ESMT’s curricular content is rigorous, relevant, and brought to you by senior faculty, whose cutting-edge research is published in top academic journals. Consistently ranked as one of the best business schools in Germany, ESMT Berlin is accredited by AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, and FIBAA, the highest distinctions of quality for business schools around the world.
We invite you to have a look at the timeline and courses for the Global Online MBA program.
| Course | Description |
| Introduction to general management | This course will introduce students to the basics of general management |
| Global virtual teams | A course designed to provide students with hands-on insights in how to successfully work within and with virtual teams |
| Course | Description |
| Crafting better decisions | This course will help you detect and overcome the barriers to effective decisions in your teams and organizations. |
| Data-driven decisions | Develop your critical thinking, analysis and creativity skills, with particular focus on the application of quantitative frameworks to specific business settings such as marketing, finance, and human resources. |
| Ethics and responsibility | The course addresses selected ethical and sustainability implications of managerial decision-making – challenges typically arising as soon as conflicting interest of different stakeholders are involved – to understand how great organizations can successfully manage to create value and benefit for multiple stakeholders simultaneously. |
| Course | Description |
| The economics of the market | This course introduces basic economic concepts of practical value in business life. |
| Marketing and sales in a digital world | Develop an understanding of key concepts and decision areas in marketing and sales. |
| Customer analytics |
The course helps you understand and segment customers through the use of advanced quantitative methods. |
| Course | Description |
| Accounting and financial management | More information will be published shortly |
| Managing operations | The course gives a comprehensive overview on creating value through operational excellence. This entails designing and managing the operational processes to support the value proposition, and to seamlessly match customer demand with supply. |
| People, teams and organizations | Application of a body of knowledge related to individual and collective behaviors in organizations, as well as to organizational systems that affect these behaviors, for analysis of managerial options and choices. |
| Course | Description |
| Agile leadership | Define and discuss agility and ambidexterity at individual, relational, and organizational levels. |
| Customer centricity | This advanced marketing course introduces customer centricity as an approach to increasing the value of a business by increasing the profitability of its customers. |
| Entrepreneurial strategy | Build a toolkit of strategy tools and frameworks and communicate about strategy using strategy "language". |
Technology and Innovation Electives
| Course | Description |
| New business creation | Develop your ability to apply knowledge, frameworks and techniques from many disciplines, such as marketing and finance, to the context of going from idea to company. |
| Human factors of innovation | The management of innovation has often centered on company-internal aspects of this process, such as motivating scientists and engineers and creating effective collaborations between such specialized people, and with even external partners. This course addresses selected management challenges and opportunities presented by technological innovation. |
| Embracing technological change | How to win the innovation race in a world of accelerated technological change? This course will enable you to understand the dynamics of technological change and its impact on corporate capabilities and industrial ecosystems, allowing you to manage new technologies and to lead innovation in the age of transformation. |
| Matchmakers in the digital economy | Achieve a sophisticated understanding of what makes multi-sided platforms in technology-intensive businesses (also known as "matchmakers", such as eBay, amazon, Uber, Spotify) distinctive with respect to their business models, pricing and investment strategies. |
| Valuing companies and startups |
This course focuses on the valuation of companies from a very practical perspective. We use problems and cases developed from and around actual financial statements in various settings, such as regular “going concern” valuations, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings (IPOs), private equity settings, etc. We will spend considerable effort analyzing startup firms from inception and onwards. |
| Negotiations | This course will help you negotiate effectively and reach better agreements in your professional and private relationships. |
Global Experience Electives
| Course | Description |
| Small Network Online Course 1 | Choose a course out of the SNOC catalogue, offered by business schools within the GNAM network |
| Small Network Online Course 2 | Choose a course out of the SNOC catalogue, offered by business schools within the GNAM network |
| Global Experience Week (international study trip, at additional cost) | Please see below for more information. |
| Berlin Experience Week (Germany study trip, at no additional cost) | Please see below for more information. |
This final module is based on a project focusing on business innovation, transformation and new business creation. It includes a project presentation and an individual analytic paper.
Applications for the September 2021 and May 2022 online MBA intakes are open.
Intake schedules
September 2021 intake
As a member of the inaugural online MBA class, you will take all modules in order from Module 0-6, progressing through the modules in numerical order as they are offered.
May 2022 intake
Modules for this intake will overlap with some of those of the September 2021 intake. All Online MBA programs start with Module 0 followed by the next module scheduled for that calendar year. When two modules are running simultaneously, you can choose between those on offer.
