Business Strategy

This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will equip civil servants with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to responsibly adopt and govern AI and digital technologies within public administration. It is grounded in the UNESCO AI and Digital Transformation Competency Framework for Civil Servants and integrates insights from the UNESCO Data Governance Toolkit. Learners will develop practical and strategic capabilities to support inclusive, ethical, and context-sensitive digital transformation across government systems and services.

This global course, designed for judicial operators, was conceived by UNESCO and created in partnership with the Saïd Business School, the Blavatnik School of Government and the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. As courts modernise procedures and information systems, AI tools are increasingly introduced to support judicial work, case management, evidence analysis and access to legal information. These technologies can strengthen efficiency, consistency and access to justice. Yet they also raise fundamental questions about fairness, due process, transparency, explainability, and accountability. This course will address these issues.

In an ever-changing world, organisations need tools that can help them manage uncertainty. This course explores business analytics as a dynamic field of data-driven decision-making and equips you with the knowledge of how to apply business analytics tools in a proactive way. Master business analytics fundamentals: Delve into the key concepts of business analytics and discover the role of data in driving strategic decisions and operational efficiency. Identify key challenges: Discover some of the key challenges facing organisations trying to implement new strategies and how they can mitigate them. Collaborate with fellow analysts: Share insights and experiences with your peers.

In this course, you will explore the vital role of marketing in driving organisational success. You will also examine what it means to take a customer-centric approach—and why it is essential in today’s competitive landscape. The course also introduces key frameworks to support effective marketing strategy and tactics, along with an overview of emerging trends and developments shaping the future of the field.

In this course, you'll delve into the foundational aspects of finance and economics focusing specifically on valuation. You will learn about capital structure, enterprise value, compounding interest, and rate of return. You'll also be introduced to financial modelling and explore valuation techniques such as comparables and the discounted cash flow model. You will be guided through practical applications and real-world scenarios, including a cinematised case study, to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these concepts are used in decision-making and investment strategies. Additionally, you’ll look at the latest trends and developments in finance.

In this course, you will examine the role of business and leadership in addressing global and societal challenges. You will begin by considering why organisations are increasingly expected to contribute to social and environmental issues alongside economic goals. The course then introduces approaches to creating positive impact through strategies that align business performance with social responsibility. You will also analyse real-world case studies of organisations that have embedded impact into their core operations. Finally, through interactive activities and reflective tasks, you will develop the skills to lead with purpose and drive meaningful change.

In this course, you'll explore the myths and realities of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities, examine the boom in platform businesses and learn how to assess whether a business is really viable. Explore the essence of entrepreneurship: Dive into the core concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship and grasp what it really takes to start and run a successful venture. Evaluate business viability: Practice assessing the potential of new business ideas and opportunities. Embrace innovation: By the end of this course, you'll be equipped to recognise opportunities in a rapidly changing business landscape.

In this course, you'll explore key concepts in operations management, including the design of processes to meet customer demand. You'll learn how to analyse and improve the way that work is performed in an organisation.  Finally, you’ll consider a key development in supply chain management (a key operational area) to help equip you for the future.

In this course, you'll dive into the key principles and strategies for effective organisational design. You'll learn how to align people, processes, and structures to meet organisational goals and adapt to changing. By the end of this course, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and tools to design and lead effective organisations, capable of navigating uncertainty and driving success.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries and driving innovation. Yet the rise of generative AI brings significant ethical, legal, and compliance challenges. This programme equips leaders, policymakers, and professionals with the knowledge and practical tools to navigate this evolving landscape. Alongside world-class Oxford faculty and industry experts, you will gain hands-on experience with Oxethica, a pioneering AI governance platform, enabling you to audit systems, mitigate risks, and embed trustworthy AI across your organisation. By combining cutting-edge insights with real-world application, this programme ensures you stay ahead of regulation while leading responsibly in the age of AI.

