The Executive DBA in Healthcare Leadership is an advanced research-oriented programme offered by Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes (UEMC), Spain, in cooperation with CEIBA Business School.
Designed for experienced healthcare managers, executives, entrepreneurs and professionals, it supports participants in transforming complex healthcare management challenges into rigorous applied research.
The programme connects academic inquiry with professional experience, enabling candidates to investigate leadership, organisational transformation, innovation and value creation across the healthcare sector.
Healthcare organisations are facing increasingly complex challenges involving technological innovation, changing patient expectations, regulatory requirements, resource constraints and organisational transformation.
Responding effectively requires more than operational expertise. It requires the ability to investigate problems systematically, evaluate evidence and develop new knowledge.
The Executive DBA in Healthcare Leadership enables professionals to examine these challenges through management theory and empirical research, with the objective of generating insights that are relevant to healthcare organisations and broader academic understanding.
Investigate leadership, strategic management,
organisational change and transformation
in hospitals and healthcare organisations.
Examine digital transformation, patient-centred
services, healthcare innovation and
improvements in care delivery.
Explore healthcare value creation,
governance, quality improvement,
entrepreneurship and sustainable
organisational performance.
These areas illustrate potential research directions. Individual projects remain subject to academic approval and appropriate supervision.
Develop a focused research question, engage
with academic literature, establish a
theoretical framework, and prepare a
rigorous research proposal.
Conduct empirical research under academic
supervision, collect and analyse data,
develop findings, and write the
doctoral thesis.
Finalise the thesis and present the research
contribution through the university’s
assessment and defence process.
Throughout the three-year programme, structured academic milestones and research supervision support candidates as they develop their doctoral research alongside their professional responsibilities.
Academic university partner

UEMC provides the university framework for the Executive DBA and awards the corresponding university continuing-education qualification (título propio), subject to successful completion of the academic requirements.
International program coordinator

CEIBA coordinates the international delivery of the DBA, supports candidates throughout their research journey, and facilitates collaboration between university faculty, participants and local education partners.
Qualification: The EDBA leads to a Titulos Superior de Investigacion awarded by Université d’Angers. It is distinct from the Spanish national doctoral degree (PhD).
CEIBA collaborates with local education partners to facilitate access to the DBA and support participants across international locations.
CHINA · SHANGHAI

Local education partner
CEIBA cooperates with Shanghai Zhengjian Biotechnology to facilitate local delivery of the Executive DBA in Healthcare Leadership in China.
The programme uses a hybrid format combining face-to-face academic activities with online support and supervision where appropriate. Chinese is the principal teaching language.
The programme is designed for experienced professionals working in healthcare and related industries, including hospital and clinic managers, healthcare executives, pharmaceutical and biotechnology professionals, medical device and health technology specialists, entrepreneurs, consultants and public-sector healthcare leaders.
It is also suitable for professionals seeking to develop applied research in healthcare management and organisational transformation.
Admission is subject to the programme’s academic requirements and candidate assessment process.
Are you ready to turn your professional experience into an original research contribution?
Contact the CEIBA DBA team to discuss eligibility, program availability, academic requirements and the application process.