MBA in Blockchain Management

TERM I (18 CH | 23 ECTS)

• Management Skills 3 | 4
  This course introduces the concepts, techniques, procedures and ethics of effective management in organizational settings. Students explore the competencies, skills and organizational processes associated with the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The course focuses on the human relationships involved in these processes: between an individual and an organization and between an organization and the society in which it operates. During the course students discover how to make these relationships mutually beneficial.
• Organizational Behavior 3 | 4
  Understanding, managing and influencing individual and group behavior enables an organization to achieve its goals more effectively. This course examines individual and group behavior within organizations, analyzing the past and present and looking towards the future. It provides theoretical and practical knowledge for understanding topics such as organizational structure, motivation, job design, leadership, managerial decision making, group processes, teamwork and conflict resolution.
• Managerial Accounting 3 | 4
  This intensive course examines accounting and finance from the perspective of a decision maker to help students develop a framework for understanding financial, managerial and tax reports. Students prepare and interpret financial information for investors (external users) and managers (internal users), as well as examine how financial instruments are used to support both system and project creation. They look at how the cost-volume-profit relationships and incremental analysis provide information to support decision making. The course discusses topics including general accounting procedures, ethics and transfer pricing.
• Marketing 3 | 4
  This course promotes the understanding of concepts, philosophies, processes and techniques used in managing marketing operations. It also helps develop an appreciation of different aspects of the marketplace. Students examine the product life cycle, explore the marketing mix and learn how to create marketing strategies. Based on the theoretical background, complete marketing campaigns are prepared for different local and global sectors, environments and situations. Students also explore the marketing plan as a component of the business plan.
• Quantitative Business Methods 3 | 4
  This course acquaints students with various statistical tools and techniques, such as analytical model building which is used in administrative and business decision making. Topics include: statistical hypothesis testing, frequency distributions and other applications of statistics, regression analysis, linear programming and financial mathematics.
• Negotiation (seminar) 1 | 1
  The need for negotiation skills arises whenever joint decision making is necessary. This seminar develops students’ confidence in their negotiation skills and enables them to become better decision makers. A unique element of the seminar is that students experience the interaction of need, compromise and fear-based negotiations, focusing on the possibility of losing the deal. This seminar also offers an opportunity to discover and experiment with different techniques that help lead to the desired outcomes and clearer decisions.
• Business Law (seminar) 1 | 1
  This seminar focuses on key international legal topics: commercial agreements, contracts, intellectual property, ethics, fraud, bribery and corruption. Students reflect on current cases in conjunction with judiciary precedent, gaining practical and applicable insight into business law.
• Personal & Professional Development 1 | 1

TERM II (21 CH | 27 ECTS)

