The Cambridge CTO Program is broken into four segments.
The core of the program consists of five modules delivered through the Emeritus online learning platform. Participants have access to interactive sessions, practitioner insights and a success coach.
Additionally, students have to choose two out of eight online electives.
A two-and-a-half-day in-person on-campus event is, basically, a networking event held at Cambridge, UK and it's mandatory for successful graduation and receiving a certificate. It is a classic event similar to Wharton's where participants meet their peers and faculty and, ultimately, complete the capstone project.
The capstone project or Action Plan as they call it in Cambridge, enables participants to prepare a plan that addresses a real-world technology issue in your organisation. This is an ongoing project that spans through 26 weeks.
It takes 12 months in total to complete the program
The program is tailored specifically for experienced technology professionals in decision-making roles. In other words, it really helps if you are already in a CTO role for some time now.
An ideal candidate has:
The curriculum consists of 5 core modules with lectures, 2 (out of 8) electives, practical industry insights and the capstone project (a.k.a., Action Plan).
Core modules cover strategy, culture and leadership, process and execution, global organisations and partnerships and, of course, innovation.
Strategy
Culture and leadership
Processes and execution
Global organisation and partners
Enacting innovation: culture and new products
7 professors, led by Christoph Loch, Professor of Operations and Technology Managament, deliver all the lectures. With one exception, these are your standard university professors.
Guest lecturers, as it's common with CTO programs in these universities, are predominantly involved in discussions and sessions and are subject to change.
As in the cases of Wharton and Berkeley, only one individual, Matthew Lawson, possesses tangible business experience. The remaining members lack notable technology leadership experience in the real world.
They are all exceptional lecturers and renowned professors, no question about it, but in contrast, our Digital MBA for Technology Leaders include 9 CTOs, 1 Group CTO, 1 Group CIO, 3 VPs of Engineering, 13 CEOs/CIOs/COOs and 13 Senior Leaders as subject experts. That’s a total of 40 lecturers delivering 220 micro-lectures.
That said, who do you want to teach you how to fly a plane: a theorist or a pilot?
When you compare Wharton, Berkeley and Cambridge CTO Programs, you cannot shake off the feeling that they are practically copies of each other. Wharton CTO Program has Journal, Berkeley didn't even come up with the trademark name for their capstone project and Cambridge has Action Plan.
In the image below, you can visualise how Cambridge's Action Plan rolls during those 26 weeks. It is a great practical exercise, especially if you are in the CTO role.
But to answer the primary questions here, other than name, nothing truly sets this program apart from the other two we mentioned here. It is a healthy mixture of everything you expect from the type of program offered by these types of educational institutions. It just feels like they put something together on short notice just to ride the trend.
It is Cambridge, after all. The name speaks for itself. It simply adds additional weight to your job application or promotion negotiations. So from that perspective, yes, there is a career advancement potential.
And besides the obvious knowledge you inevitably gain through the curriculum, the program is designed to enable networking events, particularly the on-campus module. It's these events where you can connect with peers, industry leaders and, more importantly, potential employers that are the real value.
That said,
As a rule of thumb, all advanced CTO programs require these three elements and Cambridge is not an exception:
Cambridge CTO program provides the foundation for the key parameters of modern technology leadership. The mixture of subjects in core modules gives you enough theoretical background, especially in non-technical business-related areas which should enable you to find your way around in a new role or answer a few tricky questions during the job/promotion interview/negotiations.
And then, there is the name. The curriculum on its own doesn't really justify the price tag but add the word "Cambridge" to the header of the certification, and there you have it.
However, the same question remains:
From whom will you learn more: a CTO with 10+ years of experience or a university professor?
Compare faculties and you'll see what we mean by that.
And here is another quick fact.
At CTO Academy, students automatically become Global Community members which means that they are backed by both community peers and our senior leadership - even after successful completion of the program. We are talking about a tight-knit community of technology leaders at your disposal 24/7. That gives you an unlikely advantage because you can patch in, explain your problem on the go and almost immediately receive actionable advice from a fellow leader who has already gone through a similar situation.
Is it same with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education’s Leader’s Club network, we really can't say, but none of the public testimonials mentions it.
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