Draft proposal. Subject to UCAM review and approval.

UCAM Focus University Institute

Proposed UCAM and Focus University Institute dual-degree pathway

Master's Degree in
Business Administration MBA

Vision

To prepare world-minded, ethically grounded business leaders who think critically, act responsibly, and create sustainable value across organizations, markets, and communities in a complex global economy.

Key facts

60 ECTS
30 American-credit planning equivalence
1 year
On campus in Murcia
25 places
Intake in November
10,200 € per course
The UCAM page also lists 170 € per ECTS
B2 English
Admission language level required; taught in English
30 ECTS
Five Focus University Institute courses

UCAM's page states the degree is accredited by Spain's National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA).

UCAM’s one-year MBA, with a 30 ECTS Focus University Institute block

The UCAM MBA course list, as published in the UCAM MBA brochure
CourseTypeECTSSemester
Socioeconomic and legal environmentCO51º
Accounting and FinanceCO61º
Marketing and Marketing ManagementCO51º
Human Resources Management and Management SkillsCO91º
Business StrategyCO82º
Financial Management and Business OrganizationCO152º
Business InternshipsOP62º
Digital Business EnvironmentOP62º
End of Master ProjectTFM62º

CO compulsory, OP optional, TFM End of Master Project. UCAM confirms the controlling credit table.

Five Focus University Institute courses

FMBA 701

Global Business Strategy and International Market Context

6 ECTS / 3 American credits; 150 total learner hours: 45 scheduled + 105 independent/applied hours.

UCAM connection
Socioeconomic and legal environment; Business Strategy
Focus synergy note
Aligns with Focus-owned global strategy, digital business models, international market analysis, and geoeconomic business capability.

This course develops students’ ability to diagnose global business environments, evaluate international market conditions, and formulate strategic responses for organizations operating across borders. Spain provides the learning location, but cases and applications are global, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and emerging markets. Students examine institutions, competition, capabilities, geopolitical risk, digital platforms, sustainability pressures, and cross-cultural execution challenges. AI is introduced as a strategy-support tool for scanning, scenario generation, competitor mapping, and critical review, with verification and disclosure requirements.

AI as a tool

AI is used as a strategy-support tool for environmental scanning, scenario generation, competitor mapping, and structured critique. Students must verify AI-generated claims against credible sources and disclose AI assistance.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Analyze global business environments using institutional, economic, competitive, technological, and stakeholder evidence.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 3

  2. Evaluate international market opportunities and risks using structured strategic frameworks.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 2

  3. Assess how firms build capabilities and business models for cross-border growth.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 4

  4. Apply critical thinking to strategy choices under uncertainty, complexity, and ethical constraint.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 2

  5. Communicate a global strategy recommendation through professional written and oral formats.

    • PLO 6
14-week schedule
14-week schedule: FMBA 701
WeekTeaching focusWIL and applied learningAssignment
1Graduate orientation to global strategy and the international business environment. Students examine how firms interpret macro-level turbulence, institutional differences, market fragmentation, stakeholder pressure, and technology change when making strategic choices. The week establishes the focal firm or industry each student will use throughout the course.WIL launch: students select a real firm, sector, nonprofit, start-up, or public-facing organization and identify an international strategic problem suitable for professional analysis.Project scoping worksheet assigned; participation begins.
2Institutions, economic systems, political risk, legal environments, trade rules, and regulatory constraints. Students compare how different national and regional contexts shape market entry, risk exposure, and managerial discretion.Workplace evidence lab: students build a country/institution profile using public data, trade evidence, policy sources, and firm-facing risk indicators.Applied Brief 1 introduced: international environment scan.
3Industry structure, competitive advantage, capabilities, and value-chain positioning in cross-border competition. Students connect strategy frameworks to actual firms rather than treating frameworks as abstract tools.WIL activity: students map their selected organization’s value chain and identify international capability gaps.Applied Brief 1 due: international environment scan.
