Management and Finance - MEF 23/24

Master’s Degree Course

The educational content of the Master's degree course in Management and Finance is based on the fact that the management of financial resources, and marketing and industrial operations management policies, assume strategic relevance for the competitiveness of modern organisations, whether small or large. In this perspective, by dividing it into two curricula (Finance, and Marketing and Operations Management, respectively), the master's degree course in Management and Finance aims to provide the most advanced specialist skills to train professional profiles in two areas of management. The first, Finance, focuses on the management of financial resources, both in non-financial companies and financial/insurance intermediation activities. The second, Marketing and Operations Management, aims to provide tools for defining business strategies aimed at acquiring and maintaining a competitive advantage over the long term. Students will develop the skills necessary for a correct definition of processes, and for the conception and implementation of suitable marketing and sales strategies. To this end, the master's degree course in Management and Finance aims to combine a practical-operational approach, with an overview and attention to the evolution of internal and external scenarios of the company.

The master's degree course in Management and Finance belongs to the category LM-77, Master's degrees in Economics/Business Sciences, and represents a natural continuation of the three-year degree course in 'Business Economics' which is offered at the University of Eastern Piedmont and similar courses provided in other universities.

The degree course is specifically aimed at satisfying training needs connected to business activities in terms of finance, logistics, marketing, sales, design and management of intra and inter-organisational networks, organisation of production, administration, strategic consultancy, and research and development, in the sectors of industry and services in the broadest sense of financial intermediaries.

The master's degree course in Management and Finance, in addition to fulfilling the educational objectives set by the category LM-77 as defined by the M.D. relating to 'Definition of master's degree classes, aims to offer students advanced level training, developing the ability to analyse, manage and develop the tangible and intangible resources of economic organisations, in the perspective of globalisation of the competitive context in which financial, industrial and service companies operate. To this end, the master's degree course in Management and Finance aims to provide students with the tools to develop an organic vision of the company, and the economic system in which the company operates. Furthermore, the course stimulates the intellectual and ethical growth of the student, with a view to creating professional leaders of the organisation in which they operate. The Master's Degree in Management and Finance could offer a choice of curricula (with the possibility of following one of these entirely in English), in order to better personalise one's education.

Any curricular articulation is specified annually in the Academic Regulations of the Master’s Degree Course. At the end of the course, students of the Master's degree course in Management and Finance will:

- possess a solid knowledge of methodologies and quantitative tools, of economic policies and business management, with particular regard to methodologies and tools for evaluating investments, managing operations and marketing policies;

- develop the ability to apply these methods to the analysis of production processes and business management according to different possible scenarios, and thus the ability to determine the growth potential of companies themselves in medium and long-term perspectives; 

- understand the internal processes and dynamics of companies, critical issues and opportunities related to the management of operations and the coordination of roles, in particular in commercial and marketing, logistics and production fields;

- apply the analytical method to solve managerial problems related to the creation, production and distribution of products and services;- develop the required skills in supply chain management, queueing theory, purchasing management, project management and new product development;                      

- be aware of existing opportunities for companies in the field of environmental management and control and humanitarian logistics;                                           

- know and be able to identify opportunities related to the use of digital networks and platforms;

- develop the ability to build quantitative analysis models of "big data", to support the formulation of marketing and distribution strategies from an "omnichannel" perspective;       

- learn marketing theories and tools and have the ability to use them strategically; knowing how to analyse and interpret consumer behaviour in interactions with the company and the economic environment ("customer journey");

- have the necessary knowledge to plan and implement complex financial transactions, which require the possession of skills in several disciplinary areas and the ability to integrate them with a systemic approach;                                  

- possess a solid knowledge of the products and services offered by banks and other financial intermediaries, with reference to both the technical-contractual profiles and economic-financial profiles essential for a comparative judgment of cost-effectiveness;

- develop knowledge of the organisational and operational characteristics of the markets and financial instruments available for business financing and for management of the related financial risks and securities portfolios;                     

- know the main quantitative models for the measurement, management and hedging of financial risks, the evaluation of structured financial products and derivatives, and their use in an asset allocation perspective;                                  

- understand the role and importance of financial market regulation, also for the protection of investors;

- be able to use the English language fluently, in written and oral form, also with reference to topic-specific terminology;

The master's degree programme in Management and Finance is divided into a series of courses taught by professors of the Department with solid research experience (proven by monograph publications, essays, and articles in national and international journals) in the field of the disciplines characterizing the training activity of the degree category, as well as experts with solid experience in the labour market.                                                                  In the first year of the programme, the disciplines characterising the degree will mainly be addressed in order to guarantee the student advanced education on contents of an economic-business, mathematical-statistical and legal nature. In the second year of the course, those disciplines will be addressed which allow for specialist preparation in the various areas of interest of the master's degree in Management and Finance.

