Timeline & courses
Your route to innovation
On this page you can find more details about the curriculum and program structure.
The Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship program begins in September each year and lasts for 24 months. The full two-year program is worth 120 ECTS credits.
The program is split between foundational courses and advanced electives:
- Foundation courses covering the most important aspects of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
- Advanced electives delve deeper into specific industries and applications that will help you progress towards your career goals.
MIE program timeline and courses
- Business Economics
- Foundations of Strategic Management
- Judgment Decision-making
- Financial Accounting
- Financial Management & Corporate Finance
- Economics of Innovation & New Technology
- Foundations of Entrepreneurship
- Careers Bootcamp
- Business Presentations
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Meeting Effectively
- Group Dynamics and Teamwork
During your Master's in Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, you can take optional German classes that integrate language learning with practical applications to enhance your academic journey. Improving your proficiency in German equips you with a valuable skill set that supports both personal growth and future career opportunities.
- Operations & Global Supply Chain Management
- Managing Organizations in a Global Context
- Marketing Management
- Entrepreneurial Finance & FinTech
- Innovation Policy & Regulation
- Organizing for Innovation
- Design Thinking
- Vali Sustainability Bootcamp
- The Psychology of Conflict Resolution
- Project Management through SCRUM
During your Master's in Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, you can take optional German classes that integrate language learning with practical applications to enhance your academic journey. Improving your proficiency in German equips you with a valuable skill set that supports both personal growth and future career opportunities.
Summer immersion
During the summer months you will gain practical experience at an internship at a startup or by working on your own company during the Summer Entrepreneurship Program with Vali Berlin.
The Summer Entrepreneurship Program helps entrepreneurial talents to develop and expand upon their startup ideas: from finding co-founders, identifying trends or problems and finding and building solutions, to pitching in front of Venture Capitalists (VCs) and angel investors.
The teams benefit from expert mentoring, access to the ESMT and Vali Berlin network, and a structured program of workshops by entrepreneurs and thought leaders from Berlin's startup scene.
In coordination with ESMT, you may alternatively choose to complete an internship of up to six months with a company and industry that meets your career goals. German students are encouraged to complete their internship abroad.
ESMT currently works with a growing number of companies to offer internships.
Please note that while ESMT has agreements with internship providers to offer internships, participants are still required to apply and pass the target company’s selection procedures. Participants may also source their own internship opportunities.
- Portfolio Theory and Asset Pricing
- Fixed Income Investments
- International Finance
- Introduction to Investment Banking (only for Finance and Investment Certificate)
- Doing Business Sustainably
- MARGA Strategy Simulation
- Data Science for Analytics
- Survey Design
- Innovating with AI: Large Language Models in Business
- Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing
+ MGM and MAAI core courses
- Talent Management: Acquisition & Retention
- Cross-Cultural Management
- Consulting
- Building Professional Networks
- Next - B2B Accelerator Program
- Deep Tech Innovation Program
- Corporate Innovation Project
During your Master's in Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, you can take optional German classes that integrate language learning with practical applications to enhance your academic journey. Improving your proficiency in German equips you with a valuable skill set that supports both personal growth and future career opportunities.
- Alternative Investments
- Valuation
- Advanced Investment Strategies
- Risk Modeling
- Negotiation
- Open and Distributed Models of Innovation
- Analytics and AI for Healthcare Management (with pre-requisites)
- Machine Learning Models in Production (with pre-requisites)
- Data-driven Solutions for Climate Adaptations, Mitigation and Resilience (with pre-requisites)
- Social Entrepreneurship
+ MGM and MAAI core courses
- Impact Consulting
- Cyber Security
- Stress Management & Resilience
- Leadership in Practice
- Introduction to Research Method
- Research Strategies Week
During your Master's in Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, you can take optional German classes that integrate language learning with practical applications to enhance your academic journey. Improving your proficiency in German equips you with a valuable skill set that supports both personal growth and future career opportunities.
