Focus on IT-enabled change - St. Gallen's master of business engineering program

The industrial economy in developed countries is transforming into a new “economy of the information age”. For nearly every company, complex, often radical and dramatic transformation needs are created. Executive programs in continuing education, however, are usually focussing on business “administration” rather than on business transformation. For a successful management of change projects, it is necessary to integrate skills from different areas: While general management skills are needed for strategic vision, organizational development, and process analysis, more technical skills are necessary to assess business potentials of IT innovations and to manage the development of appropriate information systems. Change management and other “soft” skills are a prerequisite for successful leadership in transforming organizations. The post-graduate executive program “Master of Business Engineering” has been developed to integrate knowledge from all of these areas, thereby enabling high potentials to succeed in transforming industrial companies into the information age. This paper outlines theoretical foundations and describes current curriculum as well as experience and future plans.