 

Key features

• the Master’s degree includes two highly professional courses that respond to the demands of the labour market: Finance (in English), and Marketing and Operations Management. The management of financial resources, marketing policies and the management of industrial operations hold strategic importance for the competitiveness of modern organisations
• the training plan has been developed thanks to active collaboration by professionals and experts from the world of industry and services, who also participate in the teaching activity through Elective Courses. The aim of these courses is to allow a direct relationship between the student and the world of industry, starting from the university classroom, and an alignment between the demand and supply of specialised skills
• other aspects that make the course unique are: innovative teaching, also in English, opportunities to study and work abroad, the achievement of digital and soft skills, participation in competitions proposed by companies. An excellent Faculty and the presence of foreign Visiting Professors allow teaching and research on advanced topics; finally, an excellent ratio between the number of teachers and the number of enrolled students allows for profitable interaction
• students enrolled in the Finance curriculum of the MEF can take advantage in the second year of study (if they meet certain curricular requirements) of the study opportunity and international experience provided by the agreement entitled "Coordinated Academic Program Agreement (CAP)", recently started with Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, New Jersey, US). The CAP offers students the opportunity to attend the entire second year at the US partner site, which recognises the coursework passed at UPO in the first year. At the end of the studies, in addition to the MEF Master's degree, the student also obtains the Master of Science in Finance diploma issued by Stevens Institute of Technology
• students enrolled in the second year of the MEF will be able to participate (free of charge) in the Elective courses (up to 5) of the Masters programme provided by the Bayes Business School, City, University of London, whose Masters’ (according to the ranking of the Financial Times) occupy 22nd place worldwide, 5th in the United Kingdom and 3rd in the city of London. Successfully taking the Elective Course exam at Bayes will allow the recognition of two (2) curricular credits in the student's study plan. The selection of students, who will also be able to access the Eastern Piedmont Free Mover scholarships, will be carried out on the basis of fulfilment of certain curricular requirements
• MEF students can undertake study/work abroad through the Erasmus and Free Mover calls
• MEF Master's students graduate faster than the national average and are, generally, more satisfied with the course of study undertaken (source: AlmaLaurea, Profile of 2020 Graduates, XXII Survey 2021); they quickly find a place in the job market (source: AlmaLaurea, 2020 Graduates Profile, XXII Survey 2021)
• if you do not fulfil the curricular requirements (i.e. if your bachelor’s degree mark is lower than 90 or not consistent with the master's course) access to the programme requires passing a Skills Assessment Test. Details on how to register, any exemptions and the syllabus of the Test can be found by clicking here. It is possible to take the test even if the Bachelor's degree has not yet been obtained. The admission test to the Finance curriculum will be carried out entirely in English
• the courses are held in Novara, which is 28 km from Malpensa airport and 40 km from Milan. The Department is located on a modern university campus at Caserma Perrone in via Perrone 18, Novara, which also has halls of residence for students arriving from outside the area.

Employment opportunities

The technical knowledge and skills acquired by graduates in Management and Finance enable them to hold highly qualified professional roles in various types of companies, and to carry out freelance activities related to various areas of business management. Listed below, though not exhaustive, are the main subjects that typically offer suitable job opportunities for Master's degree graduates in Management and Finance:
• financial intermediaries (commercial banks, investment banks, asset management companies, stock brokerage companies, insurance companies, companies active in the private equity and venture capital sector), including both those of a traditional nature and those attributable to the FinTech world and InsurTech;
• other financial companies not attributable to institutional models of financial intermediation, rating companies, foundations (banking or non-banking), social security funds;   

• industrial, commercial and service companies, including public utility and cultural services, with particular reference to the following areas: finance and treasury, risk management, marketing and sales, logistics, information systems, design and processing of databases, research and development;

• business and/or strategic consultancy firms;

• public administration.
 

With reference to freelance activities, those dedicated to financial and insurance consultancy, private banking and business consultancy and strategic consultancy are particularly noteworthy.

The Master’s degree in Management and Finance provides a suitable foundation for access to doctoral courses in Management, Economics and Finance.

A further opportunity is represented by the completion of studies in second-level master's courses and access to doctoral courses.

 

Course organisation

• Courses and programmes
• Study plan
• Academic regulations

To register/enrol

 

Student Representatives

 

Do you need more information?

• PIM/SOSTA
• If you need information on Teachers and Office hours: UPObook
• If you want to contact the Student Secretariat: UPOrisponde
• If you want to talk directly to someone in the Student Secretariat (for particularly complex problems/questions): UPOriceve
• If you need information on support services for disabled/learning difficulty students: UPOrisponde
• If you need information on careers guidance, job placements and internships: jobplacement@uniupo.it

You can find a complete list of useful contacts here.

 

Internationalisation

Erasmus partnerships with DISEI

• Belgium: Vives (Kortrijk), Mons. 
• Czech Republic: VSEM (Prague). 
• Denmark: VIA University (Horsens). 
• France: Lille 1, Savoy. 
• Germany: Regensburg, Trier. 
• Latvia: Banku (Riga). 
• Greece: Pireaus (Egaleo), Kavala. Lithuania: Kaunas. 
• Malta: Msida. 
• Portugal: Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Leiria, Tomar, Viseu. 
• Spain: Central de Cataluna (Barcelona), Girona, Malaga, Jaén, La Laguna (Tenerife), "Pablo de Olavide" (Seville), Santiago de Compostela. 
• Hungary: Sopron.

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