While working on your Master thesis, you may seek the opportunity of a second internship and carry out your research with support from practitioners. Alternatively, particularly those who intend to pursue an academic career, you may opt for working on a thesis topic in close coordination with a professor’s own research agenda.
Additional options
Summer innovation & entrepreneurship programs
- Join Vali Berlin's Summer Entrepreneurship Program from April to July to develop and elaborate your own startup idea
- Receive expert mentoring, access to the ESMT and Vali Berlin network, and a structured program of workshops by entrepreneurs and thought leaders from Berlin's startup scene
- Alternatively, take up an internship for up to six months at one of ESMT's many corporate partners and delve deep into the world of corporate innovation, giving you invaluable practical insights and preparing you to customize your learning journey in Year 2 of your degree
Winter innovation & entrepreneurship programs
- Join the NEXT program to accelerate your start-up in product-market fit, human capital, fundraising, legal, administrative, and tax issues
- or join the Deep Tech Innovation Program to get insider insights from founders in science- and technology-based startups and advice on how to implement your own innovative new ideas and strategies.
- or join the Corporate Innovation Project to deliver an innovation consulting project or develop venture ideas together with a corporate partner.
An exciting path awaits you
Create your own journey
Interested in data management? Want to know more about machine learning or global operations and supply chains?
Innovation thrives on cross-pollination. To facilitate this, you can choose from a broad selection of electives including any core course from other ESMT master programs to form your own tailor made learning journey.
Prepare for employment
The MIE primes you for success by equipping you with the core business skills needed to take your innovation skills and apply them successfully in real-life business contexts.
Learn by experimenting
Your time in the MIE is an opportunity to experiment and learn in a safe space.
Try out deep tech, entrepreneurship, corporate innovation or embark on an international exchange program.
You will always find yourself in a collaborative and stimulating environment that fosters creative thinking, while sitting next to data scientists and general managers to collaborate and learn from each other.
Collaborative learning
Modern business is global - ESMT students thrive in a global environment
The value a diverse international cohort brings to your personal development is that it prepares you for any challenge and opportunity the modern world holds in stock for you. With over 30 nationalities represented in the classroom you benefit from fresh perspectives, unique experiences, and a broad set of skills.
ESMT Berlin's unique approach to collaborative learning means that working and thriving in diverse and international teams comes as second nature.
Angeliki Papachroni
Nationality: Greece
Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Strategy & innovation
Courses taught: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (MIE), Organizing for Innovation (MIE), Ambidextrous Leadership (MGM)
Fun fact: So far I have traveled to 29 Greek islands, there are approximately only 198 to go!
“There is nothing more practical than a good theory” - Kurt Lewin
Linus Dahlander
Nationality: Sweden
Education: Chalmers University of Technology, Ph.D. and Stanford University, Post doc.
Courses taught: Innovation, entrepreneurship, new technologies
Fun fact: I once broke my arm while arm wrestling with a childhood friend. We are still friends even though he won.
"AI is changing how we innovate by opening new ways to solve problems and think creatively. But many people still don’t understand how to leverage it to the fullest potential."
Matthias Qian
Nationality: Germany
Education: University of Oxford, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: AI and entrepreneurship
Courses taught: Econometrics, Large language models
"Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom."
Jens Weinmann
Nationality: Germany
Education: London Business School
Research area/focus: Innovation, digital transformation, design thinking, energy transformation, sustainability
Courses taught: Design Thinking, Sustainable Energy Future
Fun fact: Tried to become rich with producing NFTs and publishing them on web3 marketplaces (failed, at the least the part of becoming rich.
“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.” - Bill Gates
Merih Sevilir
Nationality: Turkey/USA
Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Entrepreneurship, gender gaps in leadership and entrepreneurship, healthcare finance, mergers and acquisitions
Courses taught: Financial Management and Entrepreneurial Finance
Fun fact: Studied, lived and worked in 5 countries in the last 20 years (England, France, USA, Italy and Germany).
