News

The Business Administration bachelor’s programme at Estonian Business School has been awarded a five-year accreditation by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) in 2025 – a recognition that confirms the programme meets international quality standards and provides students with a stronger position in both the job market and further studies.

EFMD accreditation is one of the most prestigious quality labels in business education. It is awarded to programmes that meet rigorous international criteria in terms of curriculum content, faculty qualifications, international outlook, practical relevance for the labour market, and alumni success. This means that EBS’s Business Administration programme operates at the level of the world’s leading business schools. Fewer than 50 programmes worldwide have received EFMD’s five-year top accreditation.

What does this mean for students?

Studying in an EFMD-accredited programme provides a clear competitive advantage:

• Stronger credibility with employers – graduates’ qualifications are highly valued, including by global companies
• Access to international study opportunities – a recognised degree opens doors to exchange programmes and master’s studies at top universities worldwide
• Future-proof education – programme quality is regularly assessed and continuously developed to keep pace with changes in the business environment

Why does this create a long-term advantage?

According to Anto Liivat, Head of Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at EBS, the value of accreditation goes beyond a quality label and has a direct impact on students’ future opportunities:

“Although we first received EFMD accreditation in Estonia already in 2016, its greatest value for students lies in their future career opportunities. It ensures that our graduates’ education is internationally recognised, high-quality, and trusted – employers and partner universities know what our alumni are capable of. From a student’s perspective, this is a clear competitive advantage, especially in the international job market.”

An international and practical learning experience

The EBS Business Administration programme stands out for its strong international focus and practical approach. Studies are carried out in close cooperation with companies, students solve real-life business challenges, and develop skills that employers value most today – from critical thinking to teamwork and digital competencies.

EBS students gain practical learning experience through real-world projects, close collaboration with entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurship and development projects integrated into the curriculum. The study process is designed so that students do not only acquire knowledge, but also develop practical skills in validating ideas, building business models, and bringing solutions to market. Dedicated development programmes support them through the key stages of entrepreneurship, providing structure and guidance from initial ideas to working solutions.

An intensive course on digital product development and prototyping, delivered to EBS students, demonstrated how quickly it is possible to move from an idea to a functional digital solution using artificial intelligence and effective prompting. In just three days, participants progressed from understanding user problems to building working prototypes.

The course was led by Marko Rillo and Kai Olbrei, with a strong focus on product thinking — how to connect user needs, business logic, and technological possibilities into a coherent whole. Students used AI tools to create designs, define logic, and build functional software prototypes, even without a deep technical background.

The result was a range of working solutions—from recruitment platforms to applications that simplify everyday life. The course confirmed that in today’s technology landscape, the critical skill is the ability to clearly articulate, test, and develop ideas—even if programming is not your core expertise.

Digital Product Management MBA (1-year programme)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming business education and leadership. The question is no longer whether AI will impact higher education, but how it can be used to foster innovation, responsibility, and sustainability.

In an international Times Higher Education interview, EBS Rector Meelis Kitsing highlights that the role of business schools is to help future leaders understand the interconnections between AI and sustainability and to make informed decisions in a fast-changing technological environment. AI can serve both as a driver of efficiency and as a strategic tool for creating broader societal impact — if applied wisely. This impact, however, only materialises when AI is integrated across the curriculum and organisational strategy, rather than treated as a standalone technological topic.

EBS focuses on integrating business management, technology, and responsible thinking to prepare leaders who can leverage AI for the benefit of both companies and society.

We will launch a new Product and Technology Management curriculum in the 2026/2027 academic year. Until now, product management has mainly been studied through short courses or abroad, while a comprehensive higher education program integrating business, technology, and product development into a cohesive whole has been lacking. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with the programming school //kood. Graduates of the program will receive a bachelor’s degree.

“The importance of skilled product management in companies is growing very rapidly, but the education system has not kept pace. A product manager is the person who decides what should be built in the first place—bringing together the end user, business, and technology. If the product manager is weak, things are built that do not meet market expectations. Today, product managers are mainly trained on the job through trial and error, which is costly for companies. The EBS curriculum has been created to address this gap,” commented Kalle Volkov, Head of Development at Iute Group and the program lead.

Focus: from idea to a functional and scalable product
At the core of the curriculum is practical learning, where students learn to create and manage digital products—from understanding customer needs to launching and developing them in the market. “Graduates of the program will be able to lead technology-intensive products throughout their entire lifecycle, while also being capable of acting as an informed client,” Volkov added.

During the studies, students develop skills that companies need most today:

• understanding customer needs
• collaboration with developers and designers
• data-driven decision-making
• product and service lifecycle management

The curriculum includes an extensive internship component (30 ECTS), providing students with professional work experience and the opportunity to build connections with employers already during their studies.

Technological development is outpacing skills growth – companies need new leaders
The demand for workforce in ICT and technology-intensive fields is increasing, and management and digital competencies are becoming increasingly important. Product managers are emerging as key roles in organizations, bearing responsibility for both product success and business outcomes.

OSKA monitoring reports in the ICT sector confirm a growing demand for roles that combine process management with the application of technology, while leaders’ digital competencies and the ability to use artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly critical. Estonian companies have been faster than the European average in adopting AI, but maintaining a competitive advantage requires even stronger skills from leaders.

The new EBS curriculum directly addresses this need by combining business management and technological competencies, preparing leaders who can create competitive products and increase company value.