4Geopolitics, supply chains, resilience, sanctions, industrial policy, and market fragmentation. Students evaluate how uncertainty affects sourcing, logistics, partnerships, and market prioritization.Scenario workshop: teams prepare alternative disruption scenarios and evaluate managerial responses.Project source log due; feedback on research quality.
5Digital platforms, AI-enabled competition, ecosystems, and international business models. Students examine how technology changes scale, entry barriers, data use, governance, and customer access across borders.AI-as-tool lab: students use AI for scenario generation and competitor mapping, then verify outputs against credible sources and document limitations.Applied Brief 2 due: competitor/platform analysis.
6Emerging markets, growth opportunities, institutional voids, and cross-border partnership models. Students analyze the difference between market attractiveness and organizational readiness.WIL case clinic: students evaluate a market-entry decision using institutional, financial, cultural, and operational evidence.Midterm case preparation guidance.
7Integrated midterm case week. Students apply course frameworks to a new international business problem and produce a professional technical memo with evidence-based recommendations.Individual WIL-style technical memo under instructor-defined conditions.Independent midterm case/technical memo due.
8Ethics, sustainability, stakeholder legitimacy, human rights, and responsible global strategy. Students assess trade-offs among profitability, social responsibility, environmental impact, and long-term legitimacy.Stakeholder simulation: students role-play management, employees, communities, regulators, and investors to test strategic recommendations.Final project proposal assigned.
9AI-supported environmental scanning, strategic intelligence, and scenario planning. Students learn to use AI as a disciplined support tool, not as a substitute for strategic judgment.AI verification lab: students produce a scenario set, audit source quality, identify hallucination risk, and revise assumptions.Applied Brief 3 due: verified strategic scenario set.
10Market-entry and growth options including exporting, licensing, alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, platform entry, and staged expansion. Students compare strategic fit, control, risk, and capability requirements.Decision-board workshop: students present two or three strategic options for peer critique.Project milestone due: strategic options matrix.
11Implementation across cultures, organizational structures, governance, and change management. Students examine why international strategies fail during execution and how managers build accountability.WIL implementation lab: students develop roles, timeline, risk controls, and success indicators for their proposed strategy.Milestone presentation/simulation.
12Board-level communication, executive persuasion, and evidence-based recommendation design. Students convert analysis into a concise management argument.Presentation studio: students rehearse a board-style briefing and receive peer/instructor feedback.Draft final report due for feedback.
13Integration week: strategy coherence, risk review, ethical checks, financial logic, and global feasibility. Students revise recommendations and prepare professional presentation materials.Client-style consultation: students defend assumptions and identify what evidence would still be needed before implementation.Final presentation deck due for formative review.
14Final applied project week. Students present an international strategy recommendation and defend their analysis, evidence, implementation plan, and risk controls.WIL capstone presentation: board-style class presentation/oral defence.Final applied strategy report and class presentation/oral defence due. No final exam.
Bibliography and open educational resources
  • OER: Saylor Academy. BUS501: Strategic Management. Open online course materials.
  • OER: OpenStax. Principles of Management 2e. Rice University. Chapters on strategy, global management, and decision-making.
  • OER: World Bank Open Data and World Development Indicators for market and country analysis.
  • Text/Reference: Ghemawat, P. (2018). The New Global Road Map: Enduring Strategies for Turbulent Times. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Text/Reference: Peng, M. W. (2022). Global Business (5th ed.). Cengage.
  • Text/Reference: Hill, C. W. L., & Hult, G. T. M. (2024). International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace (14th ed.). McGraw Hill.
  • AI/tool reference: World Economic Forum. Global Risks Report 2025. Use with AI-supported scenario scanning and verification.

