In 2024, Católica Porto Business School will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Executive MBA programme. "Reaching 20 editions is a responsibility for the school and our students," says João Pinto, director of Católica Porto Business School (CPBS). In a journey that includes milestones such as accreditation by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and inclusion, in 2023, among the best in Europe in the QS Executive MBA Ranking, the following steps are always taken towards better and different novelties.

One of the main changes is the extension of the Human & Leadership Skills unit, a service designed to support career management, business ideas, and updated knowledge. Initially intended to run for two years after completing the MBA, students can take advantage of this service even longer. "It reinforces the objective of developing leaders who seek to have a positive impact on society," emphasises the director of the CPBS Executive MBA, Luís Marques. "It's also the assumption of an even more permanent and constant relationship with our students."

In his view, there is a firm commitment to constantly updating knowledge. "We're also going to create a Master Business Classes unit. We want the topics selected to respond to the necessary adaptation that the structure of an MBA must offer in response to new management issues," such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, risk management in a context of significant crisis, sustainability and project management in contexts of rapid change and continuous improvement.

The new Business Plan unit is another change resulting from the need  to aggregate what is taught during the MBA. According to Luís Marques, "the aim is to challenge students to develop an integrated and holistic vision of organisational management". It's a unit that cuts across both years of the course and will culminate in a case presentation at the end of the MBA. "We want there to be a correlation between the knowledge acquired and the creation of value for companies and institutions," he emphasises.

2024 will, therefore, be a year with many surprises for the Executive MBA at Católica Porto Business School. "We want to continue to be among the best in the world and, to that end, we have the natural ambition always to go further. We know what we want, and we're always attentive to our students' feedback so that we can fulfil their wishes, but also what the market needs," concludes João Pinto.

The programme continues to focus on its strengths, with a teaching staff that mixes national and international professors and several international weeks at some of the best European business schools, such as Esade and LUISS. The Corporate Club remains an anchor for the corporate sector, with many leading companies in their fields.

Applications for the 20th edition of the Executive MBA at Católica Porto Business School, which will begin in October 2024, are now open. Those interested can find out more here.