Archive for April/2008

Online education has a long and winding history. Initially regarded by many institutes as a very interesting option to lower costs and offer students a way to learn with interactive materials, it evolved into something that could be described as “education on steroids” â?? in a regular classroom, time with the professor is limited.

Once a student raises ones hand, the professor can either notice or not. In many cases, the number of people raising their hands can be quite high and itâ??s just impossible to allocate time for all of them. The student can ask a question or talk for only two to three minutes as the classmates may start to get nervous.

The professor has a split second to think about the question, and is forced to reply immediately â?? no real time connection from the brain to the Web has been invented yet. Finally, when it comes to grading, the professor may or may not recall that brilliant intervention from the student, and may or may not introduce it in the grade.

Now compare that to online education. At IE Business School a student sends a message to the online forum. The professor can either reply right away or send the question back to the forum for other students to build on it.

The dialogue can be much richer, diverse, involve more participants and one can build more knowledge and perhaps generate questions or lessons that could create new threads. In the end, when it comes to grading, everything is there, in the forum or digital drop box, waiting to be evaluated. The difference, is the richness of the digital medium â?? something that can really make a difference given the special characteristics of executive education, where students generally donâ??t have to memorize formulas or equations. Read more…

April 2008 | By Francisco Lopez Lubian, Professor of Finance at IE Business School

The subprime crisis, which began with problems of liquidity, is now a confidence and profit crisis with a marked impact on the real economy. The virtuous circle could be turning vicious.

The financial crisis unleashed last summer was previously announced and summarised by reports from international organisations such as the IMF and the BIS. Essentially, the message at the time was: the real economy, fine; but be careful with the excesses of the financial economy.

At present, can we confirm that the crisis is essentially financial or are we in a situation where the elements necessary for a perfect storm have been blown together?

One summary of the facts could be the following:

1) Recent years of expansive monetary policy with negative interest rates in real terms, which has allowed intense growth in consumerism and investment (homes, corporate takeovers) based on significant family and corporate leverage.
2) A widespread development of financial products, especially credit risk transfer (CDS, CLO/CDO), on both a national and international scale.
3) An increase in the securitisation of credits, which has enabled an apparent alienation of risk and profits obtained simply from the structure.
4) The purchase of this securitised debt by investors who were looking for a higher level of profitability than that offered by the traditional markets on a scenario of very low interest rates. Read more…

The Executive Education Division of IE Business School is organising for its clients a workshop regarding â??Business opportunities in Asia: 3 countries, 3 visionsâ? which will be held next Thursday, April 17 at 19:00 pm at IE Business School.

The following speakers will share their views with the participants:
CHINA: Will be represented by Mr Marcelo Muñoz, a Spanish entrepreneur who has been doing business in China for the past 30 years and who is the author of the book â??El Enigma Chinoâ?
INDIA: Will be represented by Mrs.Isabel Salsamendi, General Manager Partner of the consulting firm TARAZAGA, who among other things helps Spanish companies that want to get established or do business in India.
VIETNAM: Will be represented by Mr. Nguyen Van Phu the Trade Counsellor of Vietnam Embassy in Spain.
The workshop will be moderated by Professor Juan Carlos Martínez Lázaro, professor in the area of economy at IE.

We will discuss business opportunities in 3 countries (China, India and Vietnam) from 3 points of view: an entrepreneur, a consulting firm and a Government representative.The purpose of the workshop is to encourage business transactions with these 3 countries as well as networking among participants in the workshop.

For those who can’t assist, there is the possibility of following the conference on-line. Using the following link: http://conference.ie.edu/aaieasiaenglish
Chose the option Enter as Guest and introduce your name.

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus is reputed to have spent time in the ancient city of Segovia in Spain in the late 15th century, postulating that, since the world was spherical, one could discover trade routes to Asia by traveling west.

It is perhaps fitting then that IE Business School, the Madrid-based business school, has chosen Segovia as the location to further its plans for global expansion.

Although the machinations of mergers and acquisitions are part of the bedrock of business school teaching, it is a rare establishment that practices what it preaches. Last Thursday, however, IE put in place the final piece of the jigsaw surrounding its acquisition of the private Spanish university SEK in Segovia, which it announced in January last year, by unveiling the restructured institution and the names of those who would be in charge.

IE Higher Education, as the new institution will be called, is looking to capture the global post-graduate and professional market, says Santiago Iniguez, who retains his job as dean of IE Business School but also becomes rector of IE Higher Education.

“We require all degrees to have a course on management,” he says. “The philosophy is that management is behind every profession.”

The new educational institution will have four schools: the business school (degree programmes); executive education; IE University, which will house the undergraduate degrees; and IE postgraduate schools – law, architecture, organisational psychology, communications and history of art.

The business school is by far the biggest chunk of the new university, with an income of â?¬62m (£49.5m) – the rest of the university has revenues of less than one fifth of that. In five years, however, Prof Iniguez is hoping for an income from the combined institution of between â?¬120m and â?¬130m.

His plans are ambitious. Within two years, he hopes to double the size of the faculty to 220. Most significantly, he says, is that professors will be recruited to join a single faculty that will teach across all programmes. “The idea is to exploit the synergies [between the different subjects].”

