How managers become fit for the future

With practical learning methods, innovative formats and an intensive combination of theory and practice, the course supports participants on their career path. Renowned experts such as AI specialist and serial entrepreneur Pascal Kaufmann, SRF presenter and public speaking coach Kiki Maeder, start-up professional Oliver Durrer and executive coaches Claude Siegenthaler and Daniela Landherr accompany the participants and promote their development in areas such as innovation, leadership culture and personal growth.

"In times of Generative AI (GenAI), collaboration between humans and machines is changing fundamentally," explains Sunnie Groeneveld, head of the course. "The EMBA Digital Leadership provides managers with the necessary mindset, skillset and toolset to successfully shape this transformation and actively exploit the opportunities presented by change."

Practical relevance and personal coaching for sustainable further development

A central element of the EMBA Digital Leadership is the personal coaching that accompanies participants throughout the three semesters of study. In regular sessions, managers work on individual issues relating to transformative leadership and personal development. Claude Siegenthaler, executive coach, multiple board member and entrepreneur, leads this module and ensures that participants systematically document and gradually implement their progress with a 360-degree assessment, several individual coaching sessions and a personal development learning diary.

Experience-based learning through the Innovation Challenge and TEDxHWZ

Experience-based learning is at the heart of the EMBA Digital Leadership philosophy. In the Innovation Challenge, participants have the opportunity to use technology creatively and develop their own start-up or innovation project that creates sustainable added value for the economy, society and the environment. Module leader Oliver Durrer, an expert in start-ups and intrapreneurship, inspires the students with his passion for practice-oriented innovation and actively supports them in implementing their ideas. At the end, the students present their ideas to an external jury of corporate venture experts and start-up investors - similar to 'Höhle der Löwen'. Company start-ups and new business innovations are not uncommon.

Another element of the EMBA is the "TEDxHWZ & Public Speaking" module. Under the guidance of SRF presenter and rhetoric coach Kiki Maeder, students prepare intensively to present their "Idea Worth Spreading" to a wide audience. The module includes rhetoric, storytelling, non-verbal communication as well as analysis in the film studio and media training, enabling participants to develop their public speaking, presentation and executive presence skills. The organization of the TEDxHWZ event is also a class project that allows participants to experience teamwork, work together on a real case and become part of the TED Global Community. The module will be led by Kiki Maeder together with Urs Bucher, co-founder of TEDxZurich and CMO of Cognizant Netcentric.

International focus and digital expertise

The curriculum also includes modules on Strategic Foresight, Digital Business & Technology, Digital Leadership & Culture and three study trips to experience innovation hotspots around the world (Lausanne & Geneva; Boston & New York and Singapore). Workshops and interactive sessions on generative artificial intelligence, cyber security, Internet of Things as well as digital business models, data-based decision making and platform economy, combined with visits to leading companies, technology labs and renowned universities such as ETH, Harvard, MIT or the National University of Singapore, enable participants to optimally combine theory and practice and build a global innovation network.

Success stories from the EMBA Digital Leadership

Alumni such as Thomas Bosshard and Yvonne Samaritani illustrate the value created by the EMBA Digital Leadership: Thomas Bosshard has initiated an IoT project with Oertli Instrumente AG that opens up new business models and scaling opportunities in the field of eye surgery. Thanks to the prototype, which collects live surgery data, interventions can be optimized. The company has since invested several million in further development.

Yvonne Samaritani co-founded and successfully built up a PR agency during the EMBA Digital Leadership. She was recently recruited by Weleda as Group Corporate Communication Officer. In her new role, she heads up global corporate communications and supports the company in advancing its sustainability vision. These examples show how the EMBA not only transforms careers, but also companies in a sustainable way.

A survey conducted by Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch and Karriere.ch in 2023 confirms the high value of continuing education: 92% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their last continuing education program, 75% reported improved opportunities on the job market and 22% were promoted. These results make it clear that continuing education programs such as the EMBA Digital Leadership at the HWZ can be decisive career boosters.

Source and further information: www.fh-hwz.ch/embadl