The Lifelong learning master's degree in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship, a program for international students, will give you the necessary tools to make strategic decisions regarding innovation and entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship. With them you will be able to generate new business opportunities in the VUCA environment and solve the new needs of the business world in a flexible and efficient way.
You will get to know and deepen key aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship both to materialize your own initiatives (entrepreneurship) and to promote initiatives within an organization (intrapreneurship). For this, the study plan offers a large module of optional subjects, so that you can customize the program with the areas that best suit your professional goals.
The lifelong learning program delves into the understanding, meaning, and importance of innovation, and its management in companies and organizations.
In terms of business innovation, you will delve into how to innovate from Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing. You will learn to identify areas for improvement in the procedures of any department of an organization or company. You will learn the processes needed to align the interests of each of the departments with the business strategy and strategic innovation.
The Master's degree in Innovation will also prepare you to identify the drivers of digital transformation in the business world and to apply new technologies to decision-making. In addition, you will learn about the main creativity and specialization tools in depth, and the biggest types of corporate information systems such as Cloud, IoT and Industry X.0, Robotics, Big Data, AI, AR, and data driven or machine learning organizations.
Under the guidance of renowned experts in the innovation, strategy and entrepreneurship sector, you will discover disruption, one of the most popular terms in current management, and how disruptive innovation responds to the threats and opportunities created by digital technologies. You will also be able to acquire the techniques of innovation and development of new products, services, and processes in order to detect new opportunities and business models.
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship includes a practical module on Innovation Design, in which you will apply the main innovation methodologies in group workshops. In them, you can apply the four most important methodologies today to a real project: Design Thinking, Service Design, Lean Startup, and Agile Methodologies.
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.
Why choose this program
Current and relevant content for the sector
You will acquire a professional profile aimed at implementing new tools and methodologies to carry out new forms of innovation management in the company, such as the execution of innovative and entrepreneurial projects.
Study at home and practice in class
The blended methodology will provide the student with flexibility to combine each subject with their work and personal responsibilities, advancing the theoretical contents on innovation and entrepreneurship at home, and then applying them in the campus classroom through dynamic and challenging workshops with expert teachers and other students.
Connection with the professional environment
We will connect you with teachers of the highest academic level and with a recognized track record in innovation and entrepreneurship, who will teach you best practices in terms of business model management and innovation in a real and tangible way.
A qualification of international prestige
With this course you will obtain a degree backed by the recognition and academic quality of the UPF, the number one university in Spain.
Study at an accredited school
Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.
Who is it for?
This Master's degree in innovation is aimed at managers of functional areas, intermediate positions, entrepreneurs, consultants, people responsible for innovation, transformation, and development of any activity sector, who seek specialization or the acquisition of tools and knowledge concerning innovation in the business world.
Also to people looking to reinvent themselves, who want to acquire tools to improve their company’s efficiency in today's volatile environment, or who are interested in reorganising their work teams.
Accreditations
UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally, and places itself among the top business schools in the world.
In 2023, UPF-BSM received Level 4 in the Positive Impact Rating (PIR), an international classification led by the opinion of the students themselves about the sustainability commitment of the world's leading business schools, recognizing UPF-BSM as a "transformative school".
Curriculum
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Innovation has a professional approach and it is therefore possible to customize the contents of the program to a great extent. The study plan is divided into 2 modules, one compulsory with 10 subjects, and another optional with the student choosing 5 subjects from a possible 9.
Innovation, strategic analysis, and new business models
- What is innovation?
- Differentiating elements
- Attitude and type of innovation (incremental and disruptive)
- Importance of innovation
- Strategy and environment (Innovation competitiveness; local innovation systems, trends)
- Drivers of digital transformation
'You will learn about Innovation in current business models and what the new business models are that have emerged in recent years. In addition, you will address the Lean Launch Pad and Blue Ocean methods for the creation of new business models based on innovation and focused on clients.
Innovation design
We will facilitate the vision and techniques of this innovation and entrepreneurship system with the aim of learning how to design new products, services, and even new businesses that adapt to the new needs of consumers.
Through the analysis and mapping of the customer experience, we will devise and prototype new solutions – whether physical or online – that enrich their experience, always taking into account the business vision.
Under the guidance of an expert teacher, you will learn about this user-centred methodology based on experimentation for launching your innovative business idea onto the market. You will learn to see if it really is a business opportunity suitable for entrepreneurship and to validate it through different tools and experiments such as: prototypes, interviews, customer development, Business Model Canvas, market potential, and minimum viable products (MVP).
You will learn about the values and principles that govern the so-called agile methodologies, such as SCRUM or QRM, for the development of projects and the organization of entrepreneurship processes.
You will delve into the following elements:
- Transforming organizations from innovation
- Innovative organizations
- Digital transformation
- Organizational behaviour, role of the leader.
