Seminar Portfolio & Calendar

Core Courses

Management & Leadership

Advanced Communication & Team Dynamics

Getting your intention across by communication is key to fruitful relationships


Course description:

This course enables participants to improve building lasting relationships and cooperation by raising their own communication skills. In any successful relationship, whether in private or working life, effective communication is key. In any leadership position or when team efforts matter, it becomes paramount.

Typically, the way an individual communicates, determines not only how that individual is perceived by others, but also how that individual will judge other people. Since people use distinctly different ways to express themselves and bring across their messages, their intentions can easily be misunderstood by others, quite often leading to tensions and disappointments. It is estimated that 90-95% of disputes originate from such misunderstandings. Here, participants will master different styles of communication, through both cognitive and experiential learning. In addition, unique, advanced and proven communication techniques will be taught, that are crucial to (re)build trust, partnership and cooperation in relationships.

Overall, since the course is very intensive and practical, communication skills of the participants will improve vastly and immediately. During the entire course, special attention will be given how to enable individual members of a team to function optimally, how to create a so-called “built team” and how to address one or more persons in such a way that your message will come across the way you intended it to be.

Participants will get how to be correctly understood by other people. How to prevent common misunderstandings. How to express themselves clearly in an unequivocal way. How to influence their environment effectively, beyond cultural or company issues. How to gain trust and how to close a deal. And how to build (better) teams.

Course taught by: Dr. Carrol Terleth

Innovation and Organizational Design

New Product Design and Innovation through Design Thinking


Course description:

Innovation and disruptive ideas are great however they are insufficient to create traction in business. The development of new products and services is one of the most strategic activities of a firm however it is also one of the riskiest. Turning ideas into feasible and concrete value propositions and identifying unmet needs of the market are essential for business success in innovation and organizational design.

This course covers the lifecycle of how an established business or start-up can identify market gaps, how to stimulate idea generation and the process, and tools needed to transform these ideas into practical business solutions and value creators for the organization. This course covers the strategies, processes, tools and techniques used by leading-edge companies for new product development (NPD). In other words, the course provides a path from ideation to design to launch.

Course taught by: Joana Santos Silva

Leading Sustainably

Growing from Ego-Systems into Eco-Systems Awareness


Course description:

A growing number of individuals and organizations are finding that there is more to business and life than financial profits alone. At the same time, the body of evidence showing that our global eco-system is collapsing at a pace that only keeps accelerating has become alarmingly obvious for whoever is courageous and honest enough to look at the latest scientific studies. All of this contributes to shape a global context in which uncertainty and complexity only keep raising, the pace seems to become always faster and in which individual and collective sustainability become an even bigger short and long term challenge. It therefore becomes an absolute necessity to develop the ability to step back, to connect to one’s inner-source, to embrace a global scale perspective and, for leaders, to create meaningful ways to respond to the crisis.

Through a variety of workshops, discussions, mindful practices, video abstracts and theoretical inputs the course includes an in-depth reflection on individual and collective response-ability as well as on the nature of leadership and the “leadership of Nature”. It will highlight the main paradigms we can contribute to shift as well as propose tools to considerably refine decision-making processes and align them with the needs of our biosphere and our species.

This course will equip participants with new perceptual “lenses”, refresh their understanding of the challenging transition currently occurring on this planet and nudge them into the next stage of their personal growth and leadership capacities. It will help them improve the sustainability of their personal effectiveness, gain progressively more inner and outer balance in their Life as well as optimize their contribution to global sustainability and the creation of a new viable economic approach.

Course taught by: Dr. Jean-Philippe Challandes

Leading through Coaching

Listening and relating beyond differences


Course description:

A growing number of individuals and organizations are noticing that dysfunctional relationships are the “Elephant in the room” damaging both collective effectiveness and quality of life at work. At the same time, it has become common sense to understand that healthy cooperation is key to boost not only performance but also the depth of the collaborators’ engagement.

This course will help students acquire an ability to lead, communicate and cooperate beyond interpersonal differences as well as to support the unleashing of their team members’ potential and autonomy. It will also equip the participants with personal landmarks enabling them to personally grow towards a genuine authority aligned with their values, and show that the latter is a precondition to the former.

In this module, participants will become aware of cultural worldview frameworks (paradigms) – including their own – and understand how it affects and distorts relationships. Particular attention is going to be given to “relations of power” and how these can evolve towards a constructive approach to differences and diversity. A wide range of workshops , videos and mini-lectures will help participants develop tools to improve their self-awareness, their ability to understand other people’s worldview and to interact with them in a way that helps them become progressively more response-able.