FMBA 702

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Business Model Design

6 ECTS / 3 American credits; 150 total learner hours: 45 scheduled + 105 independent/applied hours.

UCAM connection
Business Strategy; Financial Management and Business Organization; Innovation-related content in strategy/business creation
Focus synergy note
Aligns with Focus-owned innovation, entrepreneurship, product/service design, business-model, and applied venture-development capacity.

This course prepares students to identify opportunities, design business models, and develop innovation proposals for new or existing organizations. Students examine entrepreneurship, customer discovery, value propositions, experimentation, business-model design, scaling, responsible innovation, and sustainable value creation. The course emphasizes practical design, evidence, and critical judgment rather than a single startup ideology. AI is used as a tool for ideation, assumption testing, customer-discovery design, and business-model stress testing, always subject to human judgment and evidence verification.

AI as a tool

AI is used as an innovation-support tool for ideation, customer-discovery planning, prototype feedback, assumption testing, and business-model stress testing. Students must evaluate bias, feasibility, and evidence quality.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Identify business opportunities using evidence from customers, markets, technologies, and social needs.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 4

  2. Design and compare business models that create economic and responsible long-term value.

    • PLO 4

  3. Apply experimentation, prototyping, and validation methods to reduce uncertainty.

    • PLO 3
    • PLO 4

  4. Evaluate ethical, sustainability, financial, and operational implications of innovation decisions.

    • PLO 2
    • PLO 3
    • PLO 4

  5. Present a coherent innovation or venture proposal supported by evidence and implementation logic.

    • PLO 6
14-week schedule
14-week schedule: FMBA 702
WeekTeaching focusWIL and applied learningAssignment
1Introduction to innovation as disciplined value creation, not simply creativity. Students examine entrepreneurial logic, intrapreneurship, uncertainty, problem framing, and evidence-driven opportunity development.WIL launch: students identify a workplace, start-up, social enterprise, community, or industry problem that could become an innovation project.Innovation opportunity journal begins.
2Customer problems, unmet needs, jobs-to-be-done, and opportunity recognition. Students distinguish interesting ideas from evidence-supported opportunities.Field evidence activity: students design interview questions, observation prompts, or secondary-research scans for a target customer group.Applied Brief 1 introduced: opportunity/problem evidence.
3Market evidence, stakeholder needs, and early feasibility. Students evaluate market size, customer urgency, competitive alternatives, and social/environmental relevance.WIL evidence lab: students analyze public data, customer signals, and competitor offerings.Applied Brief 1 due: opportunity/problem evidence.
4Business model patterns, revenue logic, cost logic, partnerships, channels, and key resources. Students compare business models and evaluate strategic fit.Business model canvas workshop using the student’s selected opportunity.Draft business model canvas due for feedback.
5Value proposition design, customer fit, differentiation, and adoption barriers. Students learn how value propositions change across cultures, sectors, and user groups.Prototype value proposition lab: students create, critique, and revise value proposition statements.Applied Brief 2 due: value proposition and customer fit.
6Experimentation, prototyping, validation, MVP thinking, and learning metrics. Students learn to reduce uncertainty through small tests rather than overconfident planning.WIL validation design: students design a low-cost test, pilot, or evidence-gathering experiment.Midterm memo preparation guidance.
7Independent midterm innovation memo. Students evaluate a venture or innovation case and recommend whether to proceed, pivot, pause, or redesign.Individual professional decision memo.Independent midterm case/technical memo due.
8AI as an innovation-support tool. Students use AI for ideation, assumption testing, customer-discovery planning, and business-model stress testing while checking bias and feasibility.AI-supported ideation lab with mandatory human screening and evidence verification.Applied Brief 3 assigned: AI-supported assumption test.
9Financing assumptions, unit economics, resource needs, and business viability. Students connect innovation ideas to operational and financial realism.Venture viability lab: students estimate costs, pricing, break-even logic, and funding needs.Applied Brief 3 due: validated assumption and viability reflection.
10Responsible innovation, ethics, sustainability, intellectual property, data use, and stakeholder effects. Students evaluate unintended consequences and governance needs.Ethical review simulation for a proposed innovation.Project milestone due: innovation proposal and risk screen.
11Scaling, partnerships, ecosystems, go-to-market logic, and implementation sequencing. Students explore how innovations move from pilot to operational reality.WIL ecosystem map: students identify partners, suppliers, regulators, and implementation constraints.Milestone presentation/simulation.
12Pitch development, evidence-based storytelling, and executive communication. Students learn to persuade without exaggerating evidence or overpromising impact.Pitch studio with peer and instructor feedback.Draft final proposal due for feedback.
13Revision week: feasibility, stakeholder value, financial logic, operational plan, and learning agenda. Students refine project materials for final delivery.Client/investor-style Q&A rehearsal.Final presentation deck due for formative review.
14Final applied innovation project week. Students present and defend an innovation, entrepreneurship, or business-model proposal supported by evidence and implementation logic.WIL capstone presentation: investor/client-style class presentation/oral defence.Final innovation proposal/report and class presentation/oral defence due. No final exam.
Bibliography and open educational resources
  • OER: Saylor Academy. BUS305: Small Business Management. Open online course materials.
  • OER: Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. Business Model Canvas resources. Strategyzer public resources.
  • OER: Y Combinator Startup Library. Selected open resources on customer discovery, experiments, and startup execution.
  • Text/Reference: Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup. Crown Business.
  • Text/Reference: Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., & Smith, A. (2014). Value Proposition Design. Wiley.
  • Text/Reference: Christensen, C. M., Raynor, M. E., & McDonald, R. (2015). What is disruptive innovation? Harvard Business Review.
  • AI/tool reference: OECD. OECD AI Principles and AI policy resources for responsible innovation screening.

FMBA 703

Digital Marketing, Branding, and Customer Analytics

6 ECTS / 3 American credits; 150 total learner hours: 45 scheduled + 105 independent/applied hours.

UCAM connection
Marketing and Marketing Management; Digital Business Environment; customer/market applications
Focus synergy note
Aligns with Focus-owned strategic marketing, customer analytics, digital growth, branding, and global market development courses.

This course develops students’ ability to design marketing strategies for global and digitally mediated markets. Students integrate customer insight, segmentation, brand positioning, digital channels, analytics, customer experience, responsible data use, and performance measurement. The course uses global cases and adapts marketing decisions to culture, sector, technology, and ethical context. AI is used as a tool for segmentation hypotheses, content testing, analytics interpretation, and campaign diagnostics, with attention to privacy, bias, and responsible personalization.

AI as a tool

AI is used as a marketing-support tool for segmentation hypotheses, persona critique, content testing, analytics interpretation, and campaign diagnostics. Students must address privacy, bias, cultural fit, and responsible personalization.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Analyze customer, market, competitor, and digital-channel evidence to identify strategic marketing opportunities.

