IE Launches Tech MBA
For MBA applicants looking to go all in on tech, IE Business School might have just the thing. The school announced this week that it’s launching a Tech MBA, which it describes as “the first Tech MBA in Europe.”
The program will take one year to complete, and students have three tracks of specialization to choose from: data analytics and artificial intelligence, digital finance, and digital transformation.
The year of study is broken up into four periods. The first two periods include a series of core courses in tech- and business-related topics, ranging from data analytics to economics and cybersecurity to marketing.
The third period is specialized by track, and the fourth period is for electives, possibly including exchanges with other schools.
Simultaneous to the first- and second-period classes, students attend a variety of forums and workshops as well as an ongoing transformational leadership module. The third period features learning trips and the fourth a capstone project.
IE says the Tech MBA is focused on three essential areas, which it refers to as “business management, technology immersion, and transformational leadership.”
According to IE’s vice dean, Jose Esteves, the new Tech MBA “will provide managers with strong leadership capacity and a deep knowledge of the tech industry.”
Esteves says that students will emerge from the program able to “navigate the current and future technological environment from a global corporate perspective.”
The program will enroll two cohorts each year, in September and January. IE is specifically seeking applicants who already have undergraduate STEM degrees and who are looking to supplement those degrees with a tech-focused graduate business education.
IE does note, however, that it might make a few exceptions on the STEM degree requirement in cases where applicants have majors like economics and can demonstrate they did STEM coursework.
Tech MBA applicants are also expected to have at least three years of work experience, with five years recommended.
The third application requirement listed by IE is a little more nebulous: students should have a “demonstrable passion for technology” and “an understanding of the tech industry.”
That’s where applicants have to consider more subjectively whether their profiles are a good match for a Tech MBA and whether a Tech MBA specifically is the best way to further their career goals.
We can help you weigh these questions and give you feedback on how to emphasize your strengths as an applicant to programs like IE’s that will set you up for a career in tech. Just contact us to ask for a free MBA application assessment!