Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the difficulties and challenges global healthcare systems face have become more evident. Some business schools are addressing these challenges by offering business and management education aimed specifically at those working within the healthcare sector. Specialist PR consultants Stephanie Mullins and Kyle Grizzell from specialist public relations consultancy BlueSky Education take a closer look. 

In 2021, the world’s first business school dedicated to health was launched, the UCL Global Business School for Health (GBSH). The school offers education at the cross-section of healthcare and management courses such as their MBA Health or Executive MBA Health programme, blending attributes of a traditional MBA with a focus on healthcare management.

They also offer Executive Education courses on topics such as Health Policy and Practice, Leading Change in Healthcare, and others. The school’s aim is to transform healthcare access, experience, and outcomes across the world through education that empowers tomorrow’s healthcare management leaders.

Nora Colton, Director of the UCL GBSH, says, “I want it to be a place where extremely busy health professionals come together regardless of their role and professional healthcare hierarchies and learn with and from each other. I imagine it as a place where our global health sector can get some needed white space to reimagine the healthcare management ecosystem together and for a healthier world.”

Fellow London-based institution, Imperial College Business School, combines business-focused teaching and cutting-edge research within their MSc International Health Management. This provides students with a thorough overview of the UK health system and its application in a global context while also providing the essential skills needed to prepare for a management career in the global healthcare sector.

Other business schools offering health-focused business courses include Aalto University Executive Education in Finland and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany:

The Johtaminen terveydenhuollossa programme (Healthcare Management Education programme) at Aalto University Executive Education is a management and financial training programme for industry leaders, managers, experts, and decision-makers. The programme also acts as a pathway for participants to continue with the Aalto Executive Education Health MBA or Executive MBA.

Speaking on the programme, Maria Karsten, Associate Director for Open Enrolment Programmes, says, “The programme is designed to enhance the participants’ skills and competencies as leaders and individuals. The modules also strengthen the participants’ strategic thinking, thus increasing their understanding of why businesses need to transform and how they themselves can become drivers of organisational transformation. These all are skills and competencies that are needed in modern and successful healthcare organisations.”

Similar to UCL GBSH, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management offers a specialised MBA, the part-time MBA in International Healthcare Management, designed for working healthcare professionals such as physicians, surgeons, and nurses, as well as those in pharma and med-tech, to provide them with a thorough understanding of the international healthcare business.

Another course aimed at executives in healthcare is the MBA Health Care Management programme at the WU Executive Academy in Vienna, providing state-of-the-art business know-how, social skills, legal proficiency and profound knowledge of how national and international healthcare systems work.

While the aforementioned schools are addressing challenges in healthcare management through programmes, others form partnerships with organisations or projects associated with the sector.

The first Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) in Germany will launch at ESMT Berlin with a Health programme stream, which aims to greatly improve health by engaging founders working at the leading edge of life sciences. CDL is a non-profit organisation that delivers an objectives-based programme allowing founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs. The new Health stream at ESMT Berlin will focus on translational science and technology innovations that improve human health and wellness.

Another German institution, Mannheim Business School, is involved with the RettungsNetz-5G project, an alliance with 15 partners from industry, medicine, and research. The project will integrate medical technology innovations into an ambulance using the new 5G communication standard, generate cloud-based AI analyses, and communicate these in real-time for faster high-quality care for patients and enable mobile diagnostics in emergency medical cases. For this project, research from the school on physicians’ decision-making behaviour is of central importance.

We look forward to hearing about more examples of the health and healthcare-related initiatives and projects business schools are becoming involved in.

See more articles by Stephanie Mullins.