Vlerick Business School Redesigns MBA To Improve Flexibility And Study Experience

Vlerick Business School has redesigned its MBA program to improve the student experience, increase flexibility for participants and offer specialist study options too. 

The redesign is a response to changes in the wants and needs of today’s MBA students, who value a more personalized and flexible MBA experience, as well as the current MBA career market conditions, where employers want graduates with numerous skill sets. 

The new program will offer participants the opportunity to specialize in one of four separate areas; entrepreneurship, digital business, or strategy, as well as the more traditional generalized MBA. Students will not have to select which specialization they want to choose at the beginning of the program and can simply choose their area for more in-depth courses halfway through their program.

In order to specialize, participants can select and group specific module pathways together to specialize in one of those categories, offering participants the traditional MBA core curriculum as well as a specialized sector or field to apply them.

“By offering more specialized options on the MBA program – which is, of course, traditionally a generalist study option – participants are able to tailor their education pathway to the key area they want to focus on and develop further for their future careers,” says Martin Butler, MBA Academic Director at Vlerick Business School. 

“By being able to choose a pathway whilst studying, and not before, we allow participants to be as flexible as possible in their decision-making. Participants may only discover their interest in a particular area when doing their core courses or once they have selected their Knowledge-in-Action-Project. We allow them to make this decision at the best possible time.”

The redesign of the MBA also widens the actual number of electives available to participants too, allowing for more personalization of the program. Through an expanded dynamic portfolio of elective courses, it is possible to add new important aspects like dealing with geopolitical risk or the application of AI, whilst keeping evergreen favorites like Negotiation and Project Management. 

Participants also have the opportunity for study abroad options through two international immersion weeks (on different continents) to put their knowledge into action in a different context. The program concludes with the school’s Knowledge in Action Project – a cornerstone of the program which ensures that participants work on a real-life project.

The content on Vlerick’s MBA portfolio is now aligned between the different modes of part time studies. Whether doing an Online, Blended or in-person Executive MBA, all Vlerick participants are securing a high-quality MBA experience.

These changes come after the business school recently launched the European Executive MBA program in order to meet market and participant needs. The Executive MBA is focused on internationalization and sustainability, allowing participants to study across a number of European cities.

Professor Martin Butler lectures in digital transformation, project management and innovation management at Vlerick. His current research interests lie in how information systems align with strategy, digital resilience and project portfolio management. He specializes in the relationship between digital capabilities and strategic intent. He excels in applying project management practices that transform organizations – allowing them to become more innovative and to harness the power of digital technology. Martin believes that successful digital transformation and risk mitigation is fundamentally about leadership actions and human behavior.