Home | Study at VU Amsterdam | Short programmes | Winter School | Courses | Digital Transformation Series: Your Disruptive Advantage in the Digital Economy |

Digital Transformation Series - Your Disruptive Advantage in the Digital Society

Note: all our courses are taught online this year.

Course days11-15 January 2021
Course levelMaster, PhD candidates and professionals from all disciplines 
Coordinating lecturerChanté van Tonder
Other lecturersProfessor Bart Bossink and Associate Professor Ella Hafermalz
Forms of tuitionLectures, workshops that include – online group work and interactive group discussion
Forms of assessment

Group Assignment

Individual assignment and online presentation

Credits3 ECTS
Contact hours25 hours
Tuition feeRead all information about our tuition fees and what's included here 
How to applyFind our application form here
Master’s students and PhD candidates from all disciplines. If you have doubts about your eligibility for the course, please contact us: [email protected]
Digital technologies have proliferated in various aspects of businesses with the introduction of new functionalities that can change competitive industries, thereby transforming conventional business strategies, structures, and processes. Trending digital technologies include social media, big data, virtual currencies, 3D printing, mobile, and cloud solutions. These technologies allow businesses to collaborate, leverage resources to design and develop products and services in a new and innovative and cost-effective way. Using digital technologies can increase the potential of the business value and can dramatically reduce the cost, for example by reducing the cost to enter markets, production cost, marketing cost, and resource bottlenecks for new ventures. Using digital technologies has changed and shaped the way individuals perform daily activities and has reinterpreted what it means to be a customer.

This has created an immense ambiguity and unease which continues to accelerate in the business environment as the rate of new technologies is exponentially increasing, simultaneously competition has become increasingly fierce. However, these disruptions and changes are creating opportunities, offering new tools and methods to compete in the digital age. This course will draw on research that undercovers the fundamental shifts from conventional methods to fundamentals of digital strategy, digital product offering, organisational innovation, learning, and agility. This course provides an integrated view of the requirements, challenges, and opportunities that digital transformation offers. 
With the emphasis on ‘how-to’, the participants will complete the course having the ability to:

Series 1 - Learn: Explore a comprehensive understanding of the impact of disruption and technology on businesses. Learn how the process of digital transformation requires a fundamental shift in multiple stages of the organisation’s value chain such as Governance, Strategy, Business Processes, Infrastructure, and Organisational Structure.

Series 2 - Adapt: Understand the importance of change and flexibility within the digital transformation sphere. Learn how to build an adaptive collaborative culture that adopts an open mindset and willingness to enhance workforce capabilities required to successfully transform the organisation.

Series 3 - Technologies: Explore different available digital technologies such as Cloud and Mobile solutions, the Internet of Things, etc. to truly transform the business by introducing new business models.

Series 4 - Roadmap: Create a road map for implementing a digital transformation strategy and action plan for an organisation.

Series 5 - Value: Understand that digital transformation is to create and capture value, thus the value should be measured. Learn how to gather the right data to measure the level of digital transformation within a new/adapted business model of an organisation.


25 contact hours - 5 hours a day, a combination of online lecturing and workshop with interactive group work and discussions.

Tonder

Chanté van Tonder is a lecturer from the University of Johannesburg, South-Africa and a PhD candidate completing a joint PhD degree with the University of Johannesburg and Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, with her thesis titled, Digitalisation of SMEs Business Models. Chanté is passionate about lecturing, specialising in entrepreneurship, business management, technology and innovation. Chanté is a strong believer that technology should be incorporated everywhere, from the classroom, to the business environment, developing digital competence amongst individuals. For professional development, Chanté regularly attends workshops, seminar and/or conferences and is constantly busy completing a short course. Chanté enjoys a good Netflix binge, but can also be found on the athletics track or in the gym keeping fit.