You will learn about Open Innovation and Corporate Venture as an innovative growth strategy within the company. We will also address intrapreneurship and how to start and develop an entrepreneurship initiative within the company.
You will learn about:
- Creativity
- Risk tolerance
- Responsiveness to opportunities
- Leadership and ability to take advantage of the rights granted to you
-Leadership to manage change
-Management and culture of change
-Team management
-International Strategy Definition
-Company and internationalization
-VUCA environment
-Growth, and globalization
-Internationalization strategies: production, marketing, and logistics
-Strategies in action: partnerships
-Selection of international markets, and competitor identification.
Technology
We will talk about technologies and their disruption in organizations: AR, VR, Blockchain, Yate, Machine Learning, Big Data, etc. as well as the visualization tools applied to decision making.
- Cybersecurity - legal
- Security, legal
- Surveillance and technological protection
- Knowledge, intellectual property
- Finance for non-financial people
- Introduction to accounting
- Economic-financial statements
- Balance analysis
- Financial fundamentals
-Participants are offered a set of activities of a diverse nature during a trip in which the student can visualize in situ the application of a business plan
-Client expectentions and demands
-Identification of trends and market demands
-Guidelines on the quality of the product or service
-Promotion and Positioning
-Ecosystem of social enterprises: definitions, types of enterprises, etc.
-Relationships between the SDGs and social enterprises
-Role of the social entrepreneur.
-Business model concept. The Importance of the Business Model in Social Innovation. Typology of Business Models in Social Innovation. Alexander Osterwalder model. Relationship between social model and theory of change. Success stories of business models of companies with high social impact.
-FFF (Future Of Finance Fund)
-Crowdfunding
-Venture capital
-Public grants, incubators and accelerators
Master's Final Project
The TFM will put into practice the concepts learned in the sessions, developing an innovative business idea with a positive impact on society, or proposing a project to improve and make an existing company grow. You will work in groups of 2-3 people.
This is structured in two different parts: in the first part, the students will have to propose to the academic managers of the Master's degree a project that brings together the knowledge of all the subjects taught. Once the academic leaders validate these projects, the students will start the second part of the project: developing and realizing the proposals.
In this second phase of the Master's Final Project, students will have a mentor professionally linked to the specific area in which their project is framed.
The Master's Final Project will be presented before a panel made up of teachers and professionals who will assess its quality.
Note on the Curriculum
Complementary activities
The Master's in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:
- You will visit important companies and innovation and entrepreneurship hubs in Barcelona to see innovation at work first-hand.
- International Study Trip: possibility of participating in study trips, mainly to Stockholm, with visits to leading companies in innovation and entrepreneurship.
- UPF-BSM Inside: is a group of interdisciplinary subjects (applied data, communication, creativity, innovation and project management, sustainability and leadership among others) that, if you take this program, you can access at no additional cost. They are 100% online and you can take them throughout the academic year at your own pace, as they have been designed as self-study subjects.
Qualification obtained
Once you have passed the program, you will receive the following electronic degree certification (eTítulo©): Lifelong learning master's degree in Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, awarded by Pompeu Fabra University. The eTítulo© will be issued in Catalan, Spanish and English.
The electronic degree certification (eTítulo© ) is an authentic digital degree, issued in pdf format and electronically signed, with the same legal validity as if it were in paper format.
Faculty
The program is designed by Susana Domingo, director of the area of entrepreneurship and strategy at UPF-BSM. The faculty is made up of experts in the area of innovation dedicated to consulting, entrepreneurship, new business models, and other relevant and well-known projects within the Barcelona innovation hub and its organizations.
Academic directors
Faculty
Collaborating faculty
- Alfons Cornella
The Institute of Next and Infonomia Founder. Innovation consultant. - Miguel Carretero Rodriguez
FIBOOST Leader at FI Group. Telecommunications Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Master of Science in Telecommunication Engineering & Management (MASTEAM) from the UPC. Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) by Institut d'Estudis Financers (IEF). - Jordi Hurtado Ortega
Innovation Director at FI Group. Electronic Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Master in Leadership and Management of the Science of Innovation from Pompeu Fabra University. - Xavier Marcet
President at LTC Lead to Change (LTC Project), strategic innovation consultancy firm. Bachelor in History from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. - Miquel Martí
CEO at Barcelona Tech City. Industrial Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and MBA from ESADE. - Jordi Mercader Sanjuan
CEO of Infinitum Projects. Board Member of Customer Care Technologies, Full of Tradition, Traspacar, Mercaconsult, IDT, IoTip etc. - Christian Rodriguez Fornos
Serial entrepreneur. Founder of BYHOURS, Urban Secretsm Netip Consulting, Chocolate Studio, among others. Board Member at Barcelona Tech City and Hawkers Group. Professor and university mentor on innovation and digital ecosystems. - Bet Matoses
Expert in Service Design and Design Thinking, specialized in the design of brand, product and service strategies with a completely digital approach. Bachelor's Degree in Political Sciences and Administration from Pompeu Fabra University and Degree in Industrial Design from IED. - Diana Pinos
Consultant and trainer in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Expert in Design Thinking and co-creation processes. Founder of Creativikit®️, the first high-performance creative training kit - Miquel Angel Oliva Sans
Expert in innovation, business strategy, and organization. Founder and General Director of the FUNDACIÓ PRIVADA PER A la CREATIVACIÓ® (www.fundaciocreativacio.org). - Marina Vall
Usability, accessibility, and user experience (UX) specialist. UX Designer at Adevinta. Has been UX Lead at Accenture Interactive, UX Manager at RocaSalvatella, and Senior UX Designer at FC Barcelona. - Guillem Domingo
Co-founder and CEO en Harboury Legal & Business Services.
