Economic Transformation and Innovation – Master

Learning outcomes

A candidate who has completed and passed the programme shall have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

• Has an advanced understanding of how economies evolve and transform through innovation, entrepreneurship, and institutional change, with particular attention to sustainability and spatial dynamics.
• Has deep insight into systems thinking, complexity, and evolutionary perspectives on economic development, including an understanding of transformations as multi-level, path-dependent, and contested processes.
• Has thorough knowledge of the tools and limits of innovation and transformation policy, including how different governance levels (local, regional, national, EU/international) design and justify interventions under uncertainty and political pressure.
• Has an advanced understanding of the theoretical and practical challenges of leading organizational and societal change, including establishing and innovative venture, managing innovation processes within and across firms, public agencies, and civil society actors.
• Has advanced knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative methods in economic transformation and innovation research and knows how to use programming tools to analyze, visualize, and present data for decision-making.

Skills

• Can analyze complex transformation challenges using multi-theoretical lenses, from institutional economics and innovation systems to transition studies and economic geography.
• Can use data independently as a critical tool, applying and interpreting statistical models to generate insights about firm behaviour, spatial development, or sustainability outcomes.
• Can design transformative strategies and policies in an independent manner, offering empirically grounded recommendations for firms, public agencies, and communities navigating structural change.
• Can move between academic and applied contexts, translating theoretical knowledge into actionable ideas for innovation management, regional transformation, and sustainability entrepreneurship.
• Can design and implement new venture creation process, including value proposition, customer needs analysis, networking and partnership strategies and economic, social and environmental impacts
• Can critically assess the ethical, organizational, and social dimensions of innovation and change, and act responsibly in settings that require collaboration, reflexivity, and leadership under uncertainty.
• Can carry out an independent research project on economic transformation and innovation under supervision and in accordance with applicable norms for research ethics.

General Competence

• Can apply systems thinking and strategic analysis to complex transformation problems involving economic, social, environmental, and technological dynamics.
• Can engage constructively across disciplinary and professional boundaries, using the vocabulary of both business and social sciences to facilitate dialogue between firms, policymakers, and civil society and contribute to new thinking and innovation processes.
• Can demonstrate a reflective and critical mindset to communicate extensive independent work about growth, innovation, and transformation to specialists and the general public, using the language and terminology of the field.
• Can navigate ethical tensions and dilemmas in transformation contexts, such as balancing short-term competitiveness with long-term sustainability, or managing inclusive innovation under resource constraints.
• Can collaborate effectively in diverse teams, contributing to shared learning processes, co-creation, and mutual capacity-building in problem-based and real-world-oriented settings.
• Can acquire perspectives and skills necessary to take on an entrepreneurial role in existing firms and new business ventures

Student exchange

All about exchange