The 2025 EFMD Master Programmes Conference explored how Master programmes can adapt to technological change, shifting global dynamics and evolving student expectations. Across three days, discussions highlighted the need to strengthen human capabilities, rethink programme design and sustain openness and collaboration.

2025 Master Programme Conference opening with Massimo Bergami, Dean, Bologna Business School (BBS) and Eric Cornuel, President , EFMD

The conference opened in Bologna, the birthplace of the university and the symbolic home of the Bologna Process. Massimo Bergami, Dean of Bologna Business School, welcomed participants by grounding them in this long academic tradition. He shared how the School grew from an interdisciplinary vision of management, engineering and the humanities, and how it continues to evolve through strong ties to industry and a commitment to innovation. His message set the stage for reflection on how institutions can honour their heritage while responding to new disruptions.

Eric Cornuel, president of EFMD, then drew a direct line from this history to the present moment. He reminded us that the Bologna Process itself was once a disruption, a collective reimagining of higher education based on transparency, mobility and shared purpose. Today’s landscape, shaped by digitalisation, demographic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty, requires the same imagination. He invited schools to see Bologna not as an endpoint, but as a framework that enables continuous improvement, collaboration and responsible internationalisation.

Andy Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan, closed the day with a powerful challenge to business schools. Drawing on decades of research, he argued that the environmental and social crises we face are symptoms of deeper systemic failures, and that business education must evolve accordingly. A single sustainability lecture cannot counteract a curriculum that largely reflects the logic of shareholder primacy. He encouraged schools to rethink the purpose of the firm, teach students about the different variants of capitalism, and restore a sense of stewardship and responsibility in management education. Hoffman also noted that this change is increasingly demanded by students themselves, who are seeking purpose and expecting business schools to rise to the moment.

Day one set a clear direction for the conference, rooted in history yet sharply focused on the future. It called on institutions to stay open, collaborative and courageous in responding to the disruptions shaping graduate education.

2025 EFMD Master Programmes Conference participants

Putting the human back at the centre of Master programmes

Day two opened with Chintan Kella, Lecturer at Rotterdam School of Management, who invited participants to examine AI in education through a more human-centred lens. Rather than policing tools or focusing solely on outputs, he demonstrated how AI can serve as a scaffold for learning when used with intention. Drawing from his classroom experiments, he illustrated how technology can help students slow down, reflect, surface assumptions and engage more deeply with the material. He stressed that AI is neither a shortcut nor a threat when framed correctly, but rather a means to create space for curiosity, emotional processing and informed decision-making. His message was clear: the role of educators is not to compete with AI, but to redesign learning so that human thinking remains central.

Chintan Kella, Lecturer, Department of Organisation and Personnel Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and Luca Bauckneht, Chief People Officer, Faac Technologies

This human-centred theme continued in the session with Nicola Antonio Sotira, Head of Technologies and Manufacturing HR at Ferrari, and Luca Bauckneht, Chief People Officer at Faac Technologies. Both spoke candidly about the skills companies are struggling to find. They urged business schools to focus less on fashionable trends and more on the fundamentals that endure, including curiosity, intercultural openness, the ability to learn continuously, and the capacity to question what AI produces rather than taking it at face value. They emphasised that graduates need a real understanding of how different AI models work, not just operational proficiency, and reminded schools that employers continue to value writing, reasoning and pattern recognition as core capabilities. Their reflections challenged institutions to rethink curricula with greater depth and a better balance between human and technical skills.

This was complemented by a breakout session led by Mark Thomas, Director of Research, and Sarah Hardcastle, Founder, Hardcastle and Associates. Drawing on research with Master’s portfolio leaders across multiple countries, the discussion focused on how schools can build and manage competitive portfolios over time. Participants were encouraged to move beyond surface differentiation and simplistic success metrics, and instead reflect more deeply on coherence, relevance and alignment between student aspirations and employer expectations. Portfolio management emerged as an ongoing strategic process rather than a one-off positioning exercise.

At the same time, the conversation shifted to student well-being with Carolina Champalimaud, Well-being Team Leader at Nova School of Business and Economics. She explored how uneven access to AI tools, low AI literacy and rising digital pressure are shaping mental health on campus. Participants discussed how students experience stress when they perceive unfair advantages, when teamwork relies too heavily on AI, or when deadlines encourage unhealthy study habits. Ideas to respond ranged from embedding AI literacy early on, to offering school-wide access to tools, redesigning deadlines and creating well-being indices that help institutions anticipate stress patterns rather than reacting to crises. The group also highlighted the importance of hybrid support systems that combine human contact with thoughtfully designed digital tools, ensuring students never feel replaced, only supported.

Mark Thomas, Director of Research, Hardcastle & Associates, Carolina Champalimaud, Well-being Team Leader, Life, Nova School of Business and Economics and Ramon Noguera, Academic Director, EADA Business School

The day closed with Ramon Noguera, Academic Director at EADA Business School, who invited the audience to step back and consider the broader geopolitical landscape shaping higher education. He traced the shift from decades of hyper-globalisation to a more fragmented world marked by supply chain disruptions, war, ideological divides and shifting centres of economic power. He encouraged schools to resist turning inward, safeguard openness as a core academic value, and rethink international collaboration through deeper and longer-term partnerships. His call was ultimately hopeful, reminding institutions that their role is to create spaces where global understanding, rationality and dialogue can continue even when politics makes this difficult.

Day two brought forward a shared message across sessions. No matter how technology evolves or how international dynamics shift, Master programmes will thrive when they strengthen the human foundations of learning, including curiosity, clarity, collaboration and care.

From market trends to leadership mindsets, preparing for what comes next

The final day of the conference opened with a data-led perspective on the state of Master programmes worldwide, drawing on insights shared by GMAC. The session highlighted a more uneven landscape than headline growth figures might suggest. While global application volumes remain resilient, demand is shifting away from traditional study destinations and becoming increasingly domestic in several regions. Programme performance varies widely by discipline, with analytics and AI no longer automatic growth drivers, and student decision-making shaped by uncertainty, return on investment and flexibility. The data also confirmed that while AI is increasingly present in the academic experience, its integration remains partial, and sustainability continues to be a strong expectation among prospective students, even where it is unevenly reflected in curricula.

This was followed by a leadership-focused session grounded in lived experience with Lelio Gavazza, CEO of Tom Ford Fashion. Drawing on years of managing organisations through crises, geopolitical change and cultural complexity, Lelio Gavazza reflected on what leadership demands in unstable times. He emphasised adaptability, self-control and the ability to lead across generations and cultures, arguing that real leadership emerges under pressure rather than during periods of stability. For business schools, this raised important questions about how students are prepared not just with skills and tools, but with the mindset needed to navigate uncertainty, take responsibility and move beyond their comfort zones.

The conference closed with a collective moment of reflection. Participants were invited to step back and consider what the past days had revealed, ranging from AI and sustainability to international collaboration, student well-being and programme design. Many shared a sense of returning home with new perspectives rather than ready-made answers, and with a clearer awareness of where dialogue, experimentation and change are needed. The closing discussion reinforced that innovation in Master programmes is not only about adopting new tools or formats, but also about revisiting values, language and assumptions, and continuing the conversation within institutions and across the EFMD community.

Thank you to our host, Bologna Business School, as well as all the speakers, steering committee members, participants and the EFMD team for their time, energy and forward-thinking mindset, which helped make the 2025 conference a great success.

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 EFMD Master Programmes Conference will take place from 2 to 4 December 2026 and will be hosted by Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. We look forward to seeing you there.