- Anna Sard
Google for Sustainable Development Startups
- Toni Raurich
Co-Founder and managing director en eBooking.com
Methodology
The Master in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship in blended modality combines online training credits with on-campus classes to offer you a university degree with the best of both worlds: flexibility and direct interaction with experts and other students. The blended modality will allow you to move forward with content on innovation and entrepreneurship online, without schedules and at your own pace, thanks to a flexible and dynamic online model, while maintaining direct contact with your teachers and colleagues through classes and practical workshops on-campus.
The Master's program in innovation offers students traditional methodologies (master classes and seminars taught by experts and business professionals), active methodologies (discussion on previously assigned readings, presentation of work, analysis and discussion of cases) and autonomous methodologies (reading of assigned texts, realization of individual and group work) to achieve the qualification.
Didactic and interactive teaching materials
Materials of various formats will make the experience more motivating: videos, case studies, tests, content maps, and downloadable resources. These materials on innovation and entrepreneurship are designed and updated periodically so that you have the latest knowledge, skills, and tools at your fingertips.
Practical workshops in classes
You will carry out more than 40 hours of practical workshops so that you can apply in a real way, and as a team, the 4 most important methodologies for innovation, entrepreneurship, and decision-making today.
Innovation project
Students will develop an innovation and entrepreneurship project in all its phases (definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing), applying each of the innovation techniques to obtain a specific and tangible final product.
StartLab + Visits to innovation hubs
You will have the possibility to start, develop, or work on your project at the StartLab and visit the main innovation and entrepreneurship hubs in Barcelona.
Evaluation
Para evaluar el aprendizaje y adquisición de las habilidades directivas y competencias, se utilizará un amplio abanico de métodos que incluye evaluaciones finales y mecanismos de evaluación continua.
Métodos de evaluación:
- Participación en las actividades planteadas dentro del aula.
- Trabajo individual (casos prácticos, informes, role play etc.).
- Trabajo en grupo.
- Actividades en el campus global.
- Exposiciones, presentaciones en público.
- Exámenes.
Tools
The combination of online learning and face-to-face sessions favours the balance between theory and practice in a flexible learning process. The various multimedia resources that are made available to the student allow them to acquire knowledge in a self-regulated manner and the face-to-face sessions seek to put them into practice with active methodologies.
You will have:
- Digital resources and audiovisual blocks for online learning
- Face-to-face sessions with active methodologies for transferable learning
- Master's or postgraduate work to learn by doing
- A personal mentor to monitor your Master's Final Project (TFM) or Postgraduate Final Project (TFP)
Professional Future
The Master in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship will provide you with the management skills and practical knowledge needed to implement an innovation or entrepreneurship project in any sector or company, as well as the tools for any executive or manager who wants to reinvent their company, adapt it to new business circumstances, and provide the flexibility to make it more competitive.
At the end of the program you will have a wide range of methodologies and tools for entrepreneurship. You will be able to optimise new processes, products and services for the development of the company, new business models and new user experiences.
Student profile
The master's brings together professionals from various academic and professional profiles whose interest is disruptive or incremental innovation. You will be able to share experiences with professionals with more than 10 years of experience in consulting, marketing, business, change management or innovation and entrepreneurship, among others.
Career opportunities
Students will also have access to the Talent UP professional management and development program from Careers, a training complement designed to increase managerial skills, value, creativity, and the positioning of our students in the professional market. This program provides you with tools, knowledge, and resources, through individual career counselling, training activities, company events, and career opportunities.
- Entrepreneur
- Innovation Consultant
- Innovation Manager
- Entrepreneurship consultant
- Consultant in Digital Transformation
- Service Design Consultant
- Design Thinking Consultant
- Specialist in Research, Development, and Technological Innovation Agencies
- User Experience Consultant
- Catalyst for business change