Insead overhauls MBA course to include fintech and big data

New topics to be taught include fintech, big data and social media analytics.

Insead will begin offering a new MBA curriculum in September to reflect the transformation in the global workplace.

New topics to be taught will include fintech, big data and social media analytics.

“It’s important for us to constantly innovate and to provide our MBA students with an academic education of the highest standards,” said Ilian Mihov, Insead’s dean and economics professor. “While our ultimate goal remains the same, we trust the new curriculum, integrated with timely content, will better prepare [students].”

Business schools have come under criticism as being outdated because they do not focus enough on technology. With more MBA graduates now joining firms in Silicon Valley, rather than investment banks, business schools need to be better at developing the skills that such employers look for.

Last Autumn, New York University’s Stern School of Business, for example, began offering its MBA students specialised courses related to fintech “to keep pace with the rapid rate of change”.

Insead, which has campuses in Abu Dhabi, France and Singapore, approved its new curriculum after a two-year review.

The changes include personalised learning, content innovations and new electives.

“Business and society” will be one of the new courses featured under the programme. It will cover three main topics of ethics, political environment and public policy, to help students grasp the complexity of business and societal relationships.

There will also be integrated digital cases for students to prepare ahead of the accelerated 10-month MBA programme.

Insead has 145 faculty members from 40 countries, with 1,400 students enrolled annually in its programme. And more than 11,000 executives also take courses from Insead each year to enhance their skills.

Urs Peyer, the Insead dean of degree programmes and associate finance professor, said now students will have a more personalised learning experience with advisers and more elective choices to specialise around the digital transformation.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter