What is the Global Export Academy?
How is the Global Export Academy learning journey structured?
Alongside international site visits which facilitate knowledge exchange and networking, you will study a tailored online Master of Business Administration with The Open University Business School – part of an elite group of 1% of global business schools which are triple-accredited.
When you join the GEA you will be registered with The Open University Business School
Accelerating your export strategy: Your three-year immersive learning journey
The GEA is a partnership between The Open University and TINÂ Ventures
YEAR 1
Year 1: International strategy
ACTIVITIES
Engagement events
Working with our Global Ambassador Club (GAC) partners we co-design and facilitate entrepreneur peer, business support, and investor pitch events that help business entrepreneurs of SMEs to form relationships with local and international partners. Each event is carefully curated to enable entrepreneurs to experience the local ‘soft-landing’ Global Export Hub (GEH) ecosystem, meet matched suppliers or buyers, and connect with specialist business support partners.
Export visualisation
We connect entrepreneurs within peer groups to visualise and articulate their most complex challenges through a range of visually dynamic and compelling approaches. We capture your individual entrepreneurial journeys to form an international strategy roadmap, sharpening your value propositions, and surfacing your most innovative export readiness ideas.
Specialist microcredentials
Created by world-class OU academics and with many endorsed by leading industry partners, microcredentials offer a perfect balance of academic excellence and workplace relevance. These professional development short courses will enable SME entrepreneurs to quickly get access to practical skills and knowledge ahead of the MBA taught modules to build their confidence, and gain relevant specialised knowledge.
Year 1: Master in Business Administration
OU MODULES
Managing in a changing world
This topic will encourage you to develop, as well as challenge, your current knowledge and skills in order to deal with contemporary and rapidly changing areas of management and marketing. Using both independent and collaborative approaches to learning, this format will enable you to integrate and understand ways of managing these core business functions in the face of globalisation, technological advancements and recent economic, social and political upheavals.
Creating and sustaining value
This topic will enable SME business entrepreneurs to critically explore the diverse ways organisations create, sustain and expand value, with particular reference to the roles of the finance, operations and business intelligence functions. Using a simulation game-based learning approach, it will provide you with a compelling framework to consolidate, reflect, and expand on the knowledge you acquire. It provides the latest theories of value creation, allowing you to practically engage them across several business functions within your organisation. By examining the operations and finance functions, you’ll uncover the link between decision-making and performance. Business intelligence is used to demonstrate how you as business leaders can enhance your organisations value using data and analytics. You will consider economic value creation, as well as the creation and destruction of social and environmental value.
Year 1 Strategy Award
Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete year 1. The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing and passing year 1 of the BEEP Programme,
YEAR 2
Year 2: Adapt for scale
ACTIVITIES
Export innovation collective
Is our open export ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs, founders and businesses in innovation and growth. Find the international expansion help your business needs next on our free skills exchange platform. Offer and request expertise, connect and collaborate with a growing community of experts and entrepreneurs, and become a part of a specialised global export innovation network.
Embedded collaboration readiness
This workshop will support SME business entrepreneurs to engage in impactful collaborations which maximise your chances for export success. By enabling meaningful impact for your SME business through innovation, growth acceleration, and strategic partnerships, we help you to assess your organisational preparedness for corporate and supplier collaborations, enabling quick, informed matching to increase your opportunities to achieve export success.
Year 2: Master in Business Administration
OU MODULES
Effective strategic management
This topic will provide entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to become an effective strategic decision-maker. You’ll learn about the analysis of the organisational environment, decision-making processes and implementation of preferred choices. The study materials include a blend of profit, not-for-profit and public sector cases and examples relevant to and set in international contexts. This will allow you to assess the nuances of strategic management across different organisational and geographical settings. The format is designed for professionals from a wide range of contexts and backgrounds who need to actively engage with the challenges of contemporary management, develop their management skills and knowledge of management frameworks, theories and tools and use these appropriately in order to make a real difference in their own practice.
Supply chain management
Supply chain networks are recognised as the organisational form that assures business sustainability through supply continuity. Supply chain management is a fundamental skill in today’s competitive business environment, and organisations that excel in this function see the benefit in their performance. This topic will provide SME business entrepreneurs with an in-depth insight into supply chain theory, design and best practice, taking into account issues such as ethics, sustainability, risk and resilience management. This will enable you to question and reflect upon your organisation and its role in the supply chain.  Additionally, it will help you to develop your ability to identify opportunities for improvement of product or service design, operational processes, sourcing strategies, and international market development.
Finance for strategic decision-making
This topic is designed for professionals who need to actively engage with the challenges of using financial and other quantitative information for making decisions. Entrepreneurs will learn a range of accounting and data analysis techniques, as well as being introduced to the workings of the financial markets. Providing you with the necessary tools to use financial information and other data for making strategic management decisions.
