Educational Model
Major US companies are shifting toward skills-based hiring, prioritising real-world competencies and job-ready expertise over theory alone.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is built for this new reality. It equips you with practical, immediately applicable business knowledge and the strategic capabilities required by today’s employers — empowering you to lead, innovate, and succeed as a manager or entrepreneur.
The Real-World Skills MBA programme (our educational model through which the accredited MBA programme is delivered) is accredited by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) under the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF), which is referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), and is classified at Level 7 of the MQF/EQF. MFHEA is the national authority responsible for quality assurance, institutional licensing, and the accreditation of higher education programmes.
The MBA programme can be completed within 18 months. The mode of delivery is fully online learning, and the mode of attendance is Part-Time. We use the top modern business learning model with both synchronous and asynchronous sessions and give you access not only to all areas of a traditional MBA (leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, digital business, etc.) but also to practical and hands-on business knowledge required in your workplace to help you distinguish from the rest of executives and MBA graduates. We are also excited to have integrated into our Real-World Skills MBA, courses from world-leading business schools such as HARVARD University, Columbia University, Imperial College London, Indiana University, RWTH Aachen AND LEARNERS RECEIVE CERTIFICATES AFTER COURSE COMPLETIONS FROM THESE WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITIES.
The MBA is comprised of 15 compulsory business courses (8 self-paced and 7 live) and Management Report (Capstone Project). Each module lasts between eight to twelve weeks, depending on each course. The Real-World Leadership Skills and Strategy Safari courses take place over the entire MBA length. The Management Report’s length is 6 months. Some of the live sessions take place at weekends in order to make it easier to working professionals to participate. Courses contain assessments during or / and at the end of the course. In addition, diverse exercises and activities take place which are not assessed, they rather help students engage with the MBA and increase their learning and application curve. In order to complete the programme, each student is required to obtain a total of 90 ECTS. The language of instruction of the entire programme is English.
The target group consists of entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, or candidates from lower/middle or senior management with a minimum of a completed bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification. No preference will be given to a particular institution of study, field of study, or geographical region. The target audience of the MBA ranges from 22 to 65 years old. The candidates within our target group are looking for a flexible, online MBA programme that will provide them with Real-World practical skills they may not have received in their working career or as part of their undergraduate.
In order to join the programme, each student must possess the following entry requirements:
• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in any field of study
• A working understanding of the English language, which is equal to CEFR level B2/B2+. Candidates’ understanding of English will also be assessed in the individual interview that will take place with each applicant.
During the business courses students delve into each topic and deepen their knowledge through a variety of modern tools such as live sessions, recorded videos, state-of-the-art case studies, group projects, chats, and many more important tools. Thus students are given enough time to complete the course, with the flexibility to study at times that best suit their personal and professional lives.
Students receive support from ZEBS tutors, also for the courses’ assessments.
The Live Teaching Method involves real-time instruction where both tutors and students actively engage simultaneously. Through live streaming via Zoom's video and collaboration tools, our instructors interact with students directly, allowing for questions, clarifications, discussions, and assignment presentations. Following each live session, we upload the recording to our platform, enabling students who missed the live session or wish to review it to access the recorded session at their convenience.
The Self-paced Learning students have the freedom to regulate their progress through the material within set deadlines. This method includes pre-recorded videos that can be viewed according to a schedule or at the student's own pace. Additionally, it incorporates supplemental readings, student discussion forums, homework assignments, and quizzes. Self-paced courses provide progress-tracking features such as completion metrics and quiz scores. These tools assist learners in monitoring their advancement through the material and identifying areas that may require further study. Progress-tracking metrics are daily checked by the Student & Career Helpdesk Team.
ZEBS’s educational method is a top modern approach to management education. It immerses participants in the challenging process of professional growth and intellectual development while providing them with the flexibility to work towards completing the program on their own time and pace.
ZEBS also offers LIVE lectures by business leaders from all over the world. These live interactive presentations expose the student unit body to real-world business experience and open exchange of methodologies and information.
The total learning hours amount to 2250. These are distributed across the following categories:
• Total Contact Hours: 533
• Self-Study Hours: 728
• Supervised Placement and Practice Hours: 271
• Assessment Hours: 718
The best students qualify for the optional ZEBS Entrepreneurship Fellowship, a first of its kind training dedicated to our top students and designed to help entrepreneurs of underrepresented groups to maximize their chances of success through mentorship and to provide access to industry experts and seed capital.
Upon successful completion of the programme, students are awarded a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from ZEBS International Business School (Malta). The qualification is state-accredited and classified at Level 7 under the Malta Qualification Framework (MQF) and the European Qualification Framework (EQF).