Technical fundamentals for a career kick
A new continuing education programme at ETH Zurich provides future managers with technological foundations: the MAS Applied Technology is a kind of "reverse MBA" for people with a background in social sciences or economics.
Anyone making strategic decisions in a technology-oriented company needs technological knowledge and understanding in addition to management skills. In such companies, even outstanding employees with a background in social or economic sciences reach their limits in the course of their careers. Thus, potential remains unexploited.
"Professionals with an engineering or scientific background often acquire the economic foundations in an MBA programme for a career step into middle and upper management," explains ETH Rector Sarah Springman. "For people with an education in the social or economic sciences, there has been a lack of opportunities to acquire the technological foundations that will enable them to pursue a similar career".
"An MBA in the Reverse Direction"
Against this background, ETH Zurich has developed a continuing education programme in cooperation with Swissmem, the Swiss Engineering Federation, and representatives of high-tech companies such as ABB and Ruag. Springman describes the new programme as a kind of "reverse MBA". The "Master of Advanced Studies ETH in Applied Technology" is intended to acquaint participants with the most important technologies and the underlying scientific principles and to show them future trends.
The MAS programme has a modular structure and consists of four different CAS programmes, each of which is concluded with a CAS diploma (Certificate of Advanced Studies). The first three CAS focus on specific technological areas: Information Technology, Manufacturing Technology, and Energy. The fourth CAS teaches the basics of research, development and innovation. For a Master's degree, students must complete these four CAS programmes as well as an experimental project and the Master's thesis.
Flexible structure
The four CAS programmes can also be attended individually, and anyone who starts with a CAS can later switch to the MAS. "We have deliberately designed the courses in a modular way," says Ulrike Grossner, Professor at the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, who as programme delegate is responsible for these continuing education courses. "People with an engineering or scientific background can also take a CAS in a given field," says Grossner. The industrial environment is becoming ever more complex. As a result, management staff are increasingly expected to have knowledge in various subject areas.