Study Guide

Descriptions

DEGREE
Master of Business Administration

The International Business Management gives a holistic picture of the international business. The programme is designed to increase the competencies of the students and to respond to the needs of the changing business environment. Its foundation is on definition and solving of a development idea and problem together with the fellow students and the working life.
The vision of the International Business Management programme is based on three competence areas:
- digital transformation of enterprises,
- business model innovation, and
- service ecosystems and platforms.

The mission is to educate and to train professionals with competences needed to create and develop sustainable business in the digital transformation age. The focus of the programme is on business model innovation, establishing and managing service ecosystems, leading to new strategic orientation in the international business context.

The objective of the Master Programme in International Business Management is to provide a holistic curriculum for students who are aiming at contributing to the enterprise value creation and value innovation process. The contemporary business transformation requires understanding of the dynamic business landscape, evolving enterprise competitiveness and sustainability, and respective changes in enterprise ecosystems.

The curriculum implementation is based on firm connections with the working life, team teaching and collaborative learning with fellow students. Tuition is carried out virtually by utilizing Moodle Study Environment, GAFE and On-line systems. The on-line studies make it possible to combine studies with the work and private life. Contact weeks are arranged once in a semester in Tornio.

STRUCTURE OF THE DEGREE
Overall theme - Business Developer
- business developer is able to appraise, develop and lead digital transformation in an enterprise
- has readiness to evaluate and develop the business model as part of the organizational strategy
- is able to analyze service ecosystems and platforms and to act in service environment
- is able to conduct research, development and innovation work independently aiming at improvement of student’s and his/her organization’s competences to operate in an international business environment.

The three themes consist of modules aiming to deepen capabilities needed in international business today and in the future. The thesis process aims at developing skills of the talents in information retrieval, analysis, scientific writing, and in research and development methods.

Theme 1: The Changing Business Environment aims at appraising and analyzing the influence of the changing business environment to be able to develop the student’s own leadership competences and to create and design service ecosystems and platforms.
Theme 2: Analyzing business models and ecosystems aims at developing innovation management skills and attitudes in business model design and implementation.
Theme 3: Digital Transformation Strategies aim at developing strategic orientation and independent research competences on development and innovation of internationalization
All three subject specific competence areas are covered in each theme and deepened during the learning process, following a spiral logic.

PATH OF PROFESSIONAL GROWTH - COMPETENCE GAINED
Professional growth and competences
The general objective of studies leading to a Master's degree (second-cycle degree at a university of applied sciences) is to provide students with broad and advanced knowledge for developing the professional field as well as the theoretical skills for working in demanding expert and leadership positions in the field:
- profound understanding of the field, its relation to work life and society at large
- the knowledge and skills needed for following and analyzing both theoretical and professional developments in the field
- capacity for life-long learning and continuous development of one's own expertise
- good language and communication skills required in work life
- knowledge and skills needed to function and communicate in the field internationally.

The business environment in the High North and in other parts of the world is changing due to digitalization, financial and political developments, green economy and globalization, among others. The research suggests that the future is in the North due to the changes in the demand of natural resources, demographic changes, global warming and globalization.

Also the businesses are changing; the organizational structures, the ownership of businesses, business models and role of work and labor. Networks which used to be based on one central player as a hub are changing to emerging networks where all actors have to be actively looking for new innovations and trusted partners. Because of these developments, Leadership plays a central role in a trans­formation process. This means that the success of a digital transfor­mation is dependent on the skills and competencies of the leadership within an organization. The behavior of managers is an important determinant for the culture within an organization. In the IBM programme, future managers will be trained in showing appropri­ate behavior and raising awareness and engagement.

The Master’s Degree Programme in International Business Management is designed to meet the demands of working life. It will conform to the requirements knowledge, skills and capabilities for the level 7 of European Qualification Framework, EQF(7). Furthermore, the programme aims at designing and building concrete development plans for enterprises to support their internationalization processes.

The generic competences consist of learning, ethical, working community, innovation and internationalization competences. Internationalization is obvious in the programme where all tuition is in English, the teachers and students come from different countries and cultures and all courses are related to international issues. There are also close relationships with international partners, both businesses and universities.

The studies are based on competence-based learning philosophy. In all themes the theory is closely linked to practice and the students’ own working place. The competence development starts from the first semester and is regularly evaluated during the studies. This process takes place in close co-operation between the students through self- and peer-evaluation, coaches and working life.

The objective of the Master thesis is to apply the all-encompassing knowledge and skills in international management to a specialized area of the student’s choice in her/his stakeholder organization or in a regional development project. Most students do research and write their Master thesis aiming to apply the learned theories in to practice, and to develop their own research competences and also internationalization processes of their home organizations. It is also possible do research which has more general interest in enhancing cross-border co-operation in the High-North.

The official objectives show a directing and motivating path. The curriculum is a starting point for personal study plan. An individual study plan (ISP) can be designed with help of the tutor teacher.In the ISP you plan the path of your studies according to your study and career plans, e.g. your free-choice electives and possible preparatory studies. The plan takes into consideration your know-how obtained through prior studies and/or work experience and also your life's situation. Prior studies and knowledge acquired and showed otherwise can be transferred at the university of applied sciences.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF THE STUDIES
The developing evaluation of courses, themes and thesis take into consideration the learning process as well as the outcome. Self-evaluation and feedback are central means in the assessment of the leaning process. Assessment criteria are based on the learning objectives of courses derived from the competences. The scale is either excellent (5), good (3-4), satisfactory (1-2), fail (0), or accepted (H) – fail (0).

Students’ feedback aims at continuously developing the quality of education. The students

Lapland UAS is responsible for the quality of education and other operations, and continuous development, and takes part regularly in external quality assessment. The quality system of Lapland UAS is described in the quality programme. A common quality assurance system produces information for the quality of education and degrees. The beneficiaries are the students, staff, employers and other stakeholders. The development of International Business Management is based on the principles of Lapland UAS quality programme