Economics and Management of Innovation

Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

General Description

The evolution of knowledge has always been at the centre of economic activity, inducing change in the ability of agents to transform resources into wealth and welfare. Innovation plays a major role in encouraging economic growth and competitiveness, which is why governments and international organisations treat it as a strategic variable in economic development. This specialisation – aimed at graduates and engineers in any discipline, with an economics background especially valued – analyses the effects of public and private management on innovation performance from perspectives including economic theory, management and public policy.

The programme is jointly developed by the Autonomous, Complutense and Polytechnic Universities of Madrid; although ESST students enrol only at the Autonomous University of Madrid, the programme grants access to the facilities and resources of all three universities, enabling a genuinely multidisciplinary approach.

Elective Structure and Requirements

Students choose two of four introductory courses offered during the second semester: Economic Analysis of Intellectual Property; R&D and Innovation Policies in the European Union; Methodology of Science and Research Methods; and Organization and Management of Technological Innovation. Classes run once a week until the end of May, and a tutor is assigned upon arrival in Madrid. A thesis outline is presented roughly a month after arrival, with periodic supervisor meetings thereafter; a first draft is due by 30 June and the final version at the beginning of September.

Programme Website