Prerequisites for offering third-level education include institutional accreditation by the Estonian Quality Agency for Education and positively evaluated research and development activities. In 2020, EBS underwent an institutional assessment by the Estonian Quality Agency for Education, which resulted in EBS being accredited for the next seven years. EBS has also been evaluated by the Estonian Research Council.
EBS as Estonia’s only university focusing on business education offers a choice of three bachelor’s and five master’s programs.
At the bachelor’s level, EBS has a unique curriculum in Impactful Entrepreneurship, which offers the opportunity to obtain a Bachelor’s degree while developing a business idea. In spring 2022, EBS renewed the international accreditation of its flagship programme, the European Foundation of Management Development (EFMD), for the next three years. This accreditation is both an indicator of the quality of the curriculum and an opportunity for EBS to exchange students and staff with top European business schools.
Master’s studies focus on the challenges of the future world. Two one-year curricula provide knowledge and practice in the green economy, digitalisation and innovation. Within the new two-year Master’s programme ‘Business Innovation in the New Economy’ opened in 2022, students can opt to specialise either in leveraging green economy innovation or leading digitalisation and navigating the start-up economy.
At the doctorate level, EBS offers a curriculum specialising in management which is unique in Estonia. It is possible to choose between a classical academic research track and an experimental applied track. The latter, called the Entrepreneurship Doctorate, was opened in 2022 and brings together research and entrepreneurship, or in other words, links doctoral studies with the business world. Rector Meelis Kitsing recalls that the opening of the new doctoral programme was preceded by a lengthy discussion at EBS on how to link doctoral studies more to the practical world. “There were several alternatives, but we decided to add a more hands-on programme to the doctoral studies, related to the practical challenges faced by some organisations,” explains Kitsing.
Interest in the entrepreneurship doctorate has been very high – in 2022, nearly 60 people from Estonia and abroad applied for the two doctoral programmes, and most of them were interested in the entrepreneurship doctorate. In 2023 the number of applicants grew to nearly one hundred candidates, indicating the interest in combining research and business.
EBS’ Chancellor Mart Habakuk recalls that the transition to distance learning clearly showed how different the readiness of Estonian schools for digital learning was. The wide range of tools available for virtual learning caused confusion.
EBS, however, was one of the institutions where the tool had long been chosen and its use had been mastered. In 2017, nearly half a year was spent selecting the virtual learning platform to find the best e-learning environment for virtual group work, interacting with the teacher, asking questions, taking notes on electronic learning materials, taking tests and exams and uploading homework. All of this had to be securely accessible from phones, desktop computers and tablets.
The decision was made in favour of the Canvas learning platform, which was introduced in 2018. And so by the time of the arrival of the coronavirus, Canvas was already a well-known tool. In practice, this meant that after the decision to switch to virtual learning taken on 13 March 2020, neither students nor teachers had to install and learn to use any new software or make any changes to their timetables. Lectures, seminars and workshops took place at the usual times and in usual volumes and were available for catching up later.
“A total of 1200 students at the EBS University and 150 students at the High School switched to 100% virtual learning in both Tallinn and Helsinki within one day without the need for external support,” stated Mart Habakuk.