The Roxbourg MBA Programs are open to everyone who wants to work on addressing the toughest challenges facing humanity. Here are the answers to the policy, process, and protocol related frequently asked questions.
Updated: 24 September 2021 at 14:35 CEST
0. Overview of Roxbourg
Roxbourg, GoodFestival, Switzerland4Good, and OneMillionSparks are social initiatives of Majamba GmbH of Switzerland, established in 2010. Roxbourg focuses on applying Education Technology (EdTech) to shape the future of Professional Higher Education (PHE).
The governance model of Roxbourg is made up of the Roxbourg Jury, Roxbourg Coaches, and Roxbourg Fellows. We believe in the power of social entrepreneurs to address the needs of their local communities. We also believe that good work has to mean good quality. There are two parts of Roxbourg:
Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE): The institute delivers the seminars, jam, and work sessions that lead to the Roxbourg Humanitarian MBA and the Roxbourg Professional MBA degree.
Roxbourg HYPR Accelerator: The accelerator manages the accreditation of independent professionals who are appointed as Roxbourg Fellows, Roxbourg Coaches, and Roxbourg Jury members.
This page illustrates the key policies, protocols, and processes. For all questions, please contact the Service Professional Academic Affairs (SPAA) Office.
1. What is the backstory of Roxbourg?
Roxbourg MBA is a Professional Higher Education (PHE) program where you build a “social venture” locally and receive a global professional degree plus ongoing venture acceleration services after graduation.
The story of Roxbourg started in the year 2015 with the GoodFestival, hosted at The Olympic Museum, which has now become the world’s biggest celebration of sustainable innovation. In the past 5 years, GoodFestival has received support from the City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud and over 20 organizations. Learn more >
2. Why Roxbourg MBA?
Roxbourg is a pioneer of professional higher education (PHE) focussed on Humanitarian Innovation. We operate in a very specific niche - supporting everyone who wants to address the root causes of social, gender, and environmental equity to build sustainable ventures. Essentially, we are supporting everyone to do something good.
Today, there are 4 levels of “doing good” and all are important:
Level 1. Random Acts of Kindness. For example: Giving donations.
Level 2. Volunteering / Social Work on a regular basis. For example: Helping a group of vulnerable people every Saturday.
Level 3. Starting a Social Venture: Basically, you start an activity where other people can donate money or volunteer. You are responsible for doing what you promised and keeping your stakeholders updated.
Level 4. Scaling up your Social Venture and making it financially viable: This is probably the toughest challenge that anyone can undertake. You need to excel in two unrelated areas simultaneously - one focuses on “Doing Good” and another part focuses on “Raising Funds or In-Kind Support”. Now the underlying principles of building a sustainable venture are exactly the same as building a for-profit business. But the institutions that provide high-quality business degrees cost a fortune and take too long or require moving to a rural or city campus that requires physical relocation and additional costs.
That’s why we designed the Roxbourg MBA Program from the ground up. Our ambition is to support everyone, everywhere to gain the skills to start or scale up a social venture locally, without leaving their communities behind or spending a fortune or investing years or sometimes decades learning the basics.
3. What is the difference between a professional education program and an academic education program?
In a professional program, the teaching is done by professionals who have experience in different domains. They are practitioners with deep knowledge and expertise. And professionals also have academic qualifications.
In an academic program, the teaching is done by professors who are domain experts and have published research papers and/or books. And professors also have professional experience.
4. How is the operating model of Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) different than a university?
Roxbourg is a pioneer in the Professional Higher Education (PHE) sector and is closer to an accreditation program. Most schools or universities are receivers of accreditation and Roxbourg is a provider of accreditation.
Roxbourg sits closer to the top of the “education food chain” as Roxbourg is the one that does the accreditation.
Roxbourg accredits the independent professionals to be appointed Roxbourg Fellows who lead Roxbourg Jam Sessions and review the venture pitch from registered students and vote to award the students with the Roxbourg MBA degree.
