MBA Elective Courses 2025

Entrepreneurship though Acquisition (ETA)

Instead of founding a start-up, aspiring entrepreneurs can pursue a different path by acquiring and growing an existing business as an equity-owning CEO. This involves raising a search fund, a pool of capital from investors, to support the search for a suitable private company to buy, operate, and eventually sell. Typically, the entrepreneur secures €500,000 to €1 million from 10 to 20 investors, each contributing around €25,000 to €30,000, to fund their search and cover basic expenses. Unlike traditional investment vehicles, search funds back an individual rather than a start-up team, offering investors strong potential returns, often around 30% IRR. 

• Weekday course with Wim Hulsink & Alexander Schuil. Begins in September.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 3 August
• View the full course outline

ESG Strategy & Practice (ESGSP)
With increasing sustainability regulations and growing investor pressure for companies to “do good,” ESG professionals are shifting focus from the “Why?” to the more complex questions of “What?” and “How?”. Many companies hesitate to implement sustainability programmes due to concerns about scrutiny or overstretching resources. This course aims to break down those barriers by offering a practical, comprehensive approach to building an in-house ESG strategy. It is particularly valuable for those working in, or aspiring to work in, small to medium-sized or non-listed companies, where formal sustainability processes are often lacking. 

• Weekend course with Omar El Nayal. Begins in September.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 3 August
• View the full course outline

Innovation Ecosystems (IE)

Organisations increasingly invest in innovation to stay competitive amid shifting technologies, emerging rivals, changing customer interests, regulatory shifts, and unexpected events. Yet, many innovation projects still fail, face delays, or exceed budgets despite strong intentions. This course encourages you to approach innovation within a broader ecosystem, highlighting that you and your organisation should not face these challenges alone. It provides the tools and insights to identify opportunities, build and maintain innovation ecosystems, and view your business environment through a more collaborative and strategic lens. 

• Weekend course with Murat Tarakci. Begins in September.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 3 August
• View the full course outline

Doing Business in the Global South (DBGS)

Co-created by ISS and RSM, this elective explores how business and development intersect in the Global South. Through real-world cases, guest lectures, and a multidisciplinary lens, the course equips students to navigate the region’s unique challenges and opportunities, fostering sustainable, inclusive business aligned with global development goals and EU expectations. 

• Weekday course with Carolie Witte & Marijn Faling. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Entrepreneurial Finance (EntFin)

For many entrepreneurs, the focus is often on building the business, assembling a team, developing a product, and understanding customer needs, rather than securing finance. However, raising capital, whether through a modest seed round or a large public offering, is crucial to success. This course introduces the fundamentals of entrepreneurial finance, examining the key challenges in securing funding, particularly through venture capital. It explores these issues across different industries from both the entrepreneur’s and investor’s perspectives, highlighting the need to regularly adapt financial forecasts in a changing environment. 

• Weekend course with Yu Liu. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Leading Entrepreneurship and Venturing in the Energy Transition (LEVET)

The Experiential Elective is designed to build your understanding of entrepreneurship within the Dutch Energy Transition ecosystem, a leading hub for sustainable innovation in Europe. Jointly offered by Rotterdam School of Management and the Dutch Marine Energy Centre, the course immerses you in this dynamic environment through hands-on experiences with key players, support structures, and local entrepreneurial practices. You will explore the full entrepreneurial process, from opportunity identification to execution, across various contexts, including start-ups and established firms. Through faculty engagement, guest speakers, company visits, and practical activities, you will develop the skills needed to lead entrepreneurial ventures in the energy sector, both locally and globally. 

• Weekday course with Guiseppe Criaco. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Leading with Presence (LwP)

How strong are your non-verbal communication skills? This course helps you deepen your understanding and apply new techniques in both online and face-to-face settings. You will grow your physical and emotional intelligence, learning how to lead under pressure, influence others, build trust, and enhance your communication skills. Since 70 to 90 percent of human communication is non-verbal, being aware of how you present yourself is essential to becoming an effective leader. Taught by an academic researcher and experienced executive presence coaches, the course will help you strengthen your non-verbal self-presentation, reduce stress, and improve your well-being at work, while developing a more impactful and authentic communication style. 

• FT MBA only. Weekday course with Steffen Giessner / Antonie Knoppers. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

New marketing strategy in the AI Age (NMSA)

The modern business landscape is being transformed by rapid technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and constant consumer connectivity. These shifts are changing market dynamics and consumer behaviour so quickly that traditional marketing approaches must be re-evaluated. This course explores how organisations can strategically adapt by redefining their marketing models and leveraging innovations such as AI, data analytics, social networks, and real-time engagement. Grounded in academic theory and enriched with real-world insights from companies like HP, Nike, Coca-Cola, and Apple, the course equips participants to develop adaptive strategies and lead effectively in the digital age. 

• Weekday course with Pau Virgili. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Quantitative Pricing Analytics (QPA)

Pricing is one of the most powerful levers a company can use to affect profits. Pricing and Revenue Management is about “selling the right product to the right customers at the right time for the right price”. This course will go through a set of practices and tools that firms in various industries use to quantitatively determine the pricing and promotion strategies. 