Some 80 per cent of these programmes will be postgraduate degrees and executive education, and all new degree programmes will be taught in English. But he also hopes to break the mould by using blended learning, a combination of online and face-to-face tuition, at undergraduate level. IE Business School has used this kind of teaching practice to good effect in its Executive MBA programmes but it is an unproved medium at undergraduate level for students who are 18 or 19 years old.

Prof Iniguez argues that this technology will enable these younger students to spend six months of the year in their home country and the rest in Segovia, which will be home to the undergraduate degrees (postgraduate degrees will be taught in Madrid). This will enable the new institution to meet its target of having 80 per cent non-Spanish nationals in its student body.

One of the first programmes to be announced is that of an undergraduate degree in business. “This will complete our strategy to be a full-service business school,” says Prof Iniguez.

Original published by Financial Times, April 14.

Segovia, April 10 2008 â?? Following the acquisition of a Spanish university by the IE Higher Education group in January of 2007, the rollout of IE University has now officially commenced. The University project has been conceived to provide an academically rigorous but innovative approach to undergraduate and post graduate education, initially focused on disciplines that include architecture, humanities and liberal arts and communication. The institution will be developed around the core values of an international outlook, innovation at the heart of learning, and the utilization of new technologies, imbuing students with an entrepreneurial mindset and a humanitarian spirit.

Why a new model?
The processes of globalization have created pressures and opportunities that require innovative resolutions and solutions. With an ever increasing demand from both business and society for committed, socially aware, change agents the University will help participants to understand the changing demands of the world around them. Housed in the 12^th century Monastery of Santa Cruz la Real, IE university fuses traditional academic disciplines with the highly innovative approaches to management developed at IE Business School. This will provide young scholars with the opportunity to develop their thinking in a highly international environment, working in cross-cultural, diverse teams, to find solutions to the complex questions of the 21^st century.

With the expected increase in the number of students seeking higher education programs outside their home countries following the standardization of education systems throughout Europe as part of the Bologna accord, IE University will be positioned to provide a high quality international offering. The aim is to have 70% of students drawn from outside Spain within two years.

How does it function?
Utilizing multi-disciplinary learning methodologies which bring together online and presential formats, the university aims to shape a new model of knowledge dissemination. The focus is on a more open and collaborative style of learning and knowledge creation. Through the historic buildings of Segovia and the cutting edge online campus, the university has been designed to work within a wider social agenda, seeking to actively participate in and shape major global debates. There will be a single faculty for the entire institution. Faculty for the University and the Business school will operate in an interdisciplinary, cross departmental manner, promoting new models for research and teaching

â??We are looking to build a continental Oxford, characterized by academic rigor and quality, whilst remaining focused on solving the issues we see around us today and in the future. With this ambitious project we are seeking to create a new university model, where the professors and knowledge flow amongst the different disciplines, programs and mediums. We will give our students a global vision, creating enterprising, innovative professionals with a strong sense of social awareness. We have felt the demand for this already from companies and individuals, but feel that we can take a more active role in the key discussions in societyâ? commented Santiago Iñiguez, Rector of IE University.

What programs will be offered?

The programs offered by the University have all been designed to comply with the regulations set out in the Bologna Accord. Initial programs will include Bachelor degrees in Communication and Architecture. For the 2009 academic year Bachelor degrees in Organizational Psychology, Business administration, Business and Law, Law, Law and International relations. There will also be a number of Masters programs in the areas of architecture, communication, psychology, law and humanities. Modules in Management and the Humanities will form a core element of all the degree programs at IE University.

Senior Management Team
Santiago Iñiguez, the highly respected Dean of IE Business School will be taking up the position of Rector of IE University. His tenure as Dean at IE has been marked by the school achieving global recognition for its Management programs, positioning the school as one of Europeâ??s top business schools. His aim is to leverage the methodologies and capabilities developed at the Business School to help create a new model for higher education in Europe. A number of other Respected academics from IE Business School will take up a number of key positions; Vice-Rector of faculty, Salvador Carmona, Vice-Rector of research, Gayle Allard and Vice-Rector of administration, Juan Luis Martinez will be key members of the Senior management team.

IE Higher Education
IE University is a standalone entity within the IE Higher Education group. The group is comprised of IE University, IE Business School, and IE Executive Education. Each of the entities operates separately although the faculty is centralized for the group. The President of the group is Diego Alcazar, founder of IE Business School.

The International Advisory Board of IE Business School held its annual meeting on March 14 at the IE University* Santa Cruz de la Real campus in Segovia.

The event was held in Segovia for the first time to analyze the activities of IEâ??s managing bodies following the integration of the University. The order of the day of the meeting in Segovia examined management of the business school and university over the last year. IE University* has formed part of IE since January 2007.

