Executive Master programme of KU Leuven focusing on Technology for Decision Makers

KU Leuven announces the official start of a new and unique Executive Master programme focusing on Technology for Decision Makers. 

Rationale

Society faces enormous challenges in all aspects of life. Science and technology have the capacity to provide breakthrough innovations that address these challenges, leading to promising business opportunities. As the speed and scope of evolutions is increasing rapidly, at present strategic decisions risk to be taken without a thorough understanding of the drivers and consequences of innovation.

The programme 'Technology for Decision Makers' (MTD) helps strategic decision makers to better understand the drivers and consequences of technological evolution and to better understand the innovation ecosystem they are part of. Innovation occurs in an ecosystem that hosts a variety of interacting actors, such as knowledge institutions, venture firms, established businesses, innovation brokers and government agencies. Better knowledge can facilitate the public acceptance of key innovations—a key condition for the creation of new markets.

The programme is targeted at professionals with a high potential to be the leaders of the future in both business and public organizations. Next to learning the state-of-the-art insights of strategic thinking and innovation management and policy, the programme offers a set of innovative tools that are applied to a strategic case brought to the programme by the participant.

MTD is taught by internationally renowned academics, business executives and government officials. It consists of nine residential weeks of lectures, high-level guest seminars, discussion sessions, decision making games, workshops and site visits.

Programme overview

The programme consists of the following modules (all modules are compulsory):

• Technology Drivers: participants learn the thinking patterns behind fundamental drivers and cutting-edge developments of key technologies, including ICT & nano-electronics, transportation, food, health, materials, manufacturing, energy, and buildings;

• Systems Thinking and Policy Making: participants learn to analyse the context and dynamics of technology development, including how decisions are made by businesses and policy-makers;

• Future Scenario Building: participants learn to integrate information on technology drivers and their context and dynamics in scenarios aimed at facilitating strategic discussions in organizations as well as the development of successful organizational strategies in the face of an uncertain future;

• Case Study: participants learn to apply the insights of the “Technology Drivers” and “Systems Thinking and Policy Making” modules to a decision making case relevant to their organization;

• Master Thesis: participants learn to build scenarios that cover several technological domains, address key socio-economic issues and contain early warnings about critical uncertainties.
  Participants learn to translate the insights of the scenario building exercise to their case study, which will help them to reach better decisions and performance

Practical details

MTD is organized by KU Leuven's Faculty of Engineering Science and runs from January 2013 to April 2014. Residential weeks are from Tuesday to Saturday and take place in Leuven, Belgium. Courses generally take place from early morning to late in the evening.

Deadline for application is: November 15th, 2012

For more information or application, please consult the programme’s website: https://set.kuleuven.be/technology-for-decision-makers/