    • PLO 3
    • PLO 5

  2. Develop segmentation, targeting, positioning, and branding strategies for diverse global audiences.

    • PLO 5

  3. Use customer analytics and performance metrics responsibly to support marketing decisions.

    • PLO 3
    • PLO 5

  4. Evaluate ethical, cultural, privacy, and sustainability issues in digital marketing and brand management.

    • PLO 2
    • PLO 5

  5. Produce a professional marketing strategy and growth plan with evidence-based recommendations.

    • PLO 5
    • PLO 6
14-week schedule
14-week schedule: FMBA 703
WeekTeaching focusWIL and applied learningAssignment
1Introduction to digital and global marketing strategy. Students examine how marketing creates value through customer insight, segmentation, brand meaning, channels, analytics, and trust.WIL launch: students choose a real brand, organization, product, service, or market-facing initiative for the course project.Marketing project brief assigned.
2Customer insight, market research, and evidence quality. Students compare qualitative, quantitative, social, behavioral, and public data sources.Customer evidence lab: students identify available customer/market evidence and evaluate its credibility.Applied Brief 1 introduced: customer and market insight scan.
3Segmentation, targeting, positioning, and differentiated value. Students practice building defensible segments and positioning statements for diverse audiences.WIL segmentation workshop using the student’s selected organization or product.Applied Brief 1 due: customer and market insight scan.
4Brand identity, brand meaning, reputation, trust, and international brand adaptation. Students evaluate how brand choices travel across cultures and channels.Brand audit lab: students assess brand consistency, audience fit, and credibility gaps.Brand audit worksheet due.
5Digital channels, customer journeys, funnel logic, omnichannel experience, and platform strategy. Students connect channel choices to customer behavior and business objectives.Customer journey mapping workshop for a real target audience.Applied Brief 2 due: customer journey and channel diagnosis.
6Marketing analytics, dashboards, KPIs, and performance interpretation. Students learn to distinguish vanity metrics from decision-useful evidence.Analytics lab using sample or public data to interpret performance and recommend action.Midterm case preparation guidance.
7Independent midterm marketing case or technical memo. Students diagnose a market, brand, channel, or analytics problem and recommend a course of action.Individual professional marketing memo.Independent midterm case/technical memo due.
8AI-supported customer analytics, persona critique, campaign diagnostics, and content testing. Students use AI to generate hypotheses and then test them against evidence.AI marketing lab: students compare AI-generated personas/content ideas with actual customer evidence and ethical constraints.Applied Brief 3 assigned: AI-assisted marketing diagnostic.
9Content strategy, social/community marketing, influencer logic, search, e-commerce, and platform growth. Students examine what makes content strategically useful rather than merely visible.Campaign design lab: students draft a content/channel plan linked to measurable objectives.Applied Brief 3 due: AI-assisted marketing diagnostic.
10International consumer behavior, culture, language, adaptation, and responsible personalization. Students evaluate cultural fit and avoid superficial localization.Cross-cultural campaign critique using global examples.Project milestone due: marketing strategy outline and evidence base.
11Privacy, data ethics, bias, consent, transparency, and responsible personalization. Students evaluate marketing choices through legal, ethical, and reputational lenses.Ethical marketing simulation: students defend a data-use decision from management, customer, and regulator perspectives.Milestone presentation/simulation.
12Sustainability, stakeholder marketing, brand purpose, reputation risk, and greenwashing. Students examine how responsible claims must be supported by evidence.Reputation and claims audit for a selected brand or campaign.Draft final marketing plan due for feedback.
13Marketing budget, implementation planning, measurement, and executive communication. Students refine their strategic marketing plan and prepare a professional presentation.Presentation studio: students rehearse a management-style marketing plan presentation.Final presentation deck due for formative review.
14Final applied marketing project week. Students present and defend a marketing strategy or growth plan supported by customer evidence, analytics, ethical reasoning, and implementation logic.WIL capstone presentation: client/management-style class presentation/oral defence.Final marketing strategy report and class presentation/oral defence due. No final exam.
Bibliography and open educational resources
  • OER: OpenStax. Principles of Marketing. Rice University.
  • OER: Google Skillshop and Google Analytics Academy public learning resources for digital measurement foundations.
  • OER: HubSpot Academy. Digital marketing, content marketing, and social media strategy open certification resources.
  • Text/Reference: Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., & Chernev, A. (2024). Marketing Management (16th ed.). Pearson.
  • Text/Reference: Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2022). Digital Marketing (8th ed.). Pearson.
  • Text/Reference: Wedel, M., & Kannan, P. K. (2016). Marketing analytics for data-rich environments. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 97–121.
  • AI/tool reference: NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 for responsible use of AI-assisted marketing analytics and personalization.

FMBA 704

Financial Management, Investment Evaluation, and Business Viability

6 ECTS / 3 American credits; 150 total learner hours: 45 scheduled + 105 independent/applied hours.

UCAM connection
Accounting and Finance; Financial Management and Business Organization
Focus synergy note
Aligns with Focus-owned finance/accounting, AI-enabled decision-making, business viability, valuation, and financial management capacity.

This course equips MBA students to interpret financial information, evaluate business viability, and support managerial decisions with disciplined financial analysis. Students study financial statements, budgeting, working capital, investment evaluation, valuation logic, risk, funding, and responsible use of financial and digital decision tools. The emphasis is on managerial judgment, communication, and ethical use of financial evidence.

AI as a tool

AI is not a primary course theme, but students may use approved digital tools for spreadsheet checking, sensitivity review, and financial explanation support with verification and disclosure.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Interpret financial statements and key performance indicators for managerial decision-making.

    • PLO 3

  2. Evaluate business viability using budgeting, cash-flow analysis, investment criteria, and risk assessment.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 3

  3. Apply financial-management concepts to funding, growth, working capital, and strategic resource decisions.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 3

  4. Use digital and analytical tools responsibly to support financial judgment without replacing professional accountability.