Flexibility
Should you decide to take a break during the two year program, you will be able to start again at the beginning of any module on offer at that time.
| Module | Module dates |
| Module 0 - Make connections and build a trusted network | September 13 - October 31, 2021 |
| Module 1 - Making decisions under uncertainty | November 1, 2021 - February 27, 2022 |
| Module 2 - Understanding the market | March 7 - June 26, 2022 |
| Module 3 - Understanding the business (investigating inside the organization) | July 11 - October 23, 2022 |
| Module 4 - Building an organizational strategy | October 31, 2022 - February 26, 2023 |
| Module 5 - Technology & innovation electives and Global Experience options | March 6 - August 6, 2023 |
| Module 6 - Final project (runs parallel to module 5) | March 27 - August 27, 2023 |
| Module | Module dates |
| Module 0 - Make connections and build a trusted network | May 16 - June 27, 2022 |
| Module 3 - Understanding the business (investigating inside the organization) | July 11 - October 17, 2022 |
| Module 1 - Making decisions under uncertainty OR Module 4 - Building an organizational strategy | October 31, 2022 - February 20, 2023 |
| Module 2 - Making decisions under uncertainty | March 6 - June 25, 2023 |
| Module 1 - Making decisions under uncertainty OR Module 4 - Building an organizational strategy | July 3 - October 22, 2023 |
| Module 5 - Technology & innovation electives and Global Experience options | October 30, 2023 - March 31, 2024 |
| Module 6 - Final project (runs parallel to module 5) | November 20, 2023 - April 20, 2024 |
In this optional, for-credit, elective module, all participants on the Global Online MBA will have the opportunity to meet at ESMT’s campus in Berlin. Participants will experience highly interactive sessions focused on key developments in the German and Global Economy, with a particular focus on Industry 4.0, Germany’s Hidden Champions and the Berlin startup scene. The week will comprise a mixture of academic sessions, company visits, team-building events and a social program to cement bonds built during the initial online modules.
The first Berlin Experience Week will take place from July 4-10, 2022. Participants must have completed Module 0 and at least two other core modules to be eligible to participate in the Berlin Experience Week. This course will take place multiple times per year if there is demand. Participation in this week is included in the program fee as a standard elective course, although participants will be required to cover their own accommodation costs and their travel to Berlin.
In this optional, for-credit, elective module, all participants of the Global Online MBA can choose to take part in a Global Experience Week. In line with ESMT’s philosophy of involving its students in decision-making where possible, all enrolled students will be polled during the program to determine which locations are chosen for the Global Experience Week. The aim of the Global Experience Week is two-fold. Firstly, the week will expose participants to the business context and leadership challenges in diverse countries and cultures. Each week will be themed around a specific topic of global relevance, and participants will engage with leading corporates, startups and NGOs, working on assignments specific to each context. Each Global Experience Week will include a visit to one of ESMT’s Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) partner schools. Examples of potential destinations for Global Experience Weeks could be South Africa (Emerging Africa: institutional developments, business prospects, managerial practices), Japan (Aging Society: how demographic change influences business strategy), or Ireland (Europe’s Multinational Capital: how investment policy and educational focus transformed a small economy).
The first Global Experience Week will take place in April 2023, with the initial destination to be finalized in April 2022. Participants must have completed Module 0 and at least two other core modules to be eligible to participate in the Global Experience Week. This course will take place multiple times per year to different destinations if there is demand. Destinations, dates and cost will be announced 12 months in advance. Participation in this week is not included in the program fee. Participants will be charged a program fee (2000-3000€, depending on destination, including single room accommodation), and will be expected to cover their own travel costs to and from the destination.
The Hub is the only learning platform designed specifically for business education, meaning your experience is tailored to your needs. Engage with Faculty and peers through multiple interactive channels. Build on relationships formed within customized digital spaces for peer to peer learning and community building. Our Hub technology empowers learners to track their progress and personalize their learning experience.
ESMT’s experienced, in-house Edtech team works to ensure a seamless study experience on the world’s most innovative learning platform. We liaise closely with professors and the Future of Management Education (FOME) partnership to keep updated with the latest knowledge, new learning models and techniques, and the right technologies to deliver a high-quality and impactful educational experience.
You can experience life as a student on the Global Online MBA with our interactive demonstration of the Learning Hub.
Want to learn more about testing during the courses, the module structure and many other topics? Check out our FAQ page.
Throughout the program, you will have access to Career Services workshops for specific skills development, as well as access to a robust professional network as you consider the next phase of your career. As an ESMT student, you will have the chance to meet with potential employers and recruiters, and connect with business leaders from an array of different sectors. Through the Alumni network, you'll also build your professional network on a local and international level.
Please refer to our Global Online MBA Careers page for more information.