Master of Business Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Strategy
Most executive education about artificial intelligence teaches leaders to talk about it. This degree teaches them to decide about it: which processes to automate, what to build against what to buy, how to price the risk, how to restructure ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Chief executive and general manager
- chief digital or transformation officer
- head of strategy
- senior consultant
- board member
- head of function in a transforming organisation.
Employer types
- Banks, telecommunications operators and insurers
- large corporates and family groups
- government agencies and parastatals
- consulting firms
- development organisations
- and high growth ventures.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Senior executive advancement, with the programme priced to cross subsidise undergraduate scholarship access.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Master of Business Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Strategy. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 510 | Financial and Managerial Accounting for Executives Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 511 | Strategy in Digital and Platform Markets Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| DBF 512 | Data, Analytics and Decision Making Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| DBF 513 | Artificial Intelligence Foundations for Leaders Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 520 | Operating Model Redesign and Automation Economics Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| DBF 521 | Leading Change, Talent and Culture Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| DBF 522 | Technology Governance, Risk and Accountability Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 523 | Corporate Finance, Investment and Valuation Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| DBF 524 | Advanced Elective Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBF 530 | Strategic Project: Organisational Transformation Commission Performance | 20 | 0-2-38 |
| DBF 531 | Negotiation, Influence and Board Communication Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| DBF 532 | Ethics, Responsibility and the Social Licence Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
Total credit units: 90
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Master of Business Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Strategy
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU
Cumulative
30
Programme total
90
30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Teaming CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Teaming · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Formulate and defend a technology enabled strategy for a real organisation.
- PLO 2Evaluate the business case, risk and return of an intelligent systems investment.
- PLO 3Lead organisational change, capability building and workforce transition.
- PLO 4Exercise governance and accountability over automated decision making.
- PLO 5Read financial statements and structure financing for transformation.
- PLO 6Communicate strategy persuasively to boards, staff and markets.
Why this programme exists
Most executive education about artificial intelligence teaches leaders to talk about it. This degree teaches them to decide about it: which processes to automate, what to build against what to buy, how to price the risk, how to restructure ...
Admission requirements
A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division and a minimum of three years of professional or managerial experience. Applicants with substantial senior experience but non-standard qualifications may enter through recognition of prior learning under Part G3. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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