• Finance 3 | 4
  This course covers key principles of finance necessary to understand and implement the finance function in an organization and carry out the financial analysis that justifies the decision-making process. Students learn to analyze and create alternative investment projects and to prepare corresponding budgets. Topics include the managerial approach to financial analysis, budgeting, planning, control, the management of working capital, long-term assets and long-term financing.
• Human Resources Management 3 | 4
  The 21st century brings new challenges to the field, such as outplacement, outsourcing HR functions and employee leasing. This course analyzes the microfunctions of human resources management and explores its strategic importance for an organization to attract, develop, motivate and retain employees. The course covers topics such as recruitment and talent acquisition; training; mentoring and promotion; appraisal; fair compensation; conflict resolution and legal issues.
• Global Economics 3 | 4
  Global economics examines basic economic principles used in managerial situations. Topics include: global interdependence and the benefits of trade; market forces of supply and demand; supply, demand and government policies; measuring a nation’s income and cost of living; production and growth; savings, investment and the financial systems; unemployment; the monetary system; and money and inflation. Students learn to apply this knowledge when making economic decisions in a global business context. Students should have basic knowledge of economic terminology.
• Strategic Management 3 | 4
  The strategic positioning of an organization is instrumental to its success. Having a clear vision and mission that runs throughout the organization is key to both internal and external branding. To optimize the overall performance of a firm or a business unit within a firm, students learn to identify and analyze the drivers of the firm’s performance and identify external changes that may affect optimal results. This course reviews the main concepts, methods and tools used in formulating strategies and implementing processes. It also explores ways to better leverage a firm’s internal resources in order to improve sustainable performance and investigates the limitations of applied theory.
• Management Information Systems 3 | 4
  This course examines the role of management information systems in organizations and provides an overview of the functions and cost of technology. Students explore how companies make the most of their investment for managing data and for communicating both internally and externally at a time when companies’ IT budgets are continually increasing.
• Business Strategy Simulation 3 | 4
  The effective manager must understand a wide range of technical and social relationships and be able to integrate them within the cost, performance, and time constraints of her/his area of responsibility. To learn and practice strategic planning skills a compute-based management simulation (CAPSTONE Business Simulation) will be used which creates a Business Simulation allows the student to test alternative actions of an operating business in a competitive environmentwithout incurring costs or the risk of implementing them in a real setting. The simulation is played over several time periods.
• Job Career Planning (seminar) 1 | 1
  This seminar helps students better understand, analyze and identify future career paths. The knowledge and experience acquired during the MBA course inevitably change the individual’s profile in the market. Reassessing that profile is an essential part of planning for the future, preparing a new CV and perfecting a networking presentation. The changing business environment requires a more innovative approach to job searches, this seminar offers practical support for finding employment after graduating.
• Communication Skills (seminar) 1 | 1
  This seminar focuses on understanding the processes needed for effective oral and written communication in a business setting. Emphasis is placed on the application of key principles that will enhance communication and effectiveness, as well as the development of skills and attitudes appropriate for business communication; especially in public speaking.
• Personal & Professional Development 1 | 1

TERM III (15 CH | 20 ECTS)

• Blockchain 1o1 3 | 4
  What is blockchain technology? Blockchain is a decentralized technology that records information and value on millions of devices globally. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on four economic sectors: Fintech, healthcare, logistics, and energy. It will also explore how this technology can address some of the most pressing problems in society such as trust, transparency, human rights, inclusive participation and fair trade. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a problem in an economic sector they select or to create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovation. Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st Century and provide a blueprint for the value-based economy.
• Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and the Fintech Industry 3 | 4
  Blockchain, the technology at the heart of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is a distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on the financial industry. It will explore some questions such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial innovations (Fintech). Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a problem in the financial industry or to create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovations. Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st Century and provide a blueprint for the value-based economy.
• Blockchain Applications & New Business Models 3 | 4
  Blockchain technology presents opportunities for disruptive innovation. It enables global business transactions with less friction and more trust. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on the economy. It will explore how this technology will allow new business models to emerge, while addressing some of the most pressing problems in our societies. Students will be asked to complete a project applying blockchain technology to create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovation. Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st Century and provide a blueprint for the value-based economy.
• Blockchain & Sustainable Development 3 | 4
  Blockchain is a rapidly/evolving area of information technology with potential for huge benefits in terms of security, reliability and cost/efficiency in the exchange of information. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on sustainable development and its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. It will also explore how this technology can address some of the most pressing issues of our times such as climate change, deforestation, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity, among others. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a public issue with a sustainable development approach or to create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovation. Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st Century and provide a blueprint for the green economy.
• Blockchain & the Non-Profit Industry 3 | 4
  Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the non-profit industry though blockchain-powered smart contracts and the adoption of cryptocurrencies, providing transparency, enabling efficiency and cutting costs. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on the non-profit industry. It will explore how this technology affects international and local actors such as states, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations. It will also look at how this transformational technology influences the development of new processes and mechanisms to address global issues such as corruption, lack of transparency, human right violations, and the democratic deficit of decision-making processes. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a specific public issue (global or local). Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st Century.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS (14 CH | 20 ECTS)

• EU Research & Dissertation Seminars* |
• EU Dissertation 15 | 20
  The dissertation allows students to combine the skillls and tools acquired throughout their MBA into a final project that uses strategic business thinking for success in the business world. Is it to be turned in within three months of the end of the final term. Students choose their topic with the help of their MBA Dissertation Advisor. Many participants use it to study a new market they want to enter as entrepreneurs; others use it as a tool to research and analyze their existing companies.