The UPF-BSM redesigns its Executive MBA to incorporate the latest market trends

• Artificial Intelligence, digital fluency, strategic agility, and sustainability-based decision-making are some of the new trends incorporated into the online EMBA.
• Overseen by Academic Director Katharine D’Amico, the new edition of the Master will begin in March 2026, with a top-class international faculty.
• The new EMBA will offer two specialization tracks: one in MedTech, which explores the latest advances in medical technology; and the other in AI and Big Data for decision-making.

The UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) has redesigned its Executive MBA to create a program adapted to the new demands and latest trends of the market. At a cross-cutting level, the new syllabus includes emerging technologies, people-centric leadership, and the impact economy. This Master program is designed for executive, entrepreneurs and leaders, with a flexible online format. The first edition of the updated program will begin in March 2026.

“With our redesigned EMBA, we want to enable our participants to thrive in a constantly evolving world, transforming them into leaders with strategic, ethical and sustainable vision. It is no longer a case of preparing leaders for a predictable world, but rather equipping them for a continuously changing reality, in which innovation and complexity are the new normal”, explains José M. Martínez-Sierra, theDirector General of the UPF-BSM.

The Academic Director of the UPF-BSM’s Executive MBA is Katharine D’Amico, who will be accompanied by a faculty of highly qualified professors who combine academic excellence with extensive professional experience in a wide range of sectors. The first-rate teaching team includes Ana Freire, Luz Parrondo, Marc Ferrer Hausmann and Marcos Eguiguren. Moreover, the program boasts a network of international guest lecturers, all of whom have a wealth of executive experience in different sectors, such as Richard Jolly, a professor from the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and Nick Morgan, an executive coach and lecturer at Harvard University.

“Our EMBA combines academic rigor with a full immersive insight into the real world through case-based learning, applied projects, executive mentoring and a close working relationship with the corporate world. Each course is designed around real business challenges, often devised by professionals in the sector, who constantly encourage the students to put the concepts covered to the test in their own professional areas”, explains D’Amico.

MedTech, AI and Big Data

The students on the new EMBA will have the option to take our Concentration Tracks, a set of elective courses within a specific specialist area in order to gain more in-depth knowledge and expand their professional opportunities.

The EMBA offers two of these specialist tracks: Medtech - exploring the latest medical technology, innovations in the sector, and management strategies that drive operational efficiency and improve the patient’s life; and AI and Big Data – making the most of these technologies to apply advanced analytics in strategic decision-making, optimize processes and stand out in the current digital market.

Leadership with purpose

Through the UPF-BSM’s Professional Career Service, the start of the new EMBA places a significant emphasis on the participants’ leadership and self-knowledge, both of which will be developed over the course of the Master.

The first term focuses on the Industry Challenge and is designed to give the students the chance to take part in a practical learning experience, in which they tackle a real challenge in the sector. Entitled Find Your Purpose, in the second term, the participants reaffirm their vocation through dynamic workshops designed to boost their skills and broaden their career vision, as well as gaining clearer insight into their strengths, motivations and long-term goals. With a focus on Personal Branding, the third term enables the participants to define and hone their personal brand, integrating skills, experiences and unique identities.

Immersive experiences

The EMBA includes live web seminars, discussion forums and weekly tutorials, as well as a set of residential stages in Barcelona, at the start and end of the program, to round off the academic training. The Welcome Residential Week includes a set of activities to give the EMBA students the institutional welcome to the program, with a masterclass and a visit to Barcelona Supercomputing Center, among other activities. The Program Finale Residential Week is an experience that brings the EMBA to a close, including the Graduation Ceremony and the presentation of the Master’s Thesis.

Moreover, the students will benefit from a range of experiences over the course of the EMBA, such as the CEO Speaker Series, with virtual sessions run by top-level executives who give an overview of their real challenges and achievements in terms of strategic decision-making. In addition, the student will visit leading companies to see dynamic business settings first-hand and gain key insights into innovation, leadership and operational excellence.

“We firmly believe that business is based on relationships. With this in mind, through a series of immersive teamwork experiences, our program fosters in-depth collaboration between the participants, strengthening their capacity to work together and learn from a diverse selection of top-class professionals. As a result, not only do the students acquire knowledge, but also build bonds of trust that will last a lifetime”, explains D’Amico.

From theory to practice

The Executive MBA programs has specifically been designed to ensure that every module and each case analyzed and challenge set all focus on immediate applicability in the real world. “The sessions enable participants to acquire advanced skills that are directly applicable in their professional lives, achieving an effective union between academic theory and the reality of the market”, adds D’Amico.

The program embraces an active learning methodology focusing on the real challenges of the business world, with innovative methods such as the flipped classroom approach, project-based learning (PBL), collaborative learning and gamification.