Should I buy a CTO Programme from a university?

One of those that costs £3,000 to £20,000+?

My answer is: It depends. (Don’t you hate it when that is the case?!)

The simple answer is this:

If your company pays for it, great! Go for it!

It’s always helpful to meet other CTO types from other companies.

Those relationships could be the spark and beginning of a beautiful and fruitful network!

However — should YOU spend that kind of money if YOU ARE PAYING for it yourself?

This is the key question here!

This is how I would evaluate if this kind of programme is for me (to pay!).

I would ask myself the following questions:

1. What career challenge am I trying to address by going on this programme?

2. Which aspects/topics of this programme make me think it will address this challenge?

3. How likely is it that those aspects/topics of the programme will truly address my challenge (and provide me with value for money I earned with blood, sweat and tears)?

Let’s look at a couple of real examples — same challenge, different CTO programmes, shall we?