Andrea Huber
Innovation at the heart of education
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Andrea is teacher-researcher of the Master of Science in Business Administration and head of the 'Regional Development and Innovation Ecosystems' module for second-year students.
What is covered in the Master of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Innovation Management?
I am responsible for the module 'Regional Development and Innovation Ecosystems', a course for second-year students. The module aims to analyse phenomena from a meso-economic, territorial and systemic perspective. Each economic stakeholder, in fact, is embedded in an ecosystem, with its own peculiarities, specialisations and dynamics, in which a multitude of stakeholders (companies, state, education and research system, society, etc.) interact.
What do you consider to be the strengths of the Master's programme?
The Master's course has a strong orientation towards innovation, its management and, in general, transformation processes, in its various nuances and facets, with a focus on sustainability. This orientation is not only found within the modules in terms of content, but also in the approach and teaching methodology used: innovation must involve all of us.
In a Master of Science programme, an attempt is made to establish a dialogue between education and applied research activity. How is this dialogue achieved in the Master of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Innovation Management?
The training-research combination is an important element within our institution. On the one hand, our research and service activities benefit education in that we bring real, practical cases close to the area; on the other hand, training activities in collaboration with external parties allow students to be continuously refreshed in terms of recent content and methods.
What advice would you give to students intending to start this course of study?
Be curious and eager to know and learn. Get involved and be amazed, because this course not only provides the necessary tools to cope with an increasingly complex, dynamic, volatile and uncertain world, but also the mental attitude with which to approach different situations.
What are the Master's current and future challenges and how is the training product being reconfigured to meet them?
It is generally recognised that companies must be prepared to face and manage changes in their environment. This also applies to our Master's programme, which, from an entrepreneurial perspective, aims to turn challenges into opportunities, with a special focus on sustainability. Only in this way will it be possible to offer a quality, cutting-edge training product that meets the real needs of the market.