Sustainable creative management
This topic supports SME business entrepreneurs interested in developing themselves, their team and/or wider organisation more creatively and/or managing the planet in a more sustainable manner. You will consider how as leaders you can create innovative and sustainable ways of doing things. The approach combines conceptual models with practical examples and cross-cultural comparisons. After assessing ways in which theories about perception and creativity could help us organise more effectively, attention turns to creating promising possibilities in an increasingly interconnected world. If we can create what’s needed without being too wrong too often, we could amplify our ability to do things better.
Year 2 Adapt Award
Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete year 2. The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing and passing year 2 of the BEEP Programme,
YEAR 3
Year 3: Export readiness
ACTIVITIES
Sector insight roundtables
Co-created with our Global Ambassador Club (GAC) partners, the purpose of these insight events is to share knowledge between peers and experts, via recurring innovative roundtables, conferences and publications. Our insight workshops are specifically curated to provide SME business entrepreneurs with bespoke trend briefings and access to sector influencers who can provide support and answers to strategic and political export challenges. Each event is designed with senior executives and directors in mind, covering the global trending topics that are related to business strategy, transformation, personal and professional development, entrepreneurship, new-age digital technology, innovation and other future-defining aspects. While simultaneously connecting people, sharing insights, and amplifying awareness on the topics discussed.
Global export site visits
We provide access to our Global Export Hub (GEH) network of international soft-landing facilities, to support SME business entrepreneurs that are looking to expand internationally, export products or set up overseas operations. Through our export partners, you are able to access specialist support services to enable you to trade in some of the world’s most lucrative cities, countries and regions. This includes help to navigate through post-Brexit trade by connecting you with local experts who can support you to successfully expand your business abroad, under one roof.
Year 3: Master in Business Administration
OU MODULES
Management of change: Organisation development and design
The workplace is changing. With increasing digitalisation, it is essential that you and your organisation are equipped with the right tools, skills and understanding to effectively manage and lead organisational development. Starting with an introduction to organisational development and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), you’ll learn how to design a people-centred strategy for change as well as implementing professional strategies to address the challenges of developing organisations and teams in changing environments. This topic will enable you to consider current working practices and how AI within a digital era will require your SME business to adapt to new ways of working. You’ll review the effect of radical change on organisations, such as a global pandemic, the impact of government policy, or resourcing issues, and how to minimise negative impacts. By employing a human-centred, design-thinking approach, you’ll develop your emotional intelligence, cognitive, and social skills to the level required for the leaders of tomorrow’s workplace.
MBA project: Leaders of change
This topic offers you the opportunity to implement your ‘international strategy’ and ‘adapt to scale’ knowledge and tools to become a leader of change. Our aim is to help you develop as a reflective and independent practitioner, through launching your business in an international context by influencing real organisational outcomes where your recommendations are implemented. As this is the capstone module of the MBA qualification, it should be the last one that you’ll need to successfully complete in order to gain your MBA.
Year 3 Export Award
Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete year 3. The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing and passing year 3 of the BEEP Programme,
Is this right for you?
The programme entry requirements for SME business leaders are:
- Turnover of a minimum of £500K or equivalent depending on location
- Supported by three-years business accounts
- Running payroll for a minimum of three staff
- Meet the MBA academic acceptance criteria.
If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, the Business Export Exchange Programme could be for you.
The MBA learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
When you have completed your MBA you will be able to:
- Demonstrate sound understanding of theories and concepts applicable in managing organisational performance, resource allocation, management of people and leading organisations
- Manage complex situations in business and other organisations based on knowledge of both the external and internal context of organisations; generating social and economic benefit
- Develop long term vision, goals and direction for organisations and develop strategies to deliver the goals, including through appropriate financial resource allocation.
Cognitive skills
When you have completed your MBA you will be able to:
- Critically collect and use valuable information and evaluate in the context of their application across different environments and settings
- Conduct professional inquiries in problem identification, and use and manage knowledge and evidence critically to solve problems and develop actionable solutions.
Practical and/or professional skills
When you have completed your MBA you will be able to:
- Develop appropriate people-management skills and leadership style
- Devise and apply evidence-based approaches to management decision-making
- Develop as an independent and reflective management practitioner.
Key skills
When you have completed your MBA you will be able to:
- Understand the ethical implications of management practice and respond to ethical issues as a socially responsible professional
- Engage and manage in digital and entrepreneurial work environments
- Communicate effectively using a wide range of media
- Provide effective and ethical leadership that transcends functional perspectives
- Reflect critically on learning from workplace practice.
Successfully completing this programme
On successfully completing all the MBA academic assessments for the Business Export Exchange Programme, we’ll award you our Master of Business Administration. You’ll be entitled to use the letters MBA (Open) after your name.
If your master’s degree is awardable with a distinction or a merit, the qualification regulations explain how you can achieve these.
You’ll have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.