Upgrade your skills & network without pausing your career
ESMT Berlin's Part-time MBA helps you explore business innovation while writing the next chapter of your professional life.
Whether you are looking for a promotion, career transition, enhanced leadership role within your current company, or even to start your own business, our Part-time MBA can help you build the general management skills and network you need to succeed.
Paid educational leave (Bildungsurlaub)
If your employer is registered in Germany, it may be possible to take advantage of educational leave (Bildungsurlaub), which grants employees extra time off work in addition to their usual vacation allowance. These can then be spent attending the Part-time MBA's in-person residencies.
Fitting an MBA around your career
Think you are too busy for an MBA? Think again – ESMT's Part-time MBA has been specifically designed for professionals with busy schedules, with learning that can be applied in real time, and topics that have been carefully chosen to create maximum career value.
And your Part-time MBA concludes with a capstone consulting project that you can complete for your organization of choice: demonstrating your readiness for leadership, while proving that your degree was a truly worthy investment.
- Learn how the Part-time MBA residencies fit into a busy schedule
- Access the Part-time MBA timeline and learn when you'll need to be out of the office
- See our tips for approaching your employer about Part-time MBA financing
I would suggest that you frame this to your employer as an investment in future organizational leadership. Four days off a quarter is a small commitment to your development.
Career support and guidance
Alongside your Part-time MBA, you can work with ESMT's Career Development Center to prepare for the next step in your career:
- strengthening your professional networking skills
- creating an impactful CV
- fine-tuning your interview skills
- personal branding - including branding yourself on social media
You can also book a one-on-one online appointment with a careers advisor so that you don't need to wait for in-person modules to begin your career enhancement.
Prefer the in-person touch? You’ll also benefit from access to ESMT’s career platforms, options to join company visit, and on-campus recruitment events.
MBA Talent Forum
The MBA Talent Forum is an exclusive annual recruiting event at ESMT Berlin. It is tailored specifically for MBA students from all MBA programs, providing a valuable opportunity for networking and recruitment between experienced, highly skilled professionals.
The Talent Forum also invites students from four leading German business schools: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Mannheim Business School, and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management to attend. This makes it a valuable resource for Part-time MBA students wanting to build an even wider business network.
The next MBA Talent Forum will take place in December 2026.
ESMT Career Fair
ESMT’s yearly Career Fair gives students an opportunity to connect with an intentionally broad range of organizations: international corporations, emerging startups, across technology and consulting, finance, and more. The CDC aims to ensure that every student enters the Fair and discovers companies that align with their current career ambitions and future goals.
The next ESMT Berlin Career Fair will be held in February 2027.
This campus-based event welcomes all ESMT students and alumni, allowing you to keep it as a networking hub, even once your MBA experience has ended.
Further career and networking opportunities
Learn more about our networking and events on campus
Today's Global Leader
Today’s Global Leader is an ESMT initiative that brings CEOs to campus to share their perspectives with the next generation of leaders. Discussions explore leadership philosophies as well as current political and economic developments.
Previous editions
- Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group. Watch the session.
- Bonita Grupp, Managing Partner of Trigema. Watch the session.
- Christian Klein, CEO of SAP. Watch the session
- See the full YouTube playlist
How you can take part
ESMT students can attend every edition of Today’s Global Leader either in person or online, making it a great options for both Berlin-based and international Part-time MBA students.
After each talk, the discussion is opened to both in-person and online participants, giving students the opportunity to engage directly with leading business figures.
Berlin Global Dialogue
Berlin Global Dialogue is an annual summit that promotes open, constructive dialogue to develop practical responses to the most urgent challenges facing the global economy. Initiated by and hosted at ESMT Berlin, the summit brings together a select group of senior decision-makers, thought leaders, and young people from around the world, including ESMT students.
Previous attendees include:
- Angela Merkel
- Emmanuel Macron
- Ursula von der Leyen
- CEOs and government ministers from around the world
How you can get involved in Berlin Global Dialogue
Each year, Berlin Global Dialogue welcomes a new cohort of Young Voices: students selected from a talent pool nominated by schools in the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM). Young Voices attend the summit as full participants, with access to all sessions and side events.
ESMT Berlin students are among those eligible for nomination. Students from the Part-time MBA may be selected to take part if they meet the criteria, giving a chance to connect with outstanding peers from around the world, and contribute to conversations on the issues shaping global society.
ESMT Insight Hour
ESMT Insight Hour is a one-hour knowledge-exchange series exploring the questions that matter most. Leading thinkers and faculty come to campus to share perspectives on business, economics, politics, philosophy, and the arts.
Previous events include:
- Frontiers of Factor Investing with Andrew Ang
- ESMT Open Lecture: AI and Ethics
- ESMT Open Lecture: Negotiating with No
- Explore the full YouTube playlist
How you can get involved
Each guest lecture is open to student attendees,meaning that the series offers direct access to conversations at the forefront of complex business and societal challenges.
Student-run events
Want to take a leadership role in campus life? Student-run events give you the opportunity to put your classroom learning into practice.
TEDxESMT Berlin is an independently organized event led entirely by ESMT Berlin students. It brings together thought leaders and a community eager to explore ideas that matter. Motivated by a desire to drive meaningful change, the student team creates a platform for speakers to share research and perspectives that can help build a better, more connected world.
Generations Talk is a student-led living future lab at ESMT Berlin. It brings together emerging talent and experienced decision-makers from across sectors and generations. Organized entirely by students, the event connects outstanding students, leading academics, and senior corporate representatives to exchange ideas, hear keynote speeches, and participate in workshops and discussions on topics ranging from AI, to healthcare, to global challenges.
Student club and alumni chapter events bring together members of the wider ESMT community who share common interests, including students from across the school, faculty, staff, and alumni. Alongside informal networking, clubs give students the opportunity to take the lead on topics important to them. Some examples include a Healthcare Alumni Chapter (started by a Part-time MBA student), a Pride club, a Consulting Club, and more.
Mentorship opportunities
ESMT's MentorMap is an optional program that pairs students with a mentor who is further along the same career path. This structured mentoring initiative is designed to strengthen these connections across students, alumni, and the broader ESMT community.
Mentors can be either alumni or a student from another cohort: meaning that, as a Part-time MBA student, you can apply to be either a mentor or a mentee (or both). This allows you to take career advice and practice your general management skills.
Part-time MBA Tim Krewerth (Class of 2027) shared his thoughts on what it was like to mentor an ESMT master's student: Read Tim's story
Contact us
Do you have questions about our services and events?
Contact the Career Development Center team at cdc@esmt.org.
Sophie Schaefer
Andreza André da Rocha
Gábor Wagner
