Roadmap to navigate your MBA journey

Why are you planning changes?

As you have noticed, our MBA programme has experienced considerable growth in recent years. Whereas in 2020 we were still working with less than 100 students, in 2023 we now have more than 250 students in the programme, partly due to the introduction of the Executive Online MBA alongside the On-Campus version. This is a wonderful trend that confirms that we are on the right track in terms of content and format.

 

Of course, this growth brings new challenges and new opportunities. On the one hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to assure optimal interaction and individual attention; on the other hand, the participant profile is becoming more diverse, network opportunities are growing, and possibilities are arising to further expand the curriculum with new elements. The presented changes are intended as a first step to master the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities in the best possible way.

 

What changes are coming up?

In summary, we plan to implement changes in the following three areas:

1. NEW ELECTIVE STRUCTURE

Three elective themes will become available for both the Executive On-Campus MBA and the Executive Online MBA. Participating students from both MBA tracks will be able to follow the weeks from these electives together. All international weeks will become part of the pool of electives and will become available for both the Executive On-Campus MBA and the Executive Online MBA.

Click here for an explanation of the new elective structure: ONLINE MBA | ON-CAMPUS MBA

 

2. REVISION OF ONLINE COURSES

Two online courses will be offered simultaneously in the Executive Online track from 2024. The smaller student groups per course will allow for more individual attention per student, more focused conversations in the online discussion forums, and a more feasible workload for course coordinators.

 

On top of this, the duration of the online courses will be reduced from 7 weeks to 6 weeks. This is (A) to allow more room for aligning the elective weeks in such a way that students from both MBA tracks can join these weeks and (B) to enable some additional breathing space for students in the Online MBA to prepare and finalise those elective weeks without online courses getting in their way. The starting dates of the educational weeks and online courses in both MBAs might have changed accordingly. Please check the following updated academic calendars for more details: ONLINE MBA | ON-CAMPUS MBA

 

3. COURSE CONTENT ADJUSTMENTS

Some topics from the core curriculum will make way for new topics as the former moved to the elective side. Furthermore, new electives and elective weeks are being introduced. The intended changes in short:

 

Electives

  • The current elective in the On-Campus MBA Responsible Leadership & Sustainability will split in two, with one elective focusing on Responsible Leadership and the second focusing on Sustainable Innovation.
  • The new Responsible Leadership elective will introduce a new week on Personal Leadership; first edition to take place in September 2023.
  • The new Sustainable Innovation elective will include a week on Sustainable Business Models; next edition to take place in September 2024.

 

Online MBA

  • The online course on Digital Business will move from the online core to the elective weeks.
  • A new online course on Supply Chain Management will be introduced.
  • The course on Sustainability & Responsibility will move from the online core to the elective weeks.
  • A new course on Organisational Behaviour will be introduced.

 

On-Campus MBA

  • The core module on Sustaining Competitive Advantage will transform the Design Thinking sessions into sessions on Supply Chain Management; the first edition of the new setup to take place in February 2025.
  • The core module on Understanding Organisations in Times of Change will transform the Leadership in Practice sessions into sessions on Organisational Behaviour; the first edition to take place in September 2024.

 

Please note that some of these changes are intended adjustments as they are subject to change (in focus) based on furthered conversations with teaching faculty.

How do these changes affect my MBA journey?

It depends on which MBA track (Online or On-Campus) you are participating in and in what stage of the MBA journey you are. Generally, we do not expect these changes to compromise your journey as you will get more options to choose from while nearly all existing options will stay in place. However, we realise that each student journey is unique and for us it is difficult to trace all individual journeys, so please have a good look yourself at the new academic calendars and let your coordinator know in case you foresee any hiccups due to the planned adjustments.

 

What happens to the elective and/or educational international weeks I already completed?

Elective weeks completed in the On-Campus MBA keep their validity. Students who were on their way to complete the elective Responsible Leadership & Sustainability can continue their planned journey by following the original weeks that are still in the line-up: Leading Strategic Change (now part of the Responsible Leadership elective) and Sustainability & Business Ethics (now part of the Sustainable Innovation elective). The elective weeks on Digital Business remain unchanged.

 

For students in the Online MBA track, face-to-face educational weeks outside the Netherlands qualify as elective weeks in retrospect from January 2023 onward. Weeks completed in Maastricht on Leading Strategic Change and Entrepreneurship Expedition through Design Thinking will respectively qualify as elective weeks on Responsible Leadership and Sustainable Innovation.

 

If you still have questions after this communication, please send an email to info@maastrichtmba.com and we will come back to you on short term notice.