| About the programme Language: English (See language requirements) | Place of study: Aarhus and Louvain | Commencement: August / September |
The MSc in Business Administration - Business Innovation is a unique international double degree programme that is offered jointly by Aarhus BSS and UCLouvain in Belgium. It prepares you for an international career in innovation and technology, in leadership roles or consulting activities related to managing of innovation and technology. You will spend two semesters in Aarhus and two semesters in Belgium. After completing the required credits of each university, you will obtain two separate degrees, one from each university.
The management of technological innovation is essential for the survival of companies. Innovation, through new and improved technology, as well as products and services, supports both the development of new markets and strengthens the position in existing markets. The importance of managerial decisions related to innovation is magnified, as many new products and businesses fail due to the fierce and dynamic competitive environment.
This line is for students who wish to develop their competences in the management of innovation and technology, who wish to develop skills in managing complex and innovative projects, who are motivated by a desire to learn how to work effectively in teams and who possess an entrepreneurial drive.
The double degree enables you to experience innovation from a truly international perspective by spending two semesters at AU and two semesters at UCLouvain.
You will see how two accredited universities approach innovation as a subject and become part of a vibrant campus full of international students.
During your studies, you will gain insight into the international context for innovation by expanding your academic horizon and learning about innovation in companies as well as the surrounding ecosystem that defines innovation in the two European countries.
Read more about UCLouvain
The Business Innovation programme will provide students with competences and skills to take up managerial positions in manufacturing companies and consulting firms, as well as start-ups:
* Please note that if you graduated with a BSc in economics and business administration from Aarhus University or another Danish educational institution before the year 2000, in connection with the processing of your application we will assess whether it complies with the admission requirements described in the section ‘Admission with other qualifications’.
Applicants who are graduates from other Bachelor’s degrees will be assessed according to the following requirements:
Subject | ECTS |
Method, incl. statistics and IT* | 15 ECTS |
Marketing | 7.5 ECTS |
Financing | 7.5 ECTS |
Accounting | 7.5 ECTS |
Management and organisational theory | 7.5 ECTS |
Micro and macroeconomics (both areas must be covered) | 10 ECTS |
Extra ECTS within the above subjects | 25 ECTS |
Total ECTS within business administration | 80 ECTS |
*Note that method can include both qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as the philosophy of science. IT and statistics must be explicitly covered.
Applicants to the dual-subject track on the cand.soc. programme must also have completed a Bachelor’s supplementary subject within a subject taught at upper-secondary level (45 ECTS).
If you apply for admission with an international Bachelor's degree, you must fill in this appendix and upload it in the application portal. The appendix serves to help the Admission Board assess your Bachelor's degree in regard to the admission requirements.
The language of instruction is English, so all applicants without a legal right of admission to the degree programme must document a level of English proficiency at or equivalent to level B (Danish upper-secondary school level).
There are restrictions on admission to the track Business Administration - Business Innovation.
Legal right of admission
Students on the Bachelor’s degree programme in economics and business administration at Aarhus University have a legal right of admission to the Master’s degree programme in economics and business administration (all tracks), on the condition that the candidates apply for admission to begin the Master’s degree programme within three years of completing the Bachelor’s degree programme. This legal right of admission only applies if the application is received on time by Aarhus University.
Note that if the number of applicants with a legal right of admission exceeds available places on the programme, and if the university determines that increasing capacity is not possible, in such an exceptional case the the university may rank such applicants. In such cases, the university must offer all of the available places on the track to applicants with a legal right of admission in accordance with this ranking, after which the lowest-ranked applicants must be offered their next priority.
Applicants without a legal right of admission
For students without a legal right of admission, meeting all of the admission requirements is not a guarantee of acceptance to the programme.
Selection
The selection of candidates from among qualified applicants will be performed on the background of interviews in the event that the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of available places. For this reason, applicants must upload a CV with their online application that describes relevant previous experience. Applicants with a legal right of admission must also upload their CVs because it may become necessary to rank such applicants.
During the interviews, applicants will be asked to explain why they believe their their previous academic qualifications and other relevant experience qualify them for admission.
As from the intake 2025, the Master’s degree programmes in Business Administration (cand.merc.) only admits a limited number of students each year. Therefore, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme.
Please note that special rules regarding supplementary Bachelor’s courses apply for programmes with restricted admission. Therefore, we no longer offer pre-assessments for the programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.soc.).
Read more about supplementary Bachelor’s courses.
The following criteria are emphasised in the selection process:
*Please note that marks/grades obtained after the application deadline will not be included in the GPA.
** Relevant courses are courses in Organisation- and Leadership Theory. Please note that the relevant courses must be passed at the application deadline to be included in the application. See schematic overview below.
Subject: | Programme: |
Organisation- and Leadership Theory | Business Administration, Business Administration with a Master’s supplementary, Business Psychology |
The courses are assessed based on the following point system: 1 point per additional ECTS in courses relevant to the programme applied for. For example, if you have 10 ECTS in a relevant subject area where the admission requirement is 7.5 ECTS, you get 2.5 points.
For Business Innovation the selection of candidates from among qualified applicants will be performed on the background of interviews. Applicants must upload a CV with the application that describes relevant previous experience. Applicants with a legal right of admission must also upload their CVs in case it becomes necessary to prioritise among such applicants. During the interviews, applicants will be asked to explain why they believe their previous academic qualifications and other relevant experience qualify them for admission.
1st semester:
Innovation Challenge: Hands-on Project (10 ECTS) AU BSS
Course responsible: Helle Alsted Søndergaard
The course is designed to give students hands-on experience in working with the innovation process, using the principles of Design Thinking. Student groups will work on real life challenges formulated my companies and experience the ups and downs of the innovation process, enabling them to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of innovation work.