"It lays the foundations of modern finance theory based on Nobel Prize winning theories in financial economics. Using finance theory to understand the creation and growth of entrepreneurial startups."
David Royane
Nationality: UK
Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.; University of Oxford, Post doc.
Research area/focus: Industrial organization and behavioral economics
Courses taught: Business Economics
"We will explore business-relevant economic concepts and results, bringing them to life through applications and interactive exercises. The questions we will address range from the fundamental, e.g., 'What are the benefits of a free market?' to the practical, e.g., 'How should you price a product line?'"
Nazlı Sönmez
Nationality: Turkey
Education: London Business School, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Operational innovation in healthcare
Courses taught: Operations and Global Supply Chain Management (MGM/MIE/MAAI), Analytics and AI for Healthcare Management (MAAI)
Fun fact: I was the co-founder of Bilkent University Baking Club during my college years.
"You can't manage or improve what you can't measure."
Eric Quintane
Nationality: France
Education: University of Melbourne, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Social network analysis
Courses taught: Managing Organizations is a Global Context (MGM/MIE), Organizational Analytics: Data, Models, and People (MAAI)
Fun fact: I convinced my family to spend a night with me in a treehouse in the middle of the Amazon forest.
“No one can effectively implement third-generation strategies through second-generation organizations run by first-generation managers.” - Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990)
Oliver Binz
Nationality: Germany
Education: Duke University, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Valuation
Courses taught: Financial Accounting
Fun fact: Lived in 7 countries
"A = L + E"
Bianca Schmitz
Nationality: Germany
Education: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Dr. rer. pol.
Research area/focus: Innovation, hidden champions and family firms, sales
Courses taught: Design Thinking
Fun fact: Being a “Kölsch Mädche” I love the Cologne Carnival.
"Design thinking isn't just a methodology; it's a mindset that transforms human-centered challenges into opportunities for innovation."
Jamie Song
Nationality: South Korea
Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: Entrepreneurial strategy, social networks, machine learning
Courses taught: Foundations of Strategic Management
Fun fact: I’ve lived across four continents and seven cities in the past ten years.
“The principles of strategic management will be a compass guiding you through the complexities of business, illuminating paths to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage, and empowering you to shape the future of organizations.”
Julia Langdon
Nationality: Spain/UK
Education: London Business School, Ph.D.
Research area/focus: How we judge unethical behavior, moral lay theories, moral messaging around disability, and negotiations.
Courses taught: Negotiations
Fun fact: I once walked from Bordeaux to Valencia.
"It is not the critic who counts; ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, ... who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, ... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." - Theodore Roosevelt
Stefan Wagner
Nationality: Germany
Education: LMU Munich, Dr. habil., Dr. oec. publ.
Research area/focus: Technology and Innovation Management
Courses taught: Economics of Innovation and New Technology , Innovation Policy and Regulation.
Fun fact: Despite being German, I have a weakness for vintage Italian vehicles. While still dreaming of owning an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, I acquired two Vespas with a combined age of 72 years and still uses both of them!
"It is always fun to bring insights from my research to the classroom."
Jan Sebastian Nimczik
Nationality: Germany
Education: University of Mannheim, Dr. rer. pol.
Research area/focus: Labour markets and immigration
Courses taught: Data Science for Analytics (MGM/MIE), Machine Learning and Causality (MAAI)
" In this class we connect the predictive power of machine learning with the quest for answers to causal questions that help us make thorough decisions."
Find out more about the master's programs faculty at ESMT
Want to get more information about the talented team of people who will be delivering your master's program?
Visit our dedicated page to find out more about the faculty behind the Master in Global Management, Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Master in Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
Dedicated lecturers
ESMT's international faculty combine the very best business teachers and researchers from around the world, brought together in Berlin to share their experience in business practice and thought leadership with a passion that puts the learning experience before everything else.
Situated in state-of-the-art facilities and supported by a world-class community of entrepreneurs and corporate partners, ESMT Berlin has laid the foundations for innovative research and excellence in the classroom.