The core of Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) is the Roxbourg HYPR Accelerator that manages the accreditation program as part of SwissMBA.Org
5. What’s the difference between the two Roxbourg MBA Programs?
Roxbourg Humanitarian MBA Program is for those who already have a masters or a PhD degree or equivalent experience. You already know how you want to build a better world and now you want to validate your venture plan by attending 40 seminars / jam sessions and want to go further by raising seed money or partnership or sponsorship.
Roxbourg Professional MBA Program is for those who want a broad learning experience by attending 80 seminars / jam sessions and developing a venture plan for building a sustainable venture or a companywide initiative. You will have the opportunity to test different approaches and network with 100s of professionals.
6. What are the requirements to graduate from the two Roxbourg MBA Programs?
In order to graduate from the Roxbourg Professional MBA Program, you need to earn 120 Roxbourg Credits. You earn 80 credits when you actively participate in Roxbourg Seminars / Jam Sessions & GoodFestival Events, and 40 credits when you present your venture plan to the Roxbourg HYPR Accelerator Board.
In order to graduate from the Roxbourg Humanitarian MBA Program, you need to earn 120 Roxbourg Credits. You earn 40 credits when you actively participate in Roxbourg Seminars / Jam Sessions & GoodFestival Events, and 80 credits when you create and present your venture plan to the Roxbourg HYPR Accelerator Board.
Related question: Let’s say my circumstances change after I start my Roxbourg MBA journey and I feel I will not be able to build a concrete venture at this time - in that case, what are my options if I still want to graduate?
Answer: The goal of the three-part - ambition / achievements / action plan - venture plan is to ensure that you are building real capabilities that will contribute to a better world. Now the scope of your ambition can change based on your circumstances. But, if you feel, you will not be able to build a real venture at this time - you have two options:
A. You can support an established company or an NGO you may be associated with - to write a business plan for a sustainable project.
B. You can defer your participation in the Roxbourg MBA at this time and rejoin at a later date when you find an opportunity to develop a concrete venture.
7. What does active participation in a seminar / jam session mean?
Your camera is switched ON. You are paying attention, not distracted or multi-tasking. You offer constructive feedback and avoid comments that may be construed as patronizing or demeaning.
We live by the following three values:
• Neutrality: Consider taking a neutral stance on politics, religion, culture, race, gender, orientation, age, nations, regions, etc. Always focus on the positive.
• Respect: Respect each other even during extreme disagreements.
• Feasibility: Importance of setting a clear, feasible, and forward looking project scope / venture ambition.
8. When do candidates know when will they be graduating?
The yearly graduation ceremony is scheduled for October. The goal is to always try to invite the students one month before the graduation ceremony. The graduation ceremony in October 2021 will be done via Zoom.
Note: Everyone who attends at least 80% of all Jam Sessions for the Humanitarian MBA (at least 32 sessions) and co-presents a venture that is selected by the jury will receive the following:
:: Roxbourg Humanitarian MBA degree in their name.
:: Option to add the names of the venture team on their degree (even if they have not attended 80% of the sessions).
The scope of the Jam Sessions will be continously updated. Please see latest version at www.Roxbourg.mba/seminars
9. What is a Roxbourg Jam Session?
A Jam Session is a combination of pitching and giving feedback. Always keeping a positive vibe - even when giving feedback on the quality of the idea. Each Jam Session combines seminars with open discussions.
10. Where are the Roxbourg Jam Sessions held?
Roxbourg follows a hybrid learning model. All registered students can connect to the Roxbourg Campus via bit.ly/SwissMBA.
11. How does Roxbourg measure who is ready to graduate?
All registered candidates, in order to graduate, have to demonstrate three things:
1. The Venture Ambition is set in accordance with the capabilities of the team.
2. The Venture Plan is based on achievements that showcase the capabilities of the team.
3. The 80% attendance is a clear demonstration that the Venture Team is able to manage their time, prioritize what is important and use the existing infrastructure including the broadband network to meet their goals.
Two independent juries are convened to measure the quality of the venture plan based on the pitch by the venture team.
The venture pitch is expected to cover the following:
I. Ambition: Why are you building your venture? What is your purpose? How is your venture building a better world?
II. Achievements: What are your main achievements? Why are they important to you? How do the achievements show the application of your capabilities?