    • PLO 2
    • PLO 3

  5. Communicate financial recommendations clearly to managerial and non-specialist audiences.

    • PLO 6
14-week schedule
14-week schedule: FMBA 704
WeekTeaching focusWIL and applied learningAssignment
1Introduction to managerial finance for MBA decision-making. Students review how financial information supports strategic choices, resource allocation, accountability, and organizational viability.WIL launch: students select a real or simulated business, project, expansion, or investment decision to analyze through the course.Financial project scoping worksheet assigned.
2Financial statements, performance indicators, and managerial interpretation. Students connect income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and ratios to operational and strategic questions.Financial statement lab using public company or instructor-provided data.Applied Brief 1 introduced: financial performance diagnosis.
3Cost behavior, contribution margin, operating leverage, and managerial decisions. Students assess how costs affect pricing, scale, risk, and strategic flexibility.WIL costing lab: students estimate cost drivers and margin implications for a selected business/project.Applied Brief 1 due: financial performance diagnosis.
4Budgeting, cash-flow planning, and liquidity management. Students learn to prepare practical forecasts and identify cash constraints before they become crises.Cash-flow forecast workshop using a business scenario.Cash-flow model checkpoint due.
5Working capital, growth financing, credit risk, and operational discipline. Students examine how growth can create financial stress.Working-capital simulation: students evaluate inventory, receivables, payables, and liquidity trade-offs.Applied Brief 2 due: cash-flow and liquidity analysis.
6Time value of money, investment criteria, NPV, IRR, payback, and managerial interpretation. Students focus on what the numbers mean for decision-making.Investment evaluation lab using spreadsheet tools and sensitivity assumptions.Midterm memo preparation guidance.
7Independent midterm finance case or technical memo. Students evaluate a business viability, investment, funding, or financial performance problem and recommend action.Individual professional finance memo.Independent midterm case/technical memo due.
8Risk, sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, and uncertainty. Students examine how assumptions drive financial conclusions and how managers communicate uncertainty.Scenario model lab: students test optimistic/base/pessimistic assumptions and identify breakpoints.Applied Brief 3 assigned: scenario and sensitivity analysis.
9Funding choices, capital structure basics, cost of capital logic, and stakeholder expectations. Students compare internal funding, debt, equity, and partnership options.WIL funding decision workshop for the selected project/business.Applied Brief 3 due: scenario and sensitivity analysis.
10Business valuation logic, value drivers, and managerial use of valuation. Students learn valuation as a decision support tool rather than a purely technical exercise.Valuation assumptions lab: students identify key value drivers and evidence gaps.Project milestone due: business viability model.
11Responsible digital tools, spreadsheet controls, AI explanation support, and financial accountability. Students use tools for checking and explanation while retaining human responsibility.Model audit simulation: students review formulas, assumptions, errors, and explanation quality.Milestone presentation/simulation.
12Ethics, transparency, financial communication, and non-specialist audiences. Students practice translating financial analysis into clear managerial recommendations.Executive finance briefing workshop.Draft final viability report due for feedback.
13Integration week: financial analysis, strategic fit, risk, funding, and implementation. Students revise project recommendations and prepare final materials.Peer review of final business viability recommendations.Final presentation deck due for formative review.
14Final applied finance project week. Students present and defend a business viability, investment, valuation, or financial decision recommendation.WIL capstone presentation: executive finance class presentation/oral defence.Final financial analysis report/model and class presentation/oral defence due. No final exam.
Bibliography and open educational resources
  • OER: OpenStax. Principles of Accounting, Volume 1: Financial Accounting. Rice University.
  • OER: OpenStax. Principles of Finance. Rice University.
  • OER: Corporate Finance Institute free resources and templates for financial statements, ratios, and valuation basics.
  • Text/Reference: Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Allen, F. (2022). Principles of Corporate Finance (14th ed.). McGraw Hill.
  • Text/Reference: Damodaran, A. (2012). Investment Valuation (3rd ed.). Wiley.
  • Text/Reference: Fridson, M. S., & Alvarez, F. (2022). Financial Statement Analysis (5th ed.). Wiley.
  • Open data/tool: U.S. SEC EDGAR, company annual reports, and public financial statements for applied analysis.

FMBA 705

Digital Business Environment and Applied Consulting Project

6 ECTS / 3 American credits; 150 total learner hours: 45 scheduled + 105 independent/applied hours.

UCAM connection
Digital Business Environment; Business Internships; End of Master Project preparation where approved
Focus synergy note
Aligns with Focus-owned responsible AI, governance, cybersecurity, digital transformation, applied management research, evidence-based consulting, and capstone pedagogy.

This integrative course prepares students to analyze digital business environments and complete a practical consulting-style project. Students examine digital transformation, responsible AI, cybersecurity awareness, data governance, platform competition, organizational change, stakeholder analysis, and professional consulting methods. The final project asks students to diagnose a real or simulated organizational challenge and propose an implementable solution. AI is used as a managerial and consulting tool for problem framing, process mapping, knowledge synthesis, and recommendation drafting under human oversight and risk controls.

AI as a tool

AI is used as a managerial and consulting tool for problem diagnosis, process mapping, stakeholder analysis, knowledge synthesis, responsible automation assessment, and recommendation drafting. Students must apply human oversight and risk controls.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Analyze how digital technologies, data, platforms, AI, and cybersecurity considerations reshape business environments.