Course taught by: Dr. Jean-Philippe Challandes

Leading through Crisis

Upgrading one’s leadership potential in crisis situations


Course description:

The course equips participants with an in-depth understanding of crisis situations and the elements that contribute to effective leadership in challenging business situations. By understanding the needs of solving crisis conditions and assessing their own relevant strengths and weaknesses, participants will determine their individual development areas in order to improve their leadership and effective decision-making in crisis realities. Interactive group exercises will highlight key behavioral strategies that will enable participants to discover ways to significantly improve their personal performance. Focus will be placed on assuming personal responsibility in crisis situations and moving beyond one’s own boundaries to create a spirit of excellence and continuous improvement for both work and life situations.

Course taught by: Yiftach Sagiv

Managing and Developing People in the 4th Industrial Revolution

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Course taught by: Dr. Michael Hathorn

Finance

Finance for Entrepreneurs

Mastering finance to turn visions into business reality


Course description:

The course is tailored to meet the most pressing needs of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs. Specifically, the course examines the start-up, project and investment feasibility question.

Participants develop a methodology that enables them to assess a venture idea, build financial models, value a start-up, define the best financing strategy and negotiate financing terms. Topics discussed include financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, risk pricing, cost of capital, company valuation, financing alternatives, and investment management and hedging.

Theoretical principles are presented in the beginning of each session and immediately applied to practical exercises to demonstrate the essential meaning of each topic.

Course taught by: Dr. Carlos Marques DaSilva

Financial Investments: Optimizing Returns through Data Analytics

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Course taught by: Dr. Jan-Erik Meidell

Strategic Corporate Finance

Using figures and tools to ensure business success


Course description:

This course introduces participants to the world of modern finance; more specifically to complex interactions between financial markets and enterprises.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to evaluate the performance of a company through financial statements analysis prepare pro forma financial statements, construct and evaluate project cash flow.

Participants learn importance of maintaining both an adequate liquidity and coherent credit standing Participants will acquire relevant cash management techniques and working capital management tools.

In addition, the course puts into perspective all major financial decisions as they relate to the goal of maximizing value for shareholders. The principles of break-even point and sensitivity analysis are explained and we will debate the advantages and disadvantages of leveraging on both short and long-term financing plans.

The course will conclude with discussions on the time-value of money principle as well as the complications it imposes.

Course taught by: Dr. Madina Kukenova

Sustainable Finance

From ESG analysis to Climate Change


Course description:

Investing with values has a long tradition and has evolved with investors caring more and more about societal, environmental, social and governance challenges.

Responsible investing is still being considered as a niche, but the growing recognition of the materiality of extra-financial factors on economic and financial performance of companies has also created a growing interest from the mainstream actors. The integration of sustainability into the financial sector products and services has historically been driven by investors/asset owners. The financial sector has been very slow to react to these demands.

The challenge for Responsible Investing is to prove its ability to create sustainable values for both clients and companies , as well as for society. Climate change is also a huge challenge for the financial sector. The financing of the needed transition towards a low carbon economy as well as decarbonization of portfolios will represent high risks but also high opportunities for investments.

In this course, students will come to understand the historical drivers of responsible investing and will study the different approaches that have been developed by the financial sector: ethical investing, best in class investing, activism through voting and engaging with companies.

The course will also focus on innovation like micro-finance, carbon funds, green bonds and thematic or impact investing as well as introduction to climate finance.

Course taught by: Jean Laville

Marketing

Brand Building in a Digital Age

Generating brand equity in the ‘skippable’ world


Course description:

There is an intense and wide debate about whether today we need ‘digital marketing’ or ‘marketing for the digital age’. Whatever the titling preferences, one fact stands: digital technologies created seismic shifts in how business and marketing are conducted today – including how brands are built & maintained.

This course will explore the current state of brand building as one of the most critical business and marketing practices. Social Media have ‘democratized’ brand building in a way that ‘brands are now competing with friends’. All of this is happening in a (tiny) screen where the easiest thing to do is to ignore messages!

In this course, students will learn about how branding has evolved from the traditional media of the 20th century to the more complex market and media environments of the 21st; how leading brands manage the challenge of mixing the old and the new to create or keep building the brand (and employer) equity and whether the nature of branding has changed; the critical relevance of Customer Journey (CJ) for 360o branding and, of course, the possible impact of AI. Also, we will address some of the biggest ethical challenges with branding and marketing in the digital space.

The intention is to broaden students’ business and marketing perspective, not to get bogged down with tactical details of each channel/platform. It’s a strategic approach to brand building in the digital age, but with a measurable practical value.