III. Action Plan: How do you plan to achieve your ambition - raise funds, build team, market, sell and deliver? What’s your next big milestone? What support do you need in order to achieve your goals?
The aggregate score given by the jury for each venture plan is also used to decide who receives the Roxbourg Gold Medal and Roxbourg Fellowship including Grants.
Notes:
1. The jury is convened to assess and grade your venture. A jury member will assess and recommend a grade based on your pitch and venture plan slides including the cover slide. Only the aggregate score of the jury will contribute to the decision regarding who receives the Gold Medal and the associated services, benefits, and recognition.
2. The jury reserves the right to expel or withdraw the decision to award a Roxbourg Degree if the student contacts the jury and tries to influence the decision of the jury or disrupts the implementation of the jury decision by either using force or persuasion before, during or after the jury session.
3. Although several members will be present on the jury, not all members will be voting. This is being done to protect the process and the jury.
4. Please note that the Roxbourg Jury is the highest governing body of the Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE), Switzerland. The Roxbourg Jury has a very narrow mission: Recommend candidates for the Roxbourg MBA Degree or the Roxbourg Gold Medal based on their venture pitch and venture plan. If you feel that your venture is not ready - you can join the Class of 2022 with 100% scholarship. If you decide to submit your slides by 14:00 CEST / Tuesday / 28th of September - that means you want to graduate in 2021 and win the Gold Medal. And you understand that the jury decision is final. Full terms are available on the Roxbourg.MBA Platform - www.roxbourg.mba/terms
Note: The jury may ask you questions - modify the agenda at the last minute - the jury session may take longer - please respect the jury. For details, please see points 0 / 6 / 7 / 11 / 14
5. Guidance for the Roxbourg Jury:
5.1 - The guidance provided to the Jury re: criteria for the Roxbourg Gold Medal and Roxbourg MBA Degree:
A - Feasibility of the venture based on assessment of the ambition, achievements, and action plan as documented in the venture plan plus the 58 Second Pitch.
B - Progress made by the Venture Lead / Team in the past 12 weeks.
5.2 - The guideline provided to the Jury for the Roxbourg Gold Medal is 90% or above as the aggregate of attendance (20%), ambition (20%), achievements (40%), action plan (20%).
5.3 - The guideline provided to the jury for the Roxbourg MBA degree is 80% or above as the aggregate of attendance (20%), ambition (20%), achievements (40%), action plan (20%).
Notes:
:: Please note the Jury may ask questions or request additional information.
:: Under exceptional circumstances, the Jury may give a conditional decision. For example: Attend two additional jam sessions and receive your degree or medal by end of October.
12. How does the “Friends & Family” option work?
You can register for the Roxbourg MBA individually or with the Friends & Family MBA option. The Friends & Family option is designed to allow multiple generations of the same family or friends to attend seminars / jam sessions, collaborate for their venture plan, and graduate with a Roxbourg MBA degree together - all the names of the venture team members are added to the same Roxbourg MBA degree in alphabetical order.
13. What is the total program fee of the Roxbourg MBA Programs and are there any scholarships?
The program fee for the Roxbourg Humanitarian MBA Program is 4,800CHF and 8,800CHF for the Roxbourg Professional MBA Program.
Scholarships range from 2,000CHF to 8,000CHF. All candidates are automatically considered for a scholarship based on the level of their academic qualifications, work experience, financial need, and maturity of the project or venture. Apply here >
14. What are the main milestones of the Roxbourg MBA Programs?
There are four main milestones:
Tuesday, 6th of July: Onboarding Seminar where you will meet all the existing and new Roxbourg MBA candidates who will be pursuing the Humanitarian.MBA.
Tuesday, 10th of August: Last date to change the ambition of your venture plan and your venture team.
Wednesday, 8th of September: Based on your presentation of the cover / summary page of your venture plan covering - ambition / achievements / action plan - you will know if you are graduating in 2021.
Friday, 1st of October: Based on your presentation of the cover / summary page of your venture plan covering - ambition / achievements / action plan - you will know if you are going to win the Roxbourg Gold Medal, receive the invitation to join the Roxbourg HYPR Accelerator as you graduate with your Roxbourg MBA.