    • PLO 3

  2. Diagnose an organizational or market problem using consulting, research, stakeholder, and evidence-gathering methods.

    • PLO 1
    • PLO 6

  3. Develop responsible, feasible, and ethically grounded recommendations for digital or organizational improvement.

    • PLO 2
    • PLO 6

  4. Collaborate professionally and manage project scope, evidence, communication, and implementation risk.

    • PLO 2
    • PLO 6

  5. Deliver a consulting report and presentation that translate analysis into actionable managerial recommendations.

    • PLO 6
14-week schedule
14-week schedule: FMBA 705
WeekTeaching focusWIL and applied learningAssignment
1Introduction to digital business environments and consulting practice. Students examine digital transformation, platforms, data, AI, cybersecurity, and organizational change as managerial issues.WIL launch: students select a real or simulated client/organization and define an applied consulting problem.Consulting project charter assigned.
2Platforms, ecosystems, data-driven competition, and digital operating models. Students analyze how digital business models reshape value creation and competition.Digital ecosystem mapping lab for the selected organization/sector.Applied Brief 1 introduced: digital environment scan.
3AI as a consulting, diagnosis, and synthesis tool. Students use AI for problem framing, process mapping, research synthesis, and recommendation drafting with human oversight.AI consulting lab: students generate and audit problem statements, hypotheses, and research questions.Applied Brief 1 due: digital environment scan.
4Cybersecurity, privacy, digital trust, and governance for managers. Students evaluate risk at a managerial level without becoming technical specialists.Risk register workshop: students identify privacy, cyber, operational, and reputational risks for the client problem.Risk register checkpoint due.
5Data governance, decision accountability, and responsible digital management. Students examine how data quality, access, ownership, and accountability affect managerial recommendations.Data-governance clinic using a practical organizational scenario.Applied Brief 2 due: governance and risk diagnosis.
6Consulting problem definition, scope control, stakeholder expectations, and project governance. Students learn to avoid vague consulting questions and unmanageable scopes.Client-scope simulation: students negotiate problem boundaries, deliverables, assumptions, and constraints.Midterm memo preparation guidance.
7Independent midterm consulting memo. Students diagnose a digital/organizational problem and recommend a disciplined consulting approach.Individual professional consulting memo.Independent midterm case/technical memo due.
8Stakeholder mapping, evidence planning, and research design for applied consulting. Students develop interview, document, observation, or secondary-source evidence plans.WIL evidence plan lab for the final consulting project.Applied Brief 3 assigned: stakeholder and evidence plan.
9Applied consulting research methods, synthesis, and insight generation. Students learn to move from data collection to defensible findings.Findings synthesis workshop using structured themes, evidence tables, and implication statements.Applied Brief 3 due: stakeholder and evidence plan.
10Organizational change, implementation readiness, adoption barriers, and communication. Students evaluate whether recommendations can realistically be implemented.Implementation readiness simulation and change-barrier analysis.Project milestone due: consulting diagnosis and recommendation outline.
11Risk, ethics, sustainability, and responsible technology in digital projects. Students assess unintended consequences and governance controls.Ethical consulting review: students test recommendations against stakeholder, privacy, bias, and implementation risks.Milestone presentation/simulation.
12Consulting report structure, executive summaries, recommendation logic, and evidence-based communication. Students practice writing for decision-makers.Consulting report studio with peer review.Draft final consulting report due for feedback.
13Client-style presentation, oral defence, and implementation roadmap. Students refine recommendations and prepare to answer critical questions.Presentation rehearsal with client-style Q&A.Final presentation deck due for formative review.
14Final applied consulting project week. Students present and defend a digital business or organizational improvement recommendation with evidence and implementation logic.WIL capstone presentation: client-style class presentation/oral defence.Final consulting report and class presentation/oral defence due. No final exam.
Bibliography and open educational resources
  • OER: OpenStax. Principles of Management 2e. Rice University. Chapters on technology, innovation, change, and control.
  • OER: NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0.
  • OER: European Commission. Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and public digital-policy resources.
  • Text/Reference: Westerman, G., Bonnet, D., & McAfee, A. (2014). Leading Digital. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Text/Reference: Davenport, T. H., & Mittal, N. (2023). All-in on AI. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Text/Reference: Block, P. (2011). Flawless Consulting (3rd ed.). Pfeiffer.
  • AI/tool reference: ISO/IEC 42001 and public summaries on AI management systems; use as awareness source where access is available.

The Focus courses: fourteen weeks each, work-integrated, no final examination

  • 14

    weeks per course

    Each course runs 14 weeks: 150 learner hours, 45 scheduled and 105 independent or applied.

  • WIL

    work-integrated learning

    Workplace-style problems, employer and industry evidence, applied tools, client-style deliverables, simulations and professional briefings.

  • 0

    final examinations

    Each course ends with a final applied class project, a written report and a professional class presentation or oral defence.

  • AI

    used as a tool

    Used with verification, disclosure, human oversight and responsible-use expectations.

Weight of each component

Where the assessments fall in the 14 weeks

Weight of each component
Assessment componentWeightTimingDescription
Participation, preparation, and professional contribution10%Weeks 1–14Preparation, attendance/engagement, professional conduct, peer contribution, discussion leadership, and responsible disclosure of AI/digital tools when permitted.
Applied analysis labs / short briefs15%Weeks 3, 5, and 9Three brief applied/WIL tasks, normally 5% each, using workplace-style evidence, data, cases, public sources, or role-based analysis.
Independent midterm case or technical memo20%Week 7Individual professional case analysis or technical memo. This is not an exam; it tests independent analysis, evidence, judgment, and written communication.
Project milestone / presentation / simulation15%Weeks 10–11Interim project proposal, simulation, prototype, analytical model, or progress presentation. Students receive feedback before final submission.
Final applied class project, report, and presentation/oral defence40%Week 14 or official presentation periodSignature WIL-style project. Students submit a professional report and present/defend recommendations to the class in a managerial, client, or board-style format. No final examination is used.

