Learning platform and teaching in pratice
The chosen learning, teaching and assessment methods are appropriate to the practice-oriented nature of the programme. In addition to academic learning, students must reflect on and further develop their own practice as a manager throughout the course.

Throughout the programme as a whole, students will tie relevant theories to their own experience and challenges, as well as work on developing their own practice. A number of seminars will be thematic in nature. Teaching on the course will consist of a combination of syllabus materials, theory and student-led materials and projects.

The programme is an in-person, seminar-based programme. The course coordinator can arrange for a structure suitable for participants, employers and the educational structure. Seminars will facilitate relationship building, knowledge sharing and inspiration.

The chosen working, teaching and assessment methods are appropriate to the practice-oriented nature of the programme and the level of the course. Throughout the programme, students will reflect on and further develop their practices as leaders. Each course will have a clear practice-oriented profile with the aim of clear relevance to working life, based on problem-solving, argumentation, relationship skills, communication and/or critical thinking. Students will also develop a conscious awareness of their own learning style and learning strategies to achieve continuous learning. The various courses will use different practice-oriented approaches.

Examples include leadership development, simulator exercises, job rotation, genuine problem-solving in organisations, role play, coaching, mentoring, casework, visits to/from external communities, round table conferences/processes and thematic workshops or conferences.

The main principle that applies to the educational structure of the courses is case and project-based learning from the students’ actual working life situations. In addition to lectures, this could entail process-based workshops, seminars and casework in which theory, methods and practice are integrated where possible. The programme will also stimulate student-led learning using student-led groups/processes/projects.

The learning processes outlined above use learning principles that stimulate insight, develop skills and train students to deal with real-world challenges. We will provide students with scientific insight, exercise skills and practical knowledge and stimulate development of practical wisdom through subjecting students to challenging events, giving them multidisciplinary problems and teaching them managerially relevant skills. We want students to gain experience in excelling and taking on demanding tasks in their working lives, and, in the course of their studies, we will repeatedly call upon students to solve new challenges based on their personal assumptions, career development, learning curve and professional and

Working and teaching methods
Learning and teaching methods are adapted to the distinctive nature of individual courses and their associated learning outcomes. Some courses are oriented more towards cognitive goals while others include skills in the marrying of theory and practice and develop general expertise. This is reflected in teaching.

The table below provides an overview of the working and teaching methods that students may encounter on the programme.

Lectures
These are used in all courses to ensure a thorough grounding in relevant theories, which forms an important part of the learning outcome. This teaching method aims, as far as possible, to be based on dialogue and discussion, and learning should be achieved through a combination of independent reflection and discussion with lecturers/fellow students. The aim is to promote holistic understanding of the theories and the scientific basis of the course. We will make use of visiting lecturers from working life where relevant. The purpose of this is to improve the ability to apply knowledge to practical issues.

Conferences and seminars
Some courses will use conferences and seminars as a teaching method. This applies in particular in the case of topics that require insight. Visiting lecturers will be invited to share the latest in research-based knowledge, environmental understanding and development trends. This will be linked with dialogue and discussion-based processes in which learning is achieved through a combination of new insights, independent reflection and discussion with visiting lecturers/academic staff/fellow students. The aim is to provide knowledge of rapidly evolving topics.

Student presentations
Several of the courses will involve students presenting research and/or independent work/project reports for discussion in plenary sessions. These might be summaries of research articles, their own project work or assignments completed individually or in groups. This will train students to convey information and give them general training in communicating their personal thoughts and analyses. Emphasis is on actively participating in the discussions of these presentations. This is skills training in responding critically to information, in conducting independent analyses and evaluations and in presenting these in a comprehensible and appropriate manner.

Cases and problem-based learning
This will alternate between discussion-based teaching and development-oriented processes in which students will work on given or self-defined cases/problems and find solutions to these. The content will therefore be either teacher-defined problems or student-initiated material. Some topics will be presented as plenary lectures of relatively short duration, after which students will develop key issues relating to the problem/case and then work on these issues in groups. Other problems will be based on challenges that students encounter in their workplace and must be solved by students independently or working together, with solutions being discussed and presented thereafter in plenary sessions.

Project assignments
On the elective courses, students will have at least one project assignment or written submission that they must complete independently. In some cases, such projects may be discussed in plenary sessions and the results of the project assignments will be presented as part of the assessment. Project reports must be submitted either on an ongoing basis or together as a final report. The projects will primarily serve to link independent experience with theory, as well as developing independent practice as defined in the learning outcomes.

Workshops
In some courses, students will put skills into practice and conduct process-based workshops. This will help them to internalise knowledge and personal experience, create new experiences and improve the connection between theory and practice. The exercises and skills training will also include learning experiments that the students must conduct independently in between meetings.

Feedback, academic supervision and coaching
In some courses, students will undergo learning processes in which they receive feedback on completed work and their practice as a manager. At the same time, they will receive guidance and mentoring from each other, the university college’s academic staff and external parties.

Independent learning and self-study
In general, students are expected to make a significant personal contribution throughout the whole programme. During intensive periods of self-study, students will receive guidance along the way. Digital tools will also be used. The programme involves assignments, projects and processes that demand a good deal of independent learning. Students must be self-motivated in order to benefit from the programme. They have to discover for themselves what is needed to carry out assignments, set their own deadlines, motivate themselves, manage their time and workload and be able to work together and co-ordinate with others.

The academic content of each course combined with the various teaching methods will contribute to the learning outcomes. The different courses will consequently vary in their contribution to the overall learning outcomes.

Examinations and assesment methods
Semester projects/home examinations are used as the primary assessment method on this programme and will often be based on real-world case studies or challenges from the students’ workplaces and/or previous work experience.

Assessment methods will be adapted to the unique nature of the course and will present students with different types of challenges.

The table below provides examples of the assessment methods students are likely to encounter on the programme.

Written submissions
Submissions can be made on either a group or an individual basis. The aim is to provide students with advanced training in the application of theory, empirical data collection and analysis and written presentation. The learning outcomes will depend on the type of submission. For written submissions spanning two weeks or more (full semester), supervision is provided individually or in groups.

Portfolio
Portfolio assignments will be used for courses and assignments in which students must reflect on their personal learning and understanding of their own management practice and on their development of this. These will consist of several submissions throughout the semester. The work will be assessed collectively as a portfolio after the final submission. Students will receive feedback on the individual submissions.

Oral student presentations
Oral presentations will in some cases constitute a coursework requirement for admission to the course examination; in other cases they will constitute part of the final assessment on the course. Performing oral presentations either individually or with others sets requirements for educational skills, rhetorical ability and academic understanding.

Project assignment
The project assignment will be an independent, scientific work including an individual reflection log of the student’s own leadership in each course. The project assignment will be worth a minimum of 10 credits in each course. For elective courses, the project assignment will be worth 5 credits. The scientific work on the master’s degree programme therefore comprises a project assignment in each elective course and students will immerse themselves in a chosen topic with an exploratory, developmental or research-based approach.

Study program MEX

Executive Master in Leadership