Master of Science in Business Engineering (Data Analytics)
A business engineer possesses a thorough knowledge of the discipline of business administration and related technologies, i.e. technological products and processes. In this respect, a business engineer may act as a mediator between technical and business economic positions to conduct data analysis, modelling and decision-making. You are trained to develop and implement business solutions from model to business process, and to develop and implement solutions for business problems. You also model the real business situation in a (-n abstract) presentation, take relevant decisions based on the model and translate these decisions into business processes.
What
The Master of Science in Business Engineering is a multidisciplinary programme with a focus on (data-driven) management science, business processes and technology. These three disciplines are offered throughout the two-year Master’s curriculum in the form of theoretical lectures, practical case studies and business games, and by means of guest speakers and company projects. The Master's programme conveys these disciplines both in a theoretical and a practice-oriented way
While the Bachelor of Science in Business Engineering mainly focuses on providing a (quantitative) foundation, the Master’s programme studies different aspects of the subdisciplines mentioned above in a more applied manner. The specific content of the study that links business analytics and business processes with technology helps to translate processes into business models, and organisational structures into information systems. By means of data analysis techniques, conceptual or mathematical modelling techniques and decision-making techniques, we study the business operations within a single company and between companies in a supply chain thoroughly. Such business operations include the processes and the logistical flow of products, services and/or information. These techniques support the efficient organisation of resources in companies for them to work towards their common goals and objectives.
By way of specialisation, students choose one of three main subjects: Data Analytics, Finance, or Operations Management.
The Data Analytics main subject focuses on data analysis in relation to the improvement of business decisions. Business processes have to a great extent been digitised in recent years. . As a result, all functional business domains now generate huge amounts of data (“big data”): production, logistics, marketing & sales, finance, etc. These data sources contain a wealth of information, from which students are trained to extract relevant insights and propose data-driven actions . This requires a thorough understanding of the business problem, proper computer skills and knowledge of specific programming languages, as well as a good grasp of of statistical and machine-learning algorithms.
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
The link between management science, business processes and technology is a recurring feature throughout the Master’s curriculum. In this respect, the focus is on the management of an organisation, its resources and its business processes in the form of of course units like Strategic Management, Human Resource Management, Business Process Management, etc.
Our programme’s technology component is widened by course units such as Technology for the Circular Economy and System Dynamics. The interrelation between these technology course units and business management is treated in course units such as Financing High Tech Entrepreneurial Companies, Technology Entrepreneurship, Innovation Management, and Enterprise Architecture.
Different principles from management science are discussed and maintained throughout these course units, including mathematical modelling, simulation, statistics and numerical algorithms to improve an organisation’s ability to pursue rational and meaningful management decisions.
In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master). Find out more at www.ugent.be/educatievemaster.
It is possible to participate in a double degree programme with the Université de Liège or the University of Porto or the University of Tartu (Estonia). In a double degree programme students receive a degree of both the home and the host university.
Labour Market
A Business Engineering diploma leads to various career paths. With their strong foundation in business economics, their broad knowledge of new technologies and their strong focus on quantitative analytics in production, services, logistics, marketing and finance, business engineers understand how to improve the efficiency of the various links in a company’s logistic chain better than anyone else .
Our graduates end up in jobs where they will deal with managing production processes and services, with analytical and quantitative tasks to improve a company’s overall efficiency. As bridge builders between business economists and engineers, they are able to optimise the decision-making process at the various levels of a company, ranging from operational decisions on the work floor to strategic decisions at board level . Aseconomic agents, they are familiar with the company processes in order to perform cost price calculations, but as engineers they also have a much wider view of the company’s logistic processes and its potential for improvement. With their essential knowledge of the latest technologies and their strong background in business analytics, business engineers rely on state-of-the-art ICT concepts to optimise business processes. This essential skill is embedded in almost every course unit in the Business Engineering curriculum and will be key in today’s modern international business strategy.
Some specific examples of jobs our graduates in Business Engineering pursue: production manager, logistics director, production planning expert, business consultant, business analyst, process engineer, research & development manager and customer relations manager.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
A business engineer specializes in planning, designing and managing the flow of goods, services and information within and between companies. Business engineers use their unique knowledge and skills to analyze, integrate and optimize these flows. In doing so, they bridge the gap between the business side of a company which focuses on effectiveness, efficiency and economic viability, and the technology, production, research and development-oriented business functions with a focus on quality, productivity and sustainable innovation.
- Multiperspectivism: our programme strongly reflects the interdisciplinary character of the field. Business engineers need a sound understanding of the value chain, including the possibilities and limitations of the technological products and processes that underpin it. They must also be able to read the business economic context in which the value chain problem is situated. To meet these requirements, our study programme offers a unique combination of (business) economic, academic-technological and domain-specific components, supplemented by a general education and ample focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. The English name Business Engineering is a good reflection of this: “engineering the business”.
- Talent development: with our study programme , we not only strive to impart knowledge to the students, but also to teach them how to apply that knowledge in other contexts. The Bachelor’s curriculum offers students to use scientific-academic techniques (e.g. mathematics, statistics, computer science) to solve problems in managing product and information flows within and between organizations. The Master’s curriculum offers opportunities to develop new techniques to solve these problems in an academically sound manner. Students either do so independently, or in a team.
- Knowledge creation: knowledge is the bedrock of creativity. We use the education concept ‘creative knowledge development’ as our starting point. The methodological learning pathway in our curriculum supports the construction of knowledge by teaching students how to analyze relevant research and business problems. Business engineers are critical of their own knowledge. They consider the unknown as a challenge rather than a threat. A business engineer’s technical-technological knowledge is only a beginning, from which point they must be able to delve into specific subdisciplines. A final aspect is communication: communication leads to knowledge development. With a sound business economics foundation, a broad knowledge of new technologies and a strong focus on production, services and logistics, business engineers build bridges between different disciplines in corporate life.
- Curriculum: the Business Engineering programme combines domain-specific training consisting of three essential core trajectories: 1) operational research and data science, 2) operational management, and 3) policy informatics with a broad general education in applied economics, a polyvalent technological-academic education in basic sciences and engineering disciplines, and a general social education in various support and related sciences (including communication skills, foreign language skills and team collaboration skills).
Strengths
- Preparation: our study programme introduces students of the first joint Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business Economics and Business Engineering to the different core tracks of business engineering. This supports students in making a well-founded choice at the start of the second Bachelor’s year.
- Vision: our study programme clearly positions itself against other programmes of (applied) economics in the Flemish higher education landscape and meets the international standards of the business engineering domain. We have a detailed and strongly focused vision, which is known to students and clearly present throughout the entire curriculum.
- Room for international experience: our curriculum leaves room for mobility windows, making an international study experience possible. One in three of our students graduate with a study experience abroad.
- Room for practical experience and assessment in a real business context: in the later years of our study programme, the acquisition of intellectual competencies takes central stage. We achieve this by means of authentic assessment through simulations and games, cases, research projects, work placements and the Master’s dissertation. These different assessment methods bring students into contact with a specific issue from a professional or research context.
- Student and alumni satisfaction: in general student and alumni satisfaction with our study programme is very high. Alumni indicate that they find a job in a wide variety of sectors and positions.
Challenges
- Sustainability and social engagement: our study programme is committed to embedding these themes (even) more clearly and visibly in the study programme.
- Feedback: we aim to further improve the provision of (interim) feedback, feedup and feedforward.
- Internationalization@Home: we are committed to a formal and informal integration of intercultural and international elements into curricular activities for all students.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB is a global nonprofit association whose accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.