ESADE Business School partners with Aalto University Executive Education to explore innovation and entrepreneurship in Asia
ESADE and Aalto University have teamed up to create the ESADE-Aalto MBA for Executives. The new programme combines the entrepreneurial spirit of ESADE with Aalto University’s passion for innovation and will offer participants a chance to discover the Asian innovation market during stays in various Asian cities.
The programme was officially presented today at Aalto University Executive Education in Singapore during the Aalto-ESADE event “Organising for Innovation in the 21st Century. Event participants included Ivan Bofarull, Director of Global Insights & Strategic Initiatives at ESADE Business School, Mikko Laukkanen, Academic Director at Aalto University Executive Education, and Sami Salokangas, Vice President, Regional Sector Engineering & Manufacturing Asia Pacific at DHL.
“Today’s organisations are increasingly global and they need executives with the competencies to adapt to a constantly changing environment and lead multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, said Jordi Brunat, Executive Education Managing Director at ESADE. “This new master’s programme will allow participants to acquire a more global profile and increase their performance in international firms, as well as their ability to manage global teams. It will also provide a high-added-value experience for executives, most of whom are expected to come from the Americas, Europe and Asia.
According to the Group Managing Director, Dr. Pekka Mattila from Aalto EE, “The ESADE-Aalto MBA for Executives combines the strengths of two leading business schools to create a distinctive MBA programme for high-potential executives. He added: “The programme’s format and the group’s cultural diversity will make it an immersive and intensive experience. A design-thinking approach and an entrepreneurial take on the themes will help participants to spot emerging business opportunities both in Europe and Asia.
Uniting continents through innovation
The ESADE-Aalto MBA for Executives will start in December. It will focus primarily on innovation and entrepreneurship and will introduce the design-thinking methodology as a way to approach challenges. The programme targets managers with more than ten years of experience who are interested in taking the next step in their international career and have a special interest in Asia-Europe business relations.
The programme will run from December 2017 to June 2019 and includes eight intensive weeks held in strategic locations with peers and expert faculty at the sponsoring institutions’ international campuses. Students will spend four weeks in Asia (three in Singapore and one in Vietnam) and four in Europe (one in Helsinki and three in Barcelona). The programme in these intensive modules will focus on global business, strategy and innovation, organisation and leadership.
Double degree from two top schools
The new programme was developed under the cooperation agreement signed by the two institutions in January 2015 with a view to expanding their educational offering and supporting entrepreneurs and executives interested in leveraging design and technology to create innovative new business opportunities.
