Program Overview

Science, Business and Innovation Program

The master programme Science, Business and Innovation (SBI) aims to contribute to the persistent and growing need in academia, society and business for scientific and practical insights into valorization of scientific knowledge and findings. A combined understanding of the natural sciences, as well as of business and social sciences is supportive to knowledge and practice development in the field of valorization of (natural) scientific knowledge.

Program Description

The Master is a two years programme and is taught in English. The programme intently and substantially crosses the boundaries of natural and social sciences, within the context of natural scientific innovation. The learning process is structured and driven by developing scientific research projects in the specific empirical setting. This takes place within one of the following tracks:

• Energy & Sustainability, with an emphasis on renewable and clean energy development
• Life & Health, emphasizing drug development, molecular diagnostics and innovative medical instrumentation

Program Structure

• Niveau: Master
• Taal: Engels
• Duur: 2 years
• Vorm: Full Time
• Studiepunten: 120 EC
• Faculteit: Faculteit der Bètawetenschappen

Specializations

The program offers two specializations:

• Energy and Sustainability
• Life and Health

Compulsory Courses

All students must follow 18 EC of compulsory business, innovation and IT courses. In the first year, period 1 all students must follow the 6 EC compulsory course SBI Research Methodology. Students finish the programme with a 36 EC SBI project and Master Thesis.

• SBI Project & Master Thesis: 36 EC
• SBI Research Methodology: 6 EC
• Changing Organizational Culture: 6 EC
• Digital Innovation: New Ways of Organizing and Working: 6 EC
• Management of Sustainable Innovation: 6 EC
• Transdisciplinarity and Transition: 6 EC

Electives

Students follow 18 EC of electives. Students can follow courses from other master programs at the VU, or from other universities in the Netherlands or abroad. Selected courses must first be approved by the Examination Board.

• Management and Practice of Consulting: 6 EC
• Management of Digital Innovation: 6 EC
• Strategy Evaluation and Advice: 6 EC
• The Entrepreneurial Venture: 6 EC
• Environmental Policy: 6 EC
• New Business Models and Consulting: 6 EC
• Transdisciplinarity and Transition: 6 EC
• International Intellectual Property Law: 6 EC
• Science and Society in Historical Perspective: 6 EC
• Managing Service Innovation: 6 EC

Constrained Choice

• One specialisation-related compulsory integration course (6 EC)
  • For Energy & Sustainability track: Current Sustainable Energy Technologies
  • For Life & Health track: Business, Innovation and Value Creation in the Life Science Industry
• Students choose 2 courses from a list of options specific to their track

Science Project

In this course, you learn to design and execute a research project on R&D, both from a science perspective as well as from a business and innovation perspective. Your project will focus on scientific aspects of technological innovation as well as on strategy, structure, culture and/or the environment of a lab research group or R&D group in practice.

• Science Project: 24 EC

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