Studies & Degrees in Innovation Expert
Innovation Expert Study Programs
Innovation programmes teach how organisations turn new ideas into products, services and processes that are actually used. Eurostat defines innovation as the use of new ideas, products or methods where they have not been used before; for its business surveys, an innovation is a new or significantly improved product introduced to the market, or a new or significantly improved process introduced within an enterprise. Managing that work is a business discipline in its own right.
The subject name "Innovation Expert" comes from the Spanish "experto", a short university postgraduate diploma, but the field is taught at every level. Students learn how to detect opportunities, design and test new products and services with real users, build a business model, manage an innovation project and its budget, protect the results and lead the change inside a company. Many programmes work on real projects for companies and in teams, and link innovation with entrepreneurship and digital transformation.
Qualifications and levels
In Spain, where most of the schools in this list are located, innovation can be studied through official degrees and through shorter qualifications that each university or school issues itself.
- Bachelor's degree (grado): 240 ECTS, four years. One example is the official Grado en Liderazgo Emprendedor e Innovación (LEINN) of Mondragon Unibertsitatea, in which students design real products and services and work with real clients.
- Official master's degree (máster universitario): 60, 90 or 120 ECTS, after a bachelor's degree.
- Lifelong-learning qualifications of universities: Royal Decree 822/2021 defines three for university graduates: the Máster de Formación Permanente (60, 90 or 120 ECTS), the Diploma de Especialización (30 to 59 ECTS) and the Diploma de Experto (fewer than 30 ECTS). The decree classes them as títulos propios, separate from official degrees. Universities can also offer microcredentials of fewer than 15 ECTS.
- Executive programmes of business schools: short courses and master's programmes for working managers. Ask the school what recognition the qualification has.
An "expert in innovation" course is therefore normally a short specialisation taken on top of a degree or of work experience, and can often be combined with a job.
Where to study it
SpainExchange lists 14 active schools for this subject. Ten are in Spain, and Australia, Russia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom have one each.
- Mondragon Unibertsitatea, in the Basque Country, teaches the LEINN degree on its Bidasoa, Bilbao and Oñati campuses, in Spanish, Basque and English.
- Florida Universitària offers the same degree, an official degree of Mondragon Unibertsitatea, on its Valencia campus, with 240 ECTS over four years. Its catalogue also includes a course on managing innovation ecosystems and intrapreneurship.
- ESEUNE Business School, in Zamudio (Bizkaia), addresses working managers with a hybrid methodology and international stays in innovation ecosystems.
- CEOE Formación in Madrid, the training arm of the Spanish employers' confederation, runs programmes for companies in areas such as digitalisation.
The list also includes the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and its Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, the Universidad de Salamanca, ESADE in Barcelona and ESESA in Málaga. Outside Spain it includes University College London, Adelaide University in South Australia, the University of Maribor in Slovenia and Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University.
In Spain most programmes are taught in Spanish. Business schools and some degrees add English, and the LEINN degree lists three languages. Check the language and the format (on campus, online or hybrid) of each programme with the school.
Careers
Graduates work as innovation managers, project and product managers, business developers and consultants, or start their own companies. Mondragon Unibertsitatea names user experience designer, innovation manager and business developer among the roles of its LEINN graduates. Innovation staff are also found in technology centres, public agencies that fund research and development, and the innovation units of large companies.
The demand depends on how much companies innovate. In Spain, 27.3% of companies were innovative in the period 2022-2024, and spending on innovation activities reached €23,554 million in 2024, 13.0% more than in 2022, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE).
Frequently asked questions
What is a Diploma de Experto in Spain?
It is a lifelong-learning qualification of a university for people who already hold a degree, with fewer than 30 ECTS credits, as defined in Royal Decree 822/2021. It is the university's own qualification, not an official bachelor's or master's degree.
Do I need a business degree to study innovation management?
Not necessarily. Postgraduate programmes usually accept graduates from engineering, science, design and business alike, and executive courses look at work experience. Each school sets its own admission requirements.
Is there a bachelor's degree in innovation?
Yes. In Spain, the Grado en Liderazgo Emprendedor e Innovación (LEINN) of Mondragon Unibertsitatea is an official degree with 240 ECTS over four years, also taught at Florida Universitària in Valencia.
Can I study innovation while working?
Many programmes are designed for it. ESEUNE, for example, describes a hybrid methodology for people who combine study with professional responsibilities.