Course taught by: Lazar Džamić

Marketing Management

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Course taught by: Dr. Marko Majer

Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning

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Course taught by: Dr. Guy Ngayo

Strategy

Business Ethics and Compliance Management

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Course description:

The course covers the fundamentals in Ethical thought. It offers a variety of perspectives on difficult ethical dilemmas in both the personal and professional business contexts. This course will cover various theory of ethics and explore the application of those theories within an international and global business context. It attempts to show how ethical business can lead to a greater business success.

The module also aims to explain how to deal with highly complex and evolving legal systems and rules. It emphasizes that knowledge of legal fundamentals is accessible and necessary in order to efficiently conduct business. This also contributes to enabling managers to deal with innovations (technological or financial) – at an acceptable level of risks.

Course taught by: Dr. Ghazi Kablouti

Change Management

Strategically Leading People and Successfully Managing the Process


Course description:

This course provides participants with an introduction to the subject matter and methodologies of change management. Involving corporate strategy and planning, organizational development and behavior, operating tools and models, and a holistic system for understanding, acting on, implementing and evaluating a change management process, this course provides an intensive program for leading all types of organizations through important changes.

Focus will be on a detailed understanding of change ambitions, influences and opportunities within and external to an organization, which can be: market reorientation and renewal, organizational restructuring and realignment, radical strategic repositioning, reformulation of operational processes, adoption of new technologies and/or integration of acquired/merged companies. Critical roles, elements for interventions, and understanding the human side of change will be thoroughly covered with various methods and concepts for implementing change management processes. Real-life cases will provide tangible hands-on learning experiences for pertinent business analyses and issues.

A number of teaching methods will be used in this module including lectures, discussions, videos, individual assignments, group activities and case studies.

Course taught by: Dr. Jessica Conser

Data Analytics, Visualization and Management

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Course taught by: Dr. Sandro Saitta & Dr. Serge Kassibrakis

Data Science, Machine Learning and AI in Business

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Course taught by: Dr. Sandro Saitta

Strategy for Business Transformation

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Course taught by: Anja Langer Jacquin

Strategic Negotiations

Cutting-edge strategies to improve your outcomes


Course description:

When is the last time you negotiated? Your initial reaction may be look at the distant past when you were involved in a business negotiation with a supplier or customer. In reality, we negotiate multiple times each day with colleagues, spouses, parents, bosses, shop owners, customers and service providers. Determining the deadline for a report, who will write the mitting minutes, what movie to watch and the deadline to be back home from a party are all examples of negotiations.

This course provides the opportunity to develop your negotiation skills thanks to the presentation of some theoretical concepts, a wealth of examples of real-life situations and a number of negotiation role plays.

The program is designed to address a broad spectrum of negotiation problems to let you experience different situations and challenges. Good negotiators are more satisfied and less stressed at work. A small difference in negotiating and influencing ability can make a huge impact on your results and on your career success. This is you opportunity to learn frameworks and have templates to effectively manage external and internal negotiations, and gain valuable real negotiating practice.

We may be joined by some Executives who will support the learning as “Negotiation coaches” (providing feedback during role plays, sharing some real-life stories).

Course taught by: Giuseppe Conti

Trends Analysis and Scenario Planning

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Sustainability Seminars

Building Sustainability Strategies

Societal transition – remaking business into a force for good


Course description:

Starting with an overview of the World in 2020 and current challenges in sustainability, this course aims to develop a deep understanding by linking goals, issues, stakeholders, and levels of action (individual, community, government and intergovernmental, company / business ecosystems).

Going well beyond simplistic models like triple bottom line, we’ll take a true interdisciplinary perspective combining biophysics, social sciences and economics, also exploring theoretical and practical limits.

To help participants get the most of the other E/MBA/DAS courses and prepare them to lead their organizations towards sustainability, this course covers around a dozen key frameworks, tools and concepts from the Anthropocene and the SDGs to Fundamental Human Needs and the Circular Economy, illustrating the applicability, benefits and limitations of each.

How can business be a force for good in the societal transition straight ahead? Real-life cases of corporate sustainability strategies, as well as employee and customer engagement will be analyzed in team workshops.

Finally, “Winning hearts and minds” and building a new corporate culture, perhaps the most important step, integrates all key insights from this course.

Course taught by: Dr. Sascha Nick

Business Transformation Towards Sustainability

Tools & Techniques


Course description:

Companies are increasingly engaged in the uptake and rollout of sustainable business practices. Big and small, companies realize that they can out-run their competitors by implementing robust environmental and social stewardship, engaging stakeholders (employees, consumers, suppliers, government bodies, media, NGOs, trade associations) and communicating measurable results.

