International Security MBA – Tailored Safety and Security
By Jarmo Heinonen, Principal Lecturer, Laurea University of Applied Sciences
The new Security Master of Business Administration (sMBA) is currently under development, organized by a wide consortium of educational establishments in the area of security. Laurea University of Applied Sciences’ flexible sMBA is planned for a person interested in security management, with the ambition to improve leadership and managerial skills. It will also offer separate modules for experts in order to enhance land and maritime skills of those seeking careers in the safety and security sector in Arctic conditions.
The Security MBA program is designed to provide students with a wide understanding of different key areas of safety and security. Students can select from programs and tracks including General Safety and Security, Arctic Safety and Security or Crisis Management. The program consists of subjects such as safety, special environment, international security and operations and leadership. It covers management and security topics from various perspectives in module-based learning: leadership, personal development, managing people, managing processes and systems, managing security resources, strategy, reputation and responsibility, international security, and leadership and change. The learning process enables Security MBA students to immediately apply their newly-learned knowledge in their work environment, and the flexible modular structure allows tailoring the content to specific learning targets.
A large number of universities and institutes plan to collaborate to provide this education. The sMBA is the first security- and safety-related educational program on European level that is based on modern e-learning methods and tools. This approach will enhance Arctic cooperation between a wide spectrum of actors.
The Security MBA will provide learning possibilities that are not dependent of time or place. In other words, this is as flexible as possible, and students will be able to choose their own learning curriculum according to their interests. That is the benefit of having many universities and institutes on board. Fellow sMBA students come from diverse nationalities and academic backgrounds. They can all interconnect seamlessly with each other and with teachers. The intention is that the module owners also monitor student performance. The sMBA follows all European curriculum requirements and has a proven pedagogical methodology.
The Security MBA is planned to be open for any person interested in security and management. However, participating students will most likely hold basic degrees in fields including maritime safety and security, defense forces, law or science, and typically have four to twelve years of work experience in the safety and security sector. The Security MBA is also planned to be based on a multi-size module system, which is ideal if students are unable to free significant amount of time from work to study, and if they want greater flexibility over how, when and where they achieve their MBA qualification. The sMBA students will gain expertise in international security, leadership, management and international finance, learn how to think strategically, and gain greater confidence in security and safety. The sMBA program’s goal is to engage students on every level through coaching and personal development, and to give them the confidence and energy to tackle specific challenges to reach their goals.
More information: Sam Vuorinen, Product Manager, sam.vuorinen@laurea.fi