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EADA Business School and the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) are launching their first Online MBA with the aim of becoming the top official Online MBA in Spanish. EADA and the UOC have designed a challenging program for professionals who want to progress in their careers, improve their management and leadership skills and thereby add value to the companies they work for. According to Jordi Díaz, director of Programmes and Institutional Relations, “the Online MBA is for professionals who want to take a leap in their career and who aspire to more ambitious projects and challenges”.

EADA's Online MBA: Strengths

Participants will benefit greatly from the varied components of the Online MBA. One such component focuses on leadership and management skills. “We offer a training programme designed to perfect management competencies, team leadership and the adoption of the best strategic decisions in a highly competitive and volatile business environment”.  During the course, participants will spend two weeks at the EADA Collbató Campus which boasts an outdoor training zone, the only one in Europe, on installations that range between 5 and 8 metres in height. It is here that participants will put their limits to the test by taking part in challenges and action games which aim to encourage personal and shared values.

Participants will also be offered personal coaching sessions using Skype or Zom, which will help them to achieve their objectives and improve areas of personal and professional development.

Another advantage of the Online MBA is the wealth of international experience on offer and the multiple opportunities for networking.  Being online enables participants from different professional and cultural backgrounds to connect from all over the world. According to Jordi Díaz, “EADA’s main market is the Spanish speaking world of Spain, Latin America, the USA and Spanish speaking expatriates living abroad”. He adds that “there was a clear demand for an Online MBA in Spanish which would offer a unique and transformative experience”. As well as being online, the programme also includes an international week at Georgetown University (USA), which will be used to learn and contrast different skills within a global setting.

EADA’s innovative learning methodology is another reason to choose the official Online MBA. As well as the traditional case study method, EADA uses video case studies which come from real business scenarios: a manager explains a challenge facing his or her company and the students have to come up with a solution. Díaz explains that “the interesting part of video case studies is that students will have to analyze real situations from leading national and international companies in different sectors. Afterward, they will hear how the company managed to resolve the problem”.

Students will also take part in video learning which includes access to recorded theory classes and synchronized sessions where participants can ask the teacher questions, participate in group debates and consolidate learning. All the video material on the Online MBA is handled by a well-known television production company. 

To communicate with their colleagues and work on team projects, participants will use the digital platform Slack. According to Jordi Díaz, “EADA's Online MBA is a multichannel training programme which encourages students to use all of their digital skills. They will have to have virtual meetings with teams from different parts of the world and in different time zones and that will require knowledge of various technological tools”.

The EADA's Online programme also offers a global vision of the business world from a social commitment perspective as it aims to promote ethical, responsible and inclusive decision-making. As well as the final year project, participants will also work together on a social impact initiative such as “helping businesses to recover in a country which has been devastated by an earthquake, “explains Díaz.

The growth of Online MBAs

The launch of the EADA's Online MBA coincides with a growing demand for this type of programme from prestigious companies such as Amazon and Google. In the case of Amazon, over the last year there has been a 30 % increase in the selection of candidates with an Online MBA. The main reason for this has been the candidates’ creative ability to implement new strategies and business areas, manage teams and their willingness to always maintain an overall view of the business. For Jordi Díaz, “the best companies are looking for profiles with an Online MBA because they have this global view of the business which is needed to face current challenges”.

He also adds that “we need leaders who are able to manage the product, the people, the finances, the relationships with the stakeholders and who can decide what works and what does not.”  This is where the importance of the Online MBA comes in because “programmes which deal with all of the above and in addition, they do it within a digital environment is something essential for companies today and for companies of the future”.

He admits, however, that the increase in demand for those programmes can also be attributed to a higher demand from professionals who have stable jobs and families but who cannot commit to a full-time programme. “The Online MBA also attracts professionals who are looking for flexibility and the personalization that new technology can offer and interaction with people from all over the world”.