This course will explore what the business principles and practices are that advance sustainability, and how companies practically and tactically transform their business. It provides students with an overview of key drivers of change and business model innovations that make transformation a reality.

The course starts by setting the context and understanding the trends that tug corporations in different directions regarding their sustainability challenges arising from a) natural resource stress and ecosystem services. We will move on to explore b) business model innovations and frameworks that companies use respond to these challenges and frame their sustainability transformations.

Throughout the discussions, we will ‘spotlight’ a few case study companies working with tools, initiatives, and approaches (TIAs) that help build and extend the transformation. For each theme we will look at drivers, innovations and, best practice performance.

The course is designed to include opportunities to exchange opinions, share thoughts and ideas. There is teamwork as well as individual assignments and reflection.

Course taught by: Margaret Flaherty

Creating Sustainable Value / Supply Chain Focus

Maintaining a competitive advantage against all odds


Course description:

Senior managers gather growing experience that a company’s role and integration in what is traditionally referred to as supply and demand markets has major impact on business success, if not just on its basic license to operate. Technological innovation, developments in the natural environment, societal debates, economic interests, and political initiatives cause both uncertainty and visionary objectives.

Today’s economies are characterized by specialization, global interconnectedness, and sharing of work along value chains within companies and far beyond firm boundaries. Trends like outsourcing, off-shoring and digitization have profoundly been reshaping companies and transforming trade. Upstream, companies now source functionalities instead of raw materials or components, their share of procurement spend on total sales skyrocketed, irresponsible business practices keep eroding their reputation and corporate value, or the share of external intellectual property on their innovation has become irreversible. Downstream, competition increased, fit into ecosystems decides over user reach, or benefit-related business models substitute their traditional item sales. Economic research of the past decade revealed that most high value generating economic activities have transitioned from “national economies” into “global value chains”. For companies to prosper in future, this means to critically rethink internal and external value creation, reposition the company accordingly, and effectively engage with the relevant partners in their up- and downstream value chains.

Course taught by: Dr. Joerg Hofstetter

From Social to Regenerative Entrepreneurship

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Course description:

Regenerative entrepreneurs don’t just build enterprises, they create net positive impacts for people, planet and place.

This course explores the emerging theories, cases, and tools of regenerative entrepreneurship – approaches that facilitate the shift towards a future in which people and nature can thrive together, and which make good business sense.

It explores regenerative entrepreneurship through the lens of traditional and social entrepreneurship, but investigates what motivates a new generation of entrepreneurs to go beyond net zero approaches, to restore and regenerate systems, and help re-embed organizations in local bio-cultural regions.

Course taught by: Dr. Sally Jeanrenaud and Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud

Implementing Sustainability Strategies

Digging deeper and planning further


Course description:

In this course we explore how companies implement sustainability, from the strategic to the tactical, across a few key industrial sectors. The sectors selected control vast resources and have significant impacts on air, water, waste, raw materials use and the communities in which they operate.

Sustainability challenges vary significantly depending on the types of businesses, operations and market positioning. What drives a B2B fertilizer company to invest in safety standards or up-their-game on reporting and disclosure can be very different from that of a customer-facing fashion and textile company or a pharmaceutical/medtech firm with high consumer brand recognition.

We will work with a variety tactics and frameworks that companies are using to help them navigate and implement solutions that address sustainability challenges. This will include using scenario planning to understand operational challenges of industry sectors, the Sustainable Value Framework (Hart) to explore managing a balanced portfolio, i.e., today vs. tomorrow’s issues and internal vs. external priorities.

Key ‘take-a-ways’ include both business-driven insights on the key sustainability and operational challenges of the focus sectors as well as fluency in the strategic tools being implemented across leading companies. The course is grounded in the practical and tactical with a healthy dose of investigative skepticism.

Course taught by: Margaret Flaherty

Project Kick-Off

Project Kick-Off

Boosting knowledge integration, productivity, efficiency and persuasiveness


Course description:

This course aims to boost participants’ productivity and efficiency during their E/MBA & DAS project process. This unique support structure guides participants through the process of managing a complex and drawn-out project.

Participants will revise key concepts, present their draft reports and collaborate through shared learning and best practices in these peer workshop sessions. Topics include the BSL E/MBA & DAS project process, strategic planning, visioning, value proposition and unique selling proposition (USP), essentials of finance, new venture pitches and venture viability assessments.

For upcoming dates please download the seminar calendar:

Calendar

Upcoming Seminar Calendar Fall-Winter 2023/2024 Semester