Program Advisory Committees (PACs)
Each MSc program at ESMT Berlin is supported by a Program Advisory Committee (PAC) made up of alumni and industry professionals. These committees offer strategic guidance on program development, career placement, and market relevance, working closely with the Director of Programs and Faculty Leads.
Dash (Daria) Markova
Dash is an impact-driven entrepreneur and startup advisor with a decade of experience scaling ventures and building innovation ecosystems worldwide.
An ESMT MBA alumnus and Master’s degree holder in Economics, Dash has designed, launched, and managed over 30 successful startup programs—accelerators, incubators, and venture studios—benefiting more than 1,000 enterprises across Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Beyond guiding early-stage teams on venture building, impact business modeling, financing, and pitching, Dash has founded four ventures, including a startup hub (Space Shack) and an event series (Coworking Festival Germany), and led a biannual startup course at TU Berlin.
Dr. Andreas (施安德) Schmidt
Dr. Andreas Schmidt is a serial entrepreneur who has built deep tech startups across Asia, Europe, and the US. After selling his last company Proteona to Singleron Biotechnologies, he now leads their global business development, applying single-cell technologies to precision medicine.
Andreas is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Springboard Health Angels, an expert network and venture capital firm investing in innovative health and life science startups globally. He serves as a board member, mentor, and shareholder across companies, research, and government institutions. Andreas holds a joint PhD in immunology from Berkeley and Cologne and was an early entrepreneur at the Singapore-MIT Alliance of Research and Technology (SMART).
Dr. Lisa Portz
Dr. Lisa Portz is an ESMT Berlin Master in Management alumna who runs a consulting and training business supporting early-stage founders.
She designs, leads, and advises on startup programs and entrepreneurship training, while also consulting founders, SME owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs. Lisa gained first-hand experience across all stages of building a business, from idea to seed funding, through multiple ventures she was a part of.
Lisa also holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London, focusing on first-time founders and ways to support them through startup programs.
Matthias Treutwein
Matthias Treutwein is the co-founder of enpact e.V., founded in 2013. Previously, he worked in international development and cultural management at Transparency International, The Owners Forum, InWent, the Goethe-Institut, and the Robert Bosch Foundation.
He leads monitoring, capacity building, and sustainable development at enpact and is active as a mentor, business angel, and speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, and impact. Matthias has strong intercultural expertise, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, and holds an MA in Arabic, French, and Spanish Linguistics & Literature from the University of Göttingen as well as an EMBA from ESMT Berlin.
Michael Tekabe
Michael Tekabe serves as the COO at Kubik, where he guides a team committed to transforming hard-to-recycle plastic waste into low-carbon building materials.
Armed with an MBA from ESMT Berlin—and bolstered by certifications in Data Analytics and UX Design—he brings a decade of cross-functional financial experience to the table, driving sustainable, tech-focused solutions.
A dedicated champion of venture building and startups, Michael oversees strategy, operations, and finance at Kubik, ensuring data-driven innovation delivers tangible social and environmental impact.
Dr. Alfred Oetker
Dr. Alfred Heinrich Christoph Rudolf Oetker, commonly known as Alfred Oetker, studied economics at the University of Passau and Oxford, and serves as the co-CEO of Geschwister Oetker, a German holding company formed in 2021 after the Oetker family divided their conglomerate into two independent groups. The company oversees various brands in sectors such as wine and spirits, chemicals, and luxury hotels.
Adeline Lee
Adeline holds an MBA from ESMT Berlin andis an experienced product leader with a strong track record in Europe, driving growth and innovation across B2B and B2C products. She is currently Head of Product at Babbel in Berlin, shaping language learning experiences.
Previously, she led growth at Framer in Amsterdam, launching Framer X and building the growth team from the ground up. At Clue in Berlin, she played a key role in expanding the app’s user base from 1 to 15 million. Adeline is also an active advisor and angel investor, supporting early-stage startups across Europe.