The five-course portfolio is designed to use open educational resources, public data, public reports, library-supported readings, instructor-provided excerpts, and low-cost resources wherever possible. Commercial textbooks and proprietary cases may be recommended for depth, but should not be treated as mandatory student purchases unless the program explicitly adopts them and provides appropriate access arrangements.

Admission, places and fees

Admission language
B2 English level required
Places
25
Intake
November
Fee
10,200 € per course; the UCAM page also lists 170 € per ECTS
Mode
On campus, Murcia
Language
English

Who the program is for

UCAM positions the program for graduates from diverse academic backgrounds seeking advanced knowledge in business administration, assessment and consulting, general management, strategy formation, and capacity planning. UCAM promotes the program’s practical experience, multicultural environment, international student mobility, entrepreneurship training, career services, and internship/work-experience component.

Recruitment and admission

Focus University Institute is expected to lead recruitment for the international cohort, subject to UCAM-approved recruitment language and admissions rules.

UCAM provides the official Spanish university context, UCAM MBA framework, Murcia campus experience, and UCAM-controlled academic requirements such as official degree rules, final project requirements, internship rules, and quality assurance.

What graduates are prepared to do

Program learning outcomes

  1. PLO 1

    Strategic Integration and Critical Business Analysis

    Critically analyze and integrate environmental, industry, organizational, technological, and stakeholder evidence to formulate strategic business recommendations in complex and uncertain contexts.

  2. PLO 2

    Ethical, Global, and Intercultural Leadership

    Evaluate ethical, legal, cultural, and societal implications of managerial decisions and lead diverse teams responsibly across global and intercultural business environments.

  3. PLO 3

    Financial, Data, and Responsible Digital Decision-Making

    Interpret, evaluate, and apply financial information, data analytics, research evidence, and responsible digital/AI tools to support defensible managerial decisions.

  4. PLO 4

    Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainable Value Creation

    Design and evaluate innovative business models, entrepreneurial initiatives, and organizational solutions that create sustainable economic and social value.

  5. PLO 5

    Marketing, Customer Insight, and Global Market Development

    Analyze customer, competitor, market, brand, and digital-channel evidence to design responsible marketing and growth strategies for diverse global audiences.

  6. PLO 6

    Applied Consulting, Communication, and Professional Implementation

    Develop, communicate, and defend actionable consulting recommendations and implementation plans that translate analysis into professional business practice.

Focus University Institute institutional learning outcomes

  1. ILO 1

    Integrated Knowledge and Critical Judgment. Critically integrate advanced business, economic, technological, cultural, and institutional knowledge to evaluate complex organizational issues and justify defensible professional judgments.

  2. ILO 2

    Applied Problem-Solving and Innovation. Design, evaluate, and refine evidence-based solutions to ambiguous business and organizational problems using creative inquiry, disciplined innovation, and implementation logic.

  3. ILO 3

    Research, Data, and Responsible Digital Capability. Critically appraise and apply research methods, data, financial evidence, and digital/AI tools to generate defensible insights while maintaining ethical, transparent, and responsible use standards.

  4. ILO 4

    Communication and Collaboration. Construct, defend, and adapt persuasive professional arguments in written, oral, visual, and collaborative formats for diverse audiences and decision contexts.

  5. ILO 5

    Ethical Leadership and Professional Responsibility. Evaluate ethical, legal, social, and professional implications of business decisions and lead responsibly with integrity, accountability, and respect for human dignity.

  6. ILO 6

    Global and Intercultural Competence. Analyze global, regional, and intercultural business environments and formulate context-sensitive strategies for working across cultures, institutions, and markets.

  7. ILO 7

    Sustainability and Long-Term Value. Evaluate economic, social, environmental, and governance trade-offs and create strategies that support sustainable, resilient, and long-term organizational value.

Nine values behind the program

Mission

The MBA pathway developed by Focus University Institute in partnership exploration with UCAM is designed to provide international students with a rigorous, practice-integrated graduate business education that combines global management knowledge, critical inquiry, ethical leadership, and applied decision-making. Through business strategy, finance, marketing, innovation, digital transformation, leadership, and applied consulting experiences, the program develops professionals who can analyze complex problems, lead diverse teams, make evidence-informed decisions, and contribute responsibly to organizations and society. The program’s Spain-based learning experience serves as a platform for global business formation, preparing graduates to become world-minded citizens and ethical leaders capable of working across cultures, sectors, and borders.

  • Critical Thinking and Strategic Judgment

    Graduates question assumptions, interpret evidence carefully, evaluate alternatives, and make reasoned decisions in uncertain business environments.

  • Ethical Leadership and the Common Good

    Graduates lead with integrity, transparency, accountability, and concern for the wider consequences of business decisions on people, organizations, communities, and society.

  • World-Minded Citizenship

    Graduates understand themselves as members of an interconnected world, prepared to work respectfully across cultures, markets, languages, and institutional contexts.

  • Evidence-Informed Management

    Graduates use data, financial analysis, market intelligence, stakeholder evidence, and professional judgment to support responsible managerial action.