• Weekday course with Yequing Zhou. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Strategic Sourcing (StratS)

The perception of procurement, or purchasing and supply management, as a corporate backwater is long gone for many organisations. Successful CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook and GM’s Mary Barra have backgrounds in procurement, and many companies now recognise it as a truly strategic business function. Procurement contributes not only to cost reduction but also to increasing the revenue-generating potential of acquired inputs, while also impacting sustainability through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. This course focuses on strategic sourcing within the procurement cycle, highlighting its importance across manufacturing, service industries, and the public sector, supported by readings, case studies, and guest speakers. 

• Weekend course with Finn Wynstra & Juergen Scherer. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Sustainable Investing (SI)

This elective provides a hands-on introduction to sustainable investing. To set the stage, we first discuss the role of six actors that play a key role for sustainable investing: companies, asset managers, asset owners, social activists, regulators, and ESG rating agencies. We then zoom in on three sustainable investment strategies that investors can use: portfolio screening, shareholder engagement, and field building. We discuss how each sustainable investment strategy works, how it can create a positive impact the environment and society, and how it affects the financial returns of shareholders. 

• Weekday course with Emilio Marti. Begins in October.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 17 August
• View the full course outline

Advanced Marketing Strategy through AI and Analytics (AMSAI)

This course equips business leaders and entrepreneurs with the skills needed to address complex marketing challenges effectively. It focuses on a systematic, analytical approach, using big data and marketing analytics to understand competitors, identify target customers, respond to market trends, and engage consumers both in-store and online. Emphasising the role of AI, including deep learning and generative models, the course links technical tools with real-world decision-making while addressing issues such as algorithmic bias, privacy, and business alignment. Real-world case studies from firms like Amazon and McDonald’s help bridge theory and practice, encouraging critical thinking about the opportunities and limitations of AI in marketing. 

• Weekday course with Sebastian Gabel. Begins in November.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Business Negotiations (Bneg)

Being able to negotiate successfully is essential for building and maintaining strong business relationships and transactions. This course assumes that negotiation is a process that can be understood and a skill that can be taught and learned. You will explore the advantages, requirements, and appropriate use of different strategies to become a more effective negotiator in complex scenarios. 

• FT MBA only. Weekday course with Maartje Schouten & Dimitrios Tsekouras. Begins in November.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Creating Customer Value (CCV)

The rise of digital technologies and advanced analytics has radically changed how marketing operations are conducted. Companies have shifted from product-centric approaches and mass marketing campaigns to customer-centric strategies tailored to individual needs and preferences. Customer centricity requires a deeper understanding of customer diversity and affects all organisational functions, including finance, research and development, sales, and employee evaluation. This course explores how to create customer value effectively, focusing on customer acquisition, spending, and retention, with Customer Lifetime Value at its core, combining insights into consumer psychology with practical training in analytics tools. 

• Weekend course with Aurelie Lemmens & Mirjam Tuk. Begins in November.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

International Portfolio Management (IPM)

This course offers a broad introduction to equity investing and the global asset management industry. You will learn how AI and data science are transforming capital markets, from algorithmic trading to robo-advisory services. The course covers key institutional investors such as mutual funds, ETFs, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, university endowments, and charitable foundations, exploring their investment strategies in public and private equity markets. By completing this course, you will be better equipped to manage your wealth directly or through investment funds. 

• Weekend course with Connie Lutolf-Carroll. Begins in November.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Mastering Corporate Innovation (MCI)

In today’s fast-changing world, driven by emerging technologies and global challenges, innovation is no longer optional but essential for survival. Organisations must develop clear processes, structures, and strategies to manage innovation effectively. This course explores how to build robust innovation management systems that enable continuous adaptation and long-term success. Mastering these systems increases an organisation’s chances of thriving and leading in its industry. 

• Weekday course with Birgul Aslan. Begins in November.
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Navigating Transformative Business Decisions under Uncertainty (NTBD)

Entrepreneurs and business leaders often make routine decisions based on experience, but it is the rare, high-impact decisions, such as mergers, market entry, or divestments, that can truly shape a company’s future. These transformative choices involve high uncertainty, where traditional decision-making frameworks fall short. This course introduces a cutting-edge approach for navigating such complex decisions more effectively. You will apply the framework to your own strategic or entrepreneurial challenge and receive direct feedback throughout the course. 

• Weekend course with Laura Rosendahl Huber. Begins in November
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Strategic People Management (SPM)

People are central to every organisation, yet managing them effectively remains one of the most complex leadership challenges. This course offers a professional, structured, and evidence-based approach to aligning people’s strengths, motivations, and goals with business strategy. Through six interactive sessions, you will develop strategic insight, interpersonal skills, and analytical tools to manage teams, navigate difficult conversations, and build inclusive cultures. Whether you are a manager, consultant, or executive, the course equips you to link people management with organisational success. 

• Weekday course with Madleen Meier-Barthold. Begins in November
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM)

This elective is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of how sustainability is reshaping global supply chain strategies. In this course, students will explore key concepts such as the environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainability, and how evolving regulations are influencing supply chain practices worldwide. The course covers practical tools for sustainability measurement, including Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and carbon footprinting, alongside cutting-edge strategies for creating circular supply chains. Through case studies and simulations, students will learn how businesses are integrating sustainability into product design, adopting circular business models, and implementing reverse logistics. 

• Weekday course with Morteza Pourakbar. Begins in November
• Enrolment deadline: Sunday 31 August
• View the full course outline