Big data powered by AI is dramatically reshaping the global financial services industry, and Open Banking promises to transform it further still. As Open Banking expands across the globe, the unleashing of data will open up new market opportunities with the potential to radically transform the industry, creating new winners, losers, rewards and challenges. Participants will examine the potential and power that AI can bring to the financial services industry.

The programme will give participants a comprehensive overview and understanding of the rules that drive successful algorithmic trading strategies and successful hedge funds, as well as a grounded introduction to financial theory and behavioural finance. They will learn four principles established by Professor Nir Vulkan to guide them through the process of building and evaluating an algorithmic trading model. They will understand what biases are present in the market and how these behavioural traits create exploitable patterns. Participants will observe a functional trend model in action and will discuss its applications to real-world market conditions.

The programme aims to provide participants with a sound introduction to and overview of this technology, from its history, functionality, and capability, as well as its inherent ethical challenges. Over the course of six weeks participants will develop an informed opinion about AI's applications, as they reflect on its implications and opportunities, and build a business case for its implementation within their unique organisational context.

Whether working in a larger organisation, building a new venture, or exploring a career change, this programme is designed to help students understand how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are driving innovation and competitive advantage for companies in various industries and environments, feel empowered to analyse and articulate the challenges and opportunities associated with the use of blockchain technology in a business setting, and consider the economic, technical, political, and environmental implications of blockchain strategy.

This programme is designed to inspire participants to understand their role in meaningfully addressing the climate emergency from a systemic, organisational, and individual perspective. Participants are first introduced to the need, and urgency, for radical change through the exploration of the current and future problem landscape. The programme will also cover topics that cover a range of levers needed to activate change including economic system change, business model innovation, future-focused policy-making, and collaboration. Throughout the programme participants will be encouraged to reflect on opportunities for collaboration, and the importance of prioritising their own resilience when facing the climate emergency.

The Oxford Cyber Security for Business Leaders Programme prepares leaders from all industries for the increasingly complex future of cyber security. Participants will gain a full understanding of the challenges and potential of cyber, along with the frameworks and vocabulary enabling them to make strategic decisions to help secure their organisation’s cyber-resilient future.

In this programme busy executives and business leaders learn how to leverage cutting-edge technologies like AI, platforms and blockchain to recognise digital opportunities and respond to disruption threats. Those responses – in a world where startups eye digital attack-lines while entrenched players weigh introducing new digital functions versus building out full digital business arms – must start early on, with strategic thinking at the horizon level.

This programme aims to provide participants with the skills and confidence to respond to the forces driving disruption in the digital marketing landscape. They will investigate how consumer behaviour has evolved and develop strategies for adapting their approach to account for this. They will also explore emerging technologies and marketing channels, and how to use them effectively in their marketing strategy.

The programme, based on active research at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, investigates each link of the enterprise value chain that forms the core foundation of every organisation. As participants develop a mindset for purposeful, enterprise-wide transformation, they will gain the practical skills and frameworks to execute and apply a fit-for-purpose business strategy for their enterprise’s unique context.

The programme is designed to support participants at various stages of the entrepreneurial process. It offers participants practical guidance in their entrepreneurial journey, from identifying a market opportunity, to developing a business model, to learning how to launch and pitch their venture. Participants will examine the critical customer-facing and operational aspects of laying out a business model, as well as the activities related to launching a venture and achieving product-market fit. The programme offers insight into how to best contribute their unique talents and skills, and engage with the nuances of putting together a founding team.

This programme is designed to give participants insight into how new ventures, or businesses, are financed. Participants will gain an understanding of the funding process from the perspective of both entrepreneur and investor. The programme refers to this dual-perspective as the “Two Hats” approach.

This 7-week online course consists of 6 modules and an orientation week. The core topics you'll cover are Drivers and Fundamentals of Sustainability, Strategic Planning and Long-term Value Creation, Risk Management and Finance, Regulation and Reporting, Governance and Stakeholder Engagement, and Transformational Change.

