediate and effective impact on the students. I’m grateful for the experience and satisfied with the program, as it helps me to develop valuable skills, from critical thinking to Management, reinforce my background with business expertise that any professional women or men will need to build a path towards excellence. "

Niall Kelly

Global Product Manager – Specialty Care, Menarini Group
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2022/2024)

": The Executive MBA in Bologna has been an invaluable experience: Across all industries, we are at an inflexion point in our understanding and utilisation of digital technologies, and this programme uniquely serves to address these concepts – by equipping participants with the latest digital acumen and core competencies, to perform more effectively in today’s rapidly evolving business environment."

Stefania Montanari

Supply Chain Finance Manager, Jimmy Choo
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2018/2020)

"The Executive MBA English Edition, characterized by its focus on Digital Transformation, makes you a new multiplier of opportunities for your company. After this experience, we will be able to have new vision of our industries and companies. Each part of this Master is crucial to have a view on the future and challenges you will always look forward, giving you the right tools to keep pace with the high speed of the external contexts. This Master is a real journey and it will not end with your graduation day: it is a life journey."

Alessandro Riza Nezhaj

Bank Agent for Finance support and collections specialist, Capita for Lloyds Banking Group
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2020/2022)

"The Executive MBA English Edition program focuses on unique experiences and qualities, with an extraordinary all-around training on technological trends, business management and above all on the impact of digitalization on business, both in the present and in the future. During the master I dealt with several topics and people having different backgrounds, which allowed and helped me to grow both on the professional side and acquiring skills in new technologies and methods that have developed in their fields. Thanks to the Executive MBA program I have enriched not only my know-how, but also my social network: here I’ve not simply met new colleagues, but friends."

Timo Wörner

Head of Public Sector Consulting, Bechtle AG
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2018/2020)

"The Executive MBA English Edition is the perfect combination of high quality academic education and hands-on approaches for the Digital Transformation. Experienced Professors and Managers unleash a wide range of constructive mind-spreading discussions to think outside the box. The program, provides the tools to completely manage the digital transformation path of an organization. It was a great experience to join the International Week in Silicon Valley with numerous company visits, conferences and expert interviews."

Annie Wan

Lead Director, Your Education
Executive MBA English Edition (Ed. 2019/2021)

"While attending the Executive MBA English Edition, I have studied numerous topics and participated in over a dozen group projects and activities beneficial to anyone seeking to either establish or improve their knowledge of Management through innovative approaches."

Networking

The Executive MBA is a journey made up of people, during which formal and informal exchange opportunities are created to facilitate the circulation of ideas and experiences among all the participants. Networking is developed between students of the same class, between the participants and the professors, as well as with students of other programs and with the School community. The program is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach that combines different teaching methods and application activities, useful for creating a network between participants and companies: HACKATHON AND FOCUS SESSION. At the end of each module there are two different application activities lasting one day:

  • Hackathon – A stimulating and exciting one-day competition in which the participants, divided into teams, will compete on specific business cases. The Hackathons  will take place at  partner companies’  headquarters or at Bologna Business School.
  • Focus Session – sessions on cross-cutting business challenges related to the digital business world and topics such as: digital pricing, business ethics & sustainability, entrepreneurship management, diversity & inclusion, start-up management.

COMPANIES

The Executive MBA brings business innovation to the center of business decisions and value creation for brands, services and consumers by developing a holistic approach to knowledge, which frees up digital skills from exclusively technical and specialist discussion tables and instead connects them with the whole organization.

Nowadays the companies that have chosen to be our partners are:

BPER BANCA CHIESI FARMACEUTICI DUCATI MOTOR HOLDING EMC FERRETTI GROUP FAMECCANICA GLEM GAS INFRAITALIA SERVIZI INJENIA ITALSOFT GROUP MARAZZI GROUP MBP MOTO OFFICINE MACCAFERRI ONIT GROUP SILMA VAR GROUP VOITH TURBO


Programme Advisory Committee

  • Anna Pia Chiarandini – Head of Global Communication, Angelini Technologies
  • Marco Ferrando – Head of BU Data Science, Var Group
  • Stefano Focaccia – Managing Director UTP, Prelios
  • Gianluca Giovannetti – Direttore Generale, Amadori
  • Giacomo Iannelli – Director Mazars
  • Emanuela Motta – Senior Client Solutions Manager Linkedin
  • Antonella Sangiorgi – Chief Information Officer, Rekeep
  • Gianluca Sardella – EMEA Program Marketing Manager, ExxonMobil
  • Annie LingLing Wan – Founder & CEO, Your Insight Education Consulting
  • Timo Wörner – Corporate Development Manager Bechtle Group

Community

During the Master, a series of seminars with head-hunters and HR managers are offered, to provide tools and resources to contribute to your career development and how to enter the job market in leadership positions.

Once the Master is ended, it is possible to join the activities dedicated to the Community, to further increase your own network. Furthermore, meetings open to the entire BBS Community are periodically scheduled with managers, entrepreneurs and guests, focusing on the different scenarios of a constantly evolving society and market.

FEES

The registration fee for the Master’s course on a company basis is 33.800 Euros + VAT.

The registration fee for the Master’s course on an individual basis is 25.600 Euros + VAT.

Reduced fees available for early bird application by March 30th, 2024

The registration allows to:

  • Access to the Moodle platform and teaching materials
  • Participation to the BBS Community events
  • Wi-Fi
  • Access to the AIDA database for companies

For more information, contact iemba@bbs.unibo.it

FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR COMPANIES

Companies that make investments in education 4.0 aimed at the acquisition or consolidation, by the company’s employees, of skills in the technologies relevant to the implementation of the process of technological and digital transformation can take advantage of the tax credit in 2022 provided by the “National Plan Enterprise 4.0“.  For more information, click here.

Funding

Long-term and low-interest loan*:

– Repayable in 10 years
– Reduced interest rate
– Possibility to postpone the 1st payment fee to 36 months

*Only participants having fiscal residence in Italy can apply for the loan.

For participants who do not reside fiscally in Italy, please don’t hesitate to inquire at iemba@bbs.unibo.it for alternative options.

 

REQUIREMENTS

The Executive MBA trains talented managers and professionals able to manage businesses by helping them in the process of digital transformation taking place nowadays.

The master is for professionals, consultants and managers who have at least 5 years of professional experience and a Bachelor’s Degree. A limited number of applicants who do not hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with 8+ years of relevant professional experience, may be admitted, up to 20%.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The admission procedure includes the following steps:

  1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) Screening: Submit your CV via email to our Executive Education Specialist at iemba@bbs.unibo.it.
  2. Entry Test: Complete a 30-minute online test.
  3. Assessment Interview: Participate in a 30-minute online interview.

For inquiries about accessing the Master selection process, contact Comasia Fumarola at iemba@bbs.unibo.it.

FAQs

The selection process consists of an interview with the Master’s Director, organised by the Program Manager upon candidate request and after sending of the Curriculum Vitae. The interview is not binding on enrollment.

The Program Manager can send a certificate of attendance record at the end of the didactic sessions to those that make a request, upon verification of the attendance.

In order to get admitted to the Master Executive, it is required to have a Bachelor’s Degree, however, a limited number of places are available for those who do not have a Bachelor’s Degree but that can demonstrate to have significant professional experience, to be evaluated during the assessment interview.

No, it is not. The Executive Masters are not University Masters, therefore they do not have ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), that in Italy are called “crediti formativi universitari (CFU).

At the end of the Master, a certificate of attendance (which includes the achieved results) and a Diploma of Participation (upon verification of successful completion of each course and of at least a 70% of class attendance) are issued.

No, because it is not a university Master.

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