  • Innovation and Entrepreneurial Action

    Graduates identify opportunities, design practical solutions, and create new value through innovation, entrepreneurship, business-model development, and adaptive implementation.

  • Human-Centered Leadership

    Graduates recognize the dignity, capabilities, and diversity of people and develop teams through communication, collaboration, coaching, and inclusive management practice.

  • Sustainable and Responsible Value Creation

    Graduates seek business success that is economically sound, socially responsible, environmentally aware, and resilient over time.

  • Digital and Global Business Agility

    Graduates adapt to digital transformation, global competition, new technologies, and changing markets with curiosity, discipline, and strategic flexibility.

  • Reflective Professional Growth

    Graduates cultivate lifelong learning, self-awareness, professional humility, and the capacity to revise their views in light of experience and evidence.

UCAM in Murcia, Focus University Institute in Madrid

UCAM, Catholic University of Murcia

  • Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), also presented internationally as UCAM Catholic University of Murcia, identifies itself as a private Catholic university founded in 1996.
  • UCAM’s main Murcia campus is associated with the historic Monastery of Los Jerónimos. UCAM’s public campus page states that the monastery has been ceded since 1996 to the San Antonio University Foundation for the location, governance, and management of the Catholic University.
  • UCAM’s international materials emphasize internationalization, student mobility, exchange and internship opportunities, and support for international experience.

Focus University Institute

  • Focus College provides the Canadian institutional foundation for the proposed Focus University Institute expansion in Europe. Official Focus College materials state that Focus College opened in 1992 and identify campuses in Surrey, Abbotsford, and Kelowna, British Columbia.
  • Focus College describes an applied, career-focused educational model with program areas in Business & Management, IT & Computing, Hospitality & Tourism, Health & Social Services, Law & Community Safety, and Language & Communications.
  • Focus College states that it is designated by British Columbia’s Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU) under the Private Training Act and holds Education Quality Assurance (EQA) designation.
  • Focus University Institute is the Madrid, Spain expansion platform connected to Focus College Canada’s educational lineage.

How the pathway works

  • Focus University Institute staff capacity should support student recruitment, advising, coordination, orientation, student communication, applied project support, and quality documentation.
  • The model is not intended to create perfect one-to-one alignment with UCAM modules; it is intended to preserve UCAM’s official program identity while creating a coherent Focus contribution that can be reviewed and approved by UCAM.
UCAM MBA teaching staff
NameSubjects listed by UCAM
Guillermo BaqueroSocio-economic and legal environment; Business Strategies; Accounting and Finances; Human Resources Management and Managerial Skills
Alexis BañónHuman Resources Management and Managerial Skills; Business Strategies; Financial Management and Business Organization
Sergio Ros HernándezFinancial Management and Business Organization
Antonio A. Gómez PérezFinancial Management and Business Organization
Ángel AndreuFinancial Management and Business Organization; Business Strategies; Socio-economic and legal environment
Albert ValeroMarketing and Trade Management; Financial Management and Business Organization; Accounting and Finance

Academic developer

Luis Fernando (Lou) Villalba

PhD, EdD, D.Lit.

Luis Fernando (Lou) Villalba, PhD, EdD, D.Lit., is the academic developer for the proposed UCAM–Focus University Institute MBA pathway. He is a permanent professor at Capilano University and previously served as Associate Dean of Business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University from 2016 to 2019, as well as a professor in the Graduate Department – School of Business from 2020 to 2025. He brings more than 20 years of academic experience in international business, economics, Latin American studies, and economic development.

Dr. Villalba’s academic formation includes a B.Sc. from the University of Maryland, College Park; an M.A. in Latin American Studies and Economics from the University of Kansas; an M.A.T. in Social Science Education from Piedmont University; an M.D.L. in Development and Leadership; a PhD in Business and Economics from the University of Kansas with applied research at UNIDA-Paraguay; and a doctoral degree in Education Science.

In 2025, Dr. Villalba concluded the International Post-Doctoral Programme in “New Technologies, Law and Social Sciences,” promoted by the Mediterranea International Centre for Human Rights Research (MICHR), headquartered at the “Mediterranea” University in Reggio Calabria, Italy, in cooperation with several university entities and research centres. The programme ran from September 1, 2024 to September 1, 2025, with the certificate issued in Reggio Calabria on September 17, 2025.

Dr. Villalba has taught and developed academic work across North America, Europe, and Latin America. His recent research and development activity spans Paraguay, Argentina, China, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, the United States, and Canada. In May 2025, he served in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs National Speaker Series, with more than 18 engagements in Asunción, Paraguay in coordination with government ministries, universities, and the American and Canadian Embassies.

Dr. Villalba also serves as Honorary Consul of Paraguay to British Columbia, Canada, and participates in the Diplomatic Corps of British Columbia and the Latin American Diplomatic Corps of British Columbia. His previous public-sector and international-development experience includes service as Chief Monetary Officer of the Central Bank of Paraguay and representation of Paraguay at the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility in Washington, D.C. In 2019, he was recognized as one of the Ten Most Influential Hispanic Canadians.

This background supports the proposed MBA’s emphasis on critical thinking, ethical leadership, world-minded citizenship, applied international business education, and globally relevant graduate curriculum development.