The IE Business School International Advisory Board serves as a consulting body dedicated to preserving and promoting the levels of academic excellence, quality and prestige of IE Business School. Advisory board members make recommendations to the schoolâ??s executive committee with regard to strategic objectives and new initiatives, in response to the needs of the business and law communities. The IE Business School International Advisory Board provides an education model for leaders in the fields of business and law in the different phases of their careers based on global vision, with a marked emphasis on entrepreneurialism and a firm commitment to innovation, information technologies and applied research projects.

IEâ??s International Advisory Board comprises 55 key players from the worlds of business and law, including Reto Francioni, CEO of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange; Federico Castellanos, world vice president of HR for IBM; Carl Hahn, former world president of Volkswagen; Alberto Sánchez Palazuelos, president of the board of directors of ASP & Asociados; Giuseppe Tringali, CEO of PubliEspaña; Bassim Jai Okimi, President of Atlamed; Blake Winchell, partner of Fremont Ventures; Peter Cornell, partner of Clifford Chance; John O´Brien, partner of Sullivan & Cromwell; Kofi Appenteng, partner of West Africa Fund, and Romana Sadurska, partner of Uría & Menéndez..

â??It is an honor to be able to hold this board meeting at the new IE University in Segovia and to see first-hand the campus where many IE projects are set to runâ?, said Giuseppe Tringali, member of the IE International Advisory Board, and CEO of Publiespaña and Telecinco publicity.

*Name pending official approval

The ecologIE team at IE Business School is excited to announce the launch of the ecologIE website! This presence online will become a centralized point of reference for ecologIE activities, environmental news, organizations, and other schools involved with the environment and sustainability.

At the same time, the ecologIE team launched the ecologIE Film Series which will be inaugurated by the international NGO Oceana. The first event in the ecologIE Film Series, promoting movies and short films focused on topics that combine environmental and business issues, is set for Tuesday, 15 April at 18:00h in rooms 001 and 002 (c/ Serrano, 105). There will be a brief presentation given by three representatives from Oceana followed by four short documentaries. Please see their website for further details.

IE Business School and Everis have launched a research report on financial closing processes and all the factors that enable better management in this field. The observatory on Information for Boards of Directors created by IE and Everis will oversee the project.

The report will cover each phase of financial closing, providing a detailed vision that will help organizations achieve more precision in terms of data, while shortening the preparation cycle and reducing costs. The initiative is a direct response to the demand for greater financial information, coupled with more organizational and control data. Corporate reporting is a critical process for any firm and, ultimately, for its board of directors, who need said information to take decisions and provide markets with essential information.

â??Financial information is not only important for corporate administrators to be able to gauge the situation and take decisions, it also enables the company to keep markets and different stakeholders informedâ?, explains Tomás Garicano, Director of the Observatory. â??Information not only has to be totally reliable, but every care must be taken with regard to the money and time spent obtaining itâ?.

Everis partner, Luis Ramos affirms that â??the fundamental objective is to identify the parts of the process that can be improved and activities that enable optimization of the time and HR resources employed in financial closing, as well as the quality of information. We also aim to use this analysis to establish best practices, in collaboration with participating companies. Moreover, it will serve as an exercise in benchmarking, bringing opportunities for improvement for our clientsâ??.

The Observatory on Information for Boards of Directors has created a coordination committee comprised of Luis Ramos and Iván Ruiz, directors at Everis; Santiago Iñiguez, Dean of IE Business School; and Tomás Garicano, Director of the Observatory and professor of IE Business School.

IE Business School will host in Singapore an Insight Session on English taught programs and the IE experience. In this presentation, we will make a special emphasis on programs which do not require previous work experience – Master in Management (Marketing, International Management, Biotechnology, Telecom & Digital Business), Master in Finance, Master in International Relations, Master in International Legal Practice).

Date: April 16, 2008 â?? Monday
Time: 19:00 â?? 21:00
Venue: Raffles City Convention Centre, Minto Room, 2 Stamford Road (City Hall MRT)

Gaining an insight into IE will enable you to discover:

• The distinctive IE approach and teaching methodology
• What life is like in Madrid, one of Europe’s most vibrant capital cities
• More about financing and scholarships

If you wish to register, you can just respond this message to me or register on our web on http://www.ie.edu/eng/sobreie/suscripcion_eventos_2.asp?id=6347. Feel free to forward this post to friends or classmates who wish to explore more about IE.

Since its launch three years ago, the core philosophy behind The BlackBerry® Women and Technology Awards remains unchanged. Blackberry wants others to be as passionate about technology as they are.
The BlackBerry Women and Technology Awards will honour the achievements of women, both within and beyond the IT sector. Blackberry believes there are many leaders in the technology sector today that inspire a new generation of women who may be considering a career in technology.

In this year edition, Dr. Celia de Anca formed part of the judging panel for the Blackberry Woman and Technology Awards held on March 11 in London. De Anca is the only non-UK member of the panel to date. Dr. Celia de Anca is Director of the Centre for Diversity at IE Business School in Madrid and is a member of the school’s Executive Board. A PhD graduate from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Celia co-authored Managing Diversity in the Global Organization published by Macmillian in 2007. Celia is also an external advisor to Merrill Lynch’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, a member of Morgan Stanley’s Ethics Fund Committee and the International Scientific Committee of the University Euromed in Marseille.