For an effective healthcare system, you need more than just medical professionals. Dr. Oksana Gerwe explains how University College London (UCL), Global Business School for Health, is leading a radical rethink of business leadership in healthcare. Join us for a detailed look into the MBA Health and the pressing issues it aims to resolve.
From the capital of the United Kingdom, University College London (UCL) has long been a global powerhouse in health and science. But in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it launched something completely new: the Global Business School for Health (GBSH). This was a deliberate response to a crisis that exposed deep-rooted clinical problems as well as structural and managerial deficiencies.
Dr. Oksana Gerwe, Director of the MBA Health, explains that the school emerged in direct response to urgent issues. “(We) structured our programs around healthcare problems and challenges. Each of our programs, MBA, Master’s, PhD, DBA, undergraduate programs, they all address a specific problem in healthcare.” (02:05)
We lead the field across our 11 faculties, and work together across disciplines to solve the world’s largest problems. UCL has a strong legacy in healthcare. With four of its eleven faculties dedicated to health, the university was uniquely positioned to take on this mission. “UCL is deeply embedded in health and healthcare,” says Dr. Gerwe. “Quite a few of our [32] Nobel Prize winners come from health.” (00:35)
At its core, the Global Business School for Health supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #3: Good Health and Well-being. However, its focus is on redefining how leaders are trained to not only understand healthcare but to lead within it.
Unlike standard MBAs, the UCL MBA Health is tailored for professionals with a solid background in health or a strong commitment to transforming the sector. This program is for those who have witnessed the challenges firsthand and are ready to drive strategic change.
“We’re targeting professionals and executives in the health and healthcare sector,” explains Dr. Gerwe. “The aim is to give them the leadership and management tools to address real healthcare problems.” (01:26)
The program’s design reflects that focus. The full-time and part-time MBA Health attracts candidates with around five to eight years of experience, while the Executive MBA Health is for those senior profiles with 10-15 years in the field. The average student is in their late 20s to early 30s and a career professional who is serious about impact, not just advancement.
What makes this MBA even more distinctive is the diversity of its student body. “About half of our students are clinicians…they’re practicing doctors, radiologists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists,” Dr. Gerwe says. “…A third come from pharma… and then we have students who want to pivot into healthcare… [with] backgrounds in tech, medtech [or] biotech.” (03:23)
That blend of experience, perspectives, and ambitions creates an ideal training ground to develop extensive business skills for healthcare professionals.
Healthcare isn’t short on expertise, but it faces challenges in efficiency, coordination of specialized teams, and managing high turnover. Clinical knowledge and scientific breakthroughs drive care forward, but effective leadership requires more than technical skills. That’s where UCL’s Global Business School for Health approach stands out.
“Healthcare is very siloed,” says Dr. Gerwe. “[Professionals] are unbelievably competent in their domains… yet the solutions they resort to are generally the siloed solutions that you would expect from healthcare providers.” (03:56) UCL’s MBA Health bridges that divide by teaching everything from operational efficiency to policy design.
UCL’s MBA Health combines rigorous business education with a 100% focus on healthcare, no generic case studies or disconnected theory.
The result is a practice-oriented, experiential methodology. “You find all the disciplines that you would expect at any business school, but they’re all contextualized and applied to health,” explains Dr. Gerwe. “All our case studies, guest speakers, [and] the problems that we solve all have something to do with health.” (04:38)
This integrated model aims to change how students think about healthcare management. And thanks to UCL’s global perspective, students develop a broad understanding of health systems worldwide.
One standout feature is the Global Health Grand Challenge. This unique module sends students abroad to explore how other countries structure and deliver care. This practical experience serves as an eye-opener to develop cross-cultural, system-level insight.
“We take them to another country… We spend two weeks in that market learning about the healthcare sector… then bring back all the learning and apply it to a topic or theme that students have to address in their research project,” says Dr. Gerwe. (05:17)
Destinations include e.g. Chile, UAE, and India, offering diverse perspectives on how to improve healthcare globally.
Though still young, UCL’s Global Business School for Health is already making waves with its MBA Health. It has quickly established itself as a hub for innovation, earning a reputation as the go-to institution for business leadership in healthcare.
“We’ve already become a key reference point in the healthcare sector,” says Dr. Gerwe, “In a way, we’re becoming the Harvard for health.” (06:09) This recognition reflects the school’s alignment with a real and growing need for healthcare management education.
The pandemic exposed what many already knew, as Dr Gerwe explains. “COVID showed us we were not just in a health crisis. We were in an economic crisis and in a crisis of leadership. Our mission is to train the leaders and managers of tomorrow to shape health for the generations to come.” (07:10)
That mission resonates with students who want more than a degree. They want to drive systemic change, redefine priorities, and lead healthcare organizations into a more sustainable, equitable future. UCL’s Global Business School for Health gives them the tools and the platform to do just that.
For further information about the programs offered by University College London, Global Business School for Health, explore the UCL profile page.