The programme is designed to provide participants with essential finance knowledge necessary for decision-making and delivering value in a firm at an executive level. The programme is predominantly centred around two core themes, understanding the basics of finance, and using financial tools to analyse what decisions firms should make. In this programme, participants will gain valuable practical skills, such as valuing projects, measuring the cost of capital, and assessing funding opportunities. This is achieved through a range of assessments designed to build participants' proficiency of finance as a core skill in every executive toolkit.

The Oxford Executive Leadership Programme focuses on applying leadership theory and insights learned to participants’ own contexts. The programme aims to meet leaders where they are, and elevate their careers and organisations through self-reflection.

The programme unpacks how strategy is changing and how breadth within strategic thinking, in addition to thinking long-term, is imperative to leading strategy. Participants will learn about strategy from Oxford’s unique perspective, based on a core framework of the four Ps, purposes, players, partnerships, and processes. With this new approach to organisational strategy that considers rapidly changing environments, stakeholders, and problems, participants will become prepared to lead strategy in complex environments.

This is a fully online programme with a duration of 7 weeks. The programme is led by Professors Nir Vulkan and Pinar Ozcan, leading authorities on fintech, algorithmic trading, AI in finance, open banking and market design. Through this programme, you will explore key themes, including, the digitisation of money, digital platforms and mobile financial services, artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies in financial services, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), blockchain and cryptocurrencies, open banking and data networks. The students on this programme are supported by tutors and success advisors as they progress through the 7 weeks. On successful completion of this programme, students will be awarded an official digital certificate of completion from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

This programme explores the impact of global megatrends on the future of commercial and residential real estate, as well as the future of the sustainable city. By understanding what impact these global megatrends have, or may yet have, individuals are better equipped to accurately appraise development and investment opportunities from various perspectives. Participants will explore the topics in this programme through the lens of real-world examples and gain insight from interviews with leading experts in the field to learn about practical solutions to modern day problems.

The Generative and Agentic AI Programme is a practical, three-week online course for managers, technology leaders, and consultants seeking to understand how generative and agentic AI work, where they create value, and how to make informed deployment decisions. Bridging theory and practice, participants explore large language models (LLMs), agentic workflows, governance, platform evaluation, orchestration frameworks, and risk mitigation. Through hands-on exercises, they build prototypes and examine architectures including custom GPTs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic AI platforms. The programme equips participants to identify opportunities, design effective solutions, and adopt generative and agentic AI responsibly within their organisations.

Leading AI Implementation is a four-week executive online programme from Oxford Saïd designed to help senior leaders turn AI ambition into operational reality. Participants learn how to interpret enterprise AI strategy, assess organisational readiness, mobilise stakeholders, lead responsible AI pilots, and make disciplined scaling decisions. Through practical frameworks, real-world case scenarios, and applied activities, participants build an AI Implementation Roadmap tailored to their organisation or function. The programme develops leadership capability in strategic decision-making, change leadership, governance, and responsible AI implementation in complex organisational environments.

Traditionally, professional service firms (PSFs) have been able to rely on their technical knowledge as a way of standing out in the market. However, the modern business landscape has become increasingly complex, and what was once a competitive advantage is now a basic business prerequisite. The programme aims to equip aspiring and established PSF leaders with the tools to transition to the next level, be it leading a team, firm, a client account, office, practice, or service line. It provides a single, integrated framework to accelerate personal growth, account growth, and firm growth.

The Oxford Leading Strategic Projects Programme teaches participants to effectively combine business strategy, leadership skills, and project management techniques to help guide their teams through modern-day complexity, leverage new opportunities and deliver strategic projects successfully.

The programme teaches participants how corporations should conceptualise and enact value creation, from both shareholder and societal perspectives. They will take an executive perspective on sustainability, exploring the relationship between a corporation’s purpose and function in society, the value it creates for its shareholders and other stakeholders, and ways in which it can build sustainability reporting into its corporate performance metrics.