EPFL EMBA:
HARNESSING INNOVATION

A high impact program focused on innovation management at one of the world’s most vibrant technology institutions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The EPFL EMBA focuses on harnessing innovation. Firstly, we differentiate between novelty or invention, and innovation.  Innovation is the combination of novel and existing ideas, methods and services that brings value to an organization. Working from that basis, each one of our courses aims to answer the thesis question “how does this topic encourage, facilitate or support innovative activity?” By examining each course topic under this lens, we don’t just provide the core elements of an EMBA, but we train innovation leaders to have the tools and strategic outlook to harness innovation for the benefit of their organization.

Applications are done via the link provided on the EPFL EMBA website.

First you need to submit your application online. The applications that meet minimum requirements then go to the interview process, where you are interviewed by an application committee. Simultaneously, files are evaluated by the academic services. All the information is then sent to the steering committee, who review all the files and they make a decision. Finally, you are informed about the decision. If you are accepted you have 30 days to make the initial tuition payment in order to secure your seat in the next class cohort (15 days if applying after 2nd round deadline).

Decisions are generally provided no later than 30 days after the application deadline.

At this time there is no provision for financial aid or scholarships directly through the program, however there may be opportunities through third party organizations.

Because the EPFL EMBA classes only meet two days every two weeks, this intensity is not sufficient to merit a student visa in Switzerland. Therefore if you are not already living and working in Switzerland, or one of its neighboring countries, like France, Italy or Germany it may not be feasible for you to take part in the EPFL EMBA.

EPFL is one of the top Universities in the world. In 2023, the QS World University Rankings ranks EPFL 16th worldwide across all fields, whilst Times Higher Education ranks EPFL as the world’s 19th best school for Engineering and Technology.

The EPFL EMBA is fully accredited by the Association of MBAs, or AMBA – the European standard for MBA program accreditation.

Even though it is possible to complete the EPFL EMBA while working a full time, we recommend that participants decrease your work percentage to 80%. While you will only miss every other Friday (in addition to the welcome week at the beginning and the 10-day study trip at the end of the program), this is a demanding program, and experience has demonstrated that participants will need an additional day every couple of weeks in order to accommodate the various deliverables.

In addition to classes every second week on Friday & Saturday, you can expect to spend approx. 14 hours a week of study, which includes preparation readings and assignment completion. (This estimate does not include the time spent on the SIP – Strategic & Innovative Project)

English is the language of instruction, and the one used among participants throughout the whole program, therefore fluency in oral and written English is required.

The EPFL EMBA starts in the last week of August every year and finishes December of the following year.

Classes meet every two weeks on Friday and Saturday from 9:15am until 5:30pm, with two exceptions: The first week of the program (in August) requires a full week of presence – Monday through Saturday. In addition, there is an international 9-day study trip during the second half of November, just prior to the completion of the program.

The program has over 20 courses and a 2-day innovation sprint –  the Business Innovation Challenge.  The courses start with idea generation and follows a coherent path through all the relevant management topics finally ending at the topic of managing and executing sales.

In parallel, you will work with two main projects: the Business Venture Project and the Strategic & Innovative Project program, ending with a 9-day study trip where you will be in contact and working with, local businesses.

It’s important to make classroom time dynamic and productive. To avoid using class time to cover materials that people may already know, we deliver the theoretical and foundational material online, prior to the first class session in order to ensure that all people are at a common level of understanding.

The classroom is where theory meets practice. We work to combine academic expertise with industry practitioners. This helps build a dialogue between theory and practice and brings a whole new dynamic to case studies – you don’t just learn the theory, you also learn from people who are actively working in the industry.

The program is hands-on with a concrete, pragmatic approach to teaching and learning and there is no final exam at the end of the program.

Instead, we use a multi-method approach to grading and evaluating student performance, with a combination of individual and group assignments for each course or project.  The format varies from group presentations to individual written papers, simulations or video submissions.

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