Classic Readings in Innovation and Entrepreneurhsip (5 ECTS) AU BSS
Course responsible: Lars Frederiksen
In this course students learn to read, understand and relate classic readings in innovation and entrepreneurship research. With this knowledge the students create the ability to position, critically assess and not least choose relevant literature in this field when applied in their own argumentation and writing.
Appropriating Innovation, Managing Intellectual Property (5 ECTS) AU BSS
Course responsible: A-Sung Hong
This course is designed to expose students to the foundational concepts and discussions surrounding innovation appropriation. The course will offer an introduction to a range of topics concerning how firms can make profits from technological innovation and manage intellectual property.
Research Methods (10 ECTS) AU BSS
Course responsible: Birthe Asmuss and Irene Pollach
The course provides students with knowledge of the designs, data collection, and data analysis techniques commonly used and applicable in management research. The course will equip participants with the advanced methodological knowledge, understanding and skills required for successful completion of the programme.
2nd semester:
Knowledge Management (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Manuel Kolp and Julie Hermans
The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to the various facets, emerging issues and perspectives in Knowledge Management. Knowledge management is about organizing the development and use of knowledge in such a way that it directly contributes to the competitive edge of a company.
Innovation Policy and Ecosystems (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Gailly Benoit
The objective of this class is to introduce the main concepts, models and issues of creating innovation-friendly organizations and environments, from the policy and ecosystem point of views.We address in particular some key implications of innovation management regarding innovative people, teams, organizations, networks and ecosystems.
Economics of Innovation (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Paul Belleflamme
The course aims at analyzing the mechanisms and institutions governing the production, use and diffusion of information and knowledge. It also aims at developing a rigorous economic analysis of a large set of issues surrounding intellectual property, R&D and innovation.
Resource and Energy Management (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: TBD
The course focuses on understanding the business and policy logic for making the environment, sustainability, and natural resources core elements of the strategy and management of organizations. It studies the processes and tools that can be used to link environmental, sustainability, and natural resource concerns with strategies, development of products and services, and operations management.
Social and sustainable Entrepreneurship (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Julie Hermans
This course uncovers the popular concepts of social and sustainable entrepreneurship. It applies entrepreneurial thinking to different business models as seen through a social, environmental and economic sustainability perspective. The course will explore the relationship between business development and its social and environmental impacts.
Managing Complexity (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
We live in a complex environment, where the interconnections among economic agents (firms, consumers, ect.), their choices/decisions under uncertainty and as a response to unforeseen events determine the successfulness of firms’ activities. In this course, students will learn basic tools that companies can use to identify, report and analyze the risks/opportunities that a complex environment can bring to firms’ activities.
3rd semester:
Innovation Management I+II (10 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Gailly Benoit
The objective of this class is to introduce the main conceptual frameworks, analytical tools and issues related to the management of innovation and its implications, in particular regarding new ventures. We also address some key implications of innovation management regarding opportunity identification, assessment and implementation.
Digital business Systems (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: TBD
The objective of this course is to provide students with a broad and solid grasp of the challenges and opportunities raised by datafication (the transformation of social action into data) and digitization (the conversion of information into a digital format).
Corporate Social Responsibility (5 ECTS) UCLouvain
Course responsible: Ina Aust-Gronarz, Carlos Desmet, Valérie Swaen
The course aims at providing tools enabling the students to elicit critical thinking on ethical, social and environmental issues raised by contemporary organizations. The specificity of the firms' impact on economic life will be addressed by analyzing the principles and practices covered by the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Technological and Quantitative Project (incl. Project Management) (10 ECTS) UCLoivain
Course responsible: Olivier de Broqueville, Paul Fisette, Tatiana Hendrix, Manuel Kolp, Benoît Macq, Bernard Nysten, Bernard Paque, Pierre Semal, Mathieu Van Vyve
The goal of the project is to conduct a clear and structured analytical reasoning by applying, and eventually adapting, scientifically based conceptual frameworks and models, to define and analyze a problem. Furthermore, to initiate, develop and implement ideas around a new product or service, having evaluated the risks. To learn and apply the basics of team and project management. And to express, both orally and in writing, a clear and structured message adapted to the audience.
At Aarhus BSS, we conduct research at the highest academic level.
All researchers employed are engaged in research projects covering a wide range of different subjects and focusing on knowledge and skills considered essential for professional business activities in the global marketplace. All faculty have both research and teaching responsibilities, which means that our teaching is continually based on the latest research results.
Aarhus BSS is very internationally oriented. The broad scope of our research activities and educational programmes enable us to attract researchers, teachers, and students from all over the world, and this creates an international environment for research and learning in which academic views are exchanged, experiences are gathered and friendships are formed.
Aarhus University is a leading university in Denmark in building student exchange opportunities. The university encourages all students to spend time studying abroad. Every year, more than 700 students from Aarhus BSS go abroad to participate in exchange programmes around the world at our more than 300 partner universities. About the same number of students from all over the world come to participate in the exchange programme in Aarhus, and this contributes to a truly international learning atmosphere.
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The Business Innovation programme will provide students with competences and skills to take up managerial positions in manufacturing companies and consulting firms, as well as start-ups:
In large companies, candidates will be champions for innovation and technology by bridging the gap between R&D, production and sales activities supporting and shaping the innovation culture of companies.
In small- and medium-sized companies, candidates will act as entrepreneurs combining technological know-how with profound business understanding.
The entrepreneurial ability to transform opportunities into economic reality, the ability to organize activities and combine resources for the continuity of innovative activities, are central skills of future managers.
