Dean Dimitris Christopoulos shares his vision for the Professional MBA

MODUL University Vienna is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Dr Dimitris Christopoulos has been elected Dean of the Professional School and the Master of Business Administration.

Originally from Greece, Dimitris holds a BA in economics and a PhD in politics.  In addition to his work at MU, Dimitris has also taken an appointment at the Edinburgh Business School where he is a research professor associate.

His current research interests include networks of political and business actors, political and policy entrepreneurship and social entrepreneur motivation. The unifying theme in his work is a focus on exceptional agency and relations as expressed in the networks of leaders and entrepreneurs.

He is using his expertise and connections in these fields to create great plans for the Professional School in his new role as Dean. ‘’The new direction for the MBA will have a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and startups,’’ says Dimitris. ‘’There will be an element of reorganization for the MBA to focus more on skills such as entrepreneurship, team leading and leadership.’’

He intends to strengthen our relationship with innovation-driven accelerator hubs and startup hubs in the city. ‘’Vienna is an incredibly dynamic space, there are a lot of technology-driven hubs. We want to tap into that, it’s a natural space for us,’’ he says.

This strength will be reflected in a new major in Entrepreneurship, which will launch in fall 2017.

Another innovation he intends to introduce is peer evaluations within courses. On top of the current student evaluations, a fellow lecturer would sit in on the two-day courses and give input to enhance teaching quality.  ‘’Another colleague would have a broader picture,’’ says Dimitris. ‘’They are trained to evaluate elements such as: does this fit to what they’re supposed to be teaching, could the mode of delivery be improved, are they open enough for questions. A lot of things that another educator will see, that students wouldn’t be able to evaluate. The intent is not to criticize, but to help one another bring our collective game up.’’

In this line, he would also like to hold ‘’open days’’ where he will be available for student questions. He aims to make the entire staff more accessible, from the smallest to the biggest student concerns. ‘’We consider staff as an asset which can be developed. Let’s develop the staff, let’s listen to the students, and think about skills.’’

An important difference in the MBA is the strength of the practical elements supported by theory, rather than a focus on pure academic training. He stresses that skill development is the most important aspect in the MBA, and how theory learned in class can be immediately implemented in the workspace. ‘’I expect students to become good practitioners, and most of what we do is applied.’’

The MBA thesis is a core part of the study all students must complete. Says Dimitris, ’’the conclusion of this process should be something that makes a difference. The thesis will be something that you can use in your own work or it will be an idea that you can develop into a business, anything that has some application. Unlike other degrees, this is an MBA which should allow you to practice something.’’  

The startup focus draws on the strengths of the MODUL University faculty, and in particular Dimitris and his colleagues in the Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development, who are currently involved in research projects in this area (some with current MBA students).  

Congratulations to Dimitris on his new position!