CAS Business Resilience

Why do crises escalate faster and more unpredictably today than they used to? And why do they differ fundamentally from classic management problems? In Module 1, you sharpen your understanding of the drivers behind global disruption. You learn to classify risks, crises, and complex problems systematically, and to choose the right logic for leadership and decision-making.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You know the key global transformation drivers, including geopolitics, technology, ecology, economics, society, and regulation, and how they affect your organization.
• You distinguish between simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic situations, and you choose the right leadership logic for each.
• You analyze the interplay between strategy, culture, communication, and stakeholders. You recognize common thinking traps in crises and know how to avoid them in your own leadership.

How do you create strategic orientation when the future can no longer be reliably predicted? In Module 2, you learn the difference between classic forecasting and strategic foresight. You develop the ability to design plausible future scenarios and to translate them into concrete options for your own company.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You distinguish classic forecasting from strategic foresight and apply both approaches purposefully.
• You develop scenarios for your own company and identify opportunities, tensions, and potential tipping points early.
• You use vision, mission, and the balance between exploration and exploitation as levers for future readiness, and you learn to see chance as a strategic opportunity.

What actually makes organizations resilient? In Module 3, you learn that resilience is more than a buzzword or a collection of isolated measures. It’s a multidimensional capability that spans strategic, operational, cultural, and relational dimensions. You learn to clearly distinguish resilience from robustness and agility, and to measure, steer, and build it deliberately.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You know the key success factors of organizational resilience.
• You assess your company’s resilience maturity using suitable indicators, derive priority action areas, and implement them.
• You anchor resilience systematically in your company’s strategy and governance processes.

How do you stay capable of acting during an acute crisis? In Module 4, you build effective crisis management. You link strategy to operational action, and you practice communicating clearly even under pressure and media scrutiny. The module centers on developing a practical crisis management and crisis communication plan for your own company, a plan built not as a rigid document but as a living leadership tool that supports decision-making, coordination, and trust when it matters most.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You know the roles, decision-making authority, and escalation mechanisms of effective crisis management.
• You develop a practical crisis communication plan for your own company.
• You practice engaging with internal and external stakeholders under media pressure, and you learn to formulate consistent, credible messages even under uncertainty.

Leadership, mindset, and corporate culture are often underestimated, but they are decisive factors in crisis readiness. How do you lead with confidence when pressure and uncertainty rise? In Module 5, you explore the psychological dimensions of crises and develop concrete cultural routines that strengthen your company’s resilience.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You understand the psychological effects of uncertainty and loss of control, and you reflect on your own leadership behavior.
• You foster psychological safety and a constructive error culture within your team.
• You use purpose as a cultural anchor for orientation and shared action, and you develop initial organizational routines for your everyday work.

How do you anchor reliable crisis readiness in your company’s culture and daily operations? In Module 6, you strengthen key leadership skills through simulation-based exercises. You build a personal dashboard for resilient leadership and develop a prioritized roadmap for your company.

What you take away from this module (selection):

• You strengthen key leadership skills, such as presence, clarity, and decisiveness, through simulation-based exercises.
• You develop a dashboard that lets you integrate resilience into your strategy and governance processes and review it regularly.
• You develop a prioritized action plan for your own organization.

CHF 12,900. The program fee covers program participation, electronic course materials, refreshments during coffee breaks, examination fees, and the certificate from the University of Bern.

Yes, the program is specifically designed for working professionals. The course days take place Thursday and Friday and are spread over a period of 6 months.

The modules are successfully completed if at least 80 percent of them have been attended. Absences exceeding 20 percent of the module times must be compensated so that the corresponding ECTS points can be recognized.

Students who unfortunately cannot attend class due to illness or an important date conflict have the option of completing their module block with the next class. The final diploma will then be issued accordingly only after completion of this module block.

Rochester-Bern’s continuing education programs are generally aimed at individuals with a university degree and professional experience. In exceptional cases, professionals with equivalent degrees or several years of professional experience may be admitted (admission sur dossier). The decision is made in consultation with the program management.

1) Online registration with application dossier, 2) One admission interview, 3) Registration and preparation after confirmation of admission.

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Business Resilience from the University of Bern.