Archive for July/2009

Enjoy this new video about IE’s social engagement and how we include social entrepreneurship into our Master programs.

IE Focus | By Rafael Puyol, President IE University

The summer is here, bringing with it a series of new hires that could send the budgets of several football clubs into meltdown – strange behavior indeed in the current economic climate.Globalisation has reached football, a sport also affected by the brain drain, the exodus of qualified migrants whose brains are in their feet and whose salaries are in the clouds. The leading clubs increase their diversity with players from all over the world who bring colour to the ethnic fabric of their squad. But dream teams have to be paid for, with astronomical budgets that often take teams to unheard-of levels of debt, a practice which, in times of crisis, is at the very least somewhat unseemly.

Nothing can be done to stop the internationalisation of football, but its impact can be modulated. One good example is FC Barcelona´s policy, with its homegrown manager and a base made up of players from its youth system. Not only has it brought value to the collective effort by a feeling of belonging, but it has also brought excellent results.

I would dare to propose that football should follow the rules of other sports, such as the NBA or car racing, namely a limit to what the teams can spend (which is still a lot) on players or on preparing their vehicles.

The commitment to the youth system, good scouting and the intuition of the underlying quality of a young player cannot be replaced by a cheque book for paying tried and tested players who are more interested in advertising than wearing the shirt of a club they serve as mercenaries.

My team, Sporting de Gijón (I know, I know…) is in no danger of overspending. My other team, Real Madrid, bound as it is to the return of King Midas, would do well to ponder on the good practices of its rivals and bear in mind the maxim that it is more important and more responsible to spend well than to spend a lot.

On July  9, 10 and 11 IE University, in collaboration with the Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium (SEEC), hosted a conference for international experts in Social Entrepreneurship in Segovia.  This event, organized by IE professor Rachida Justo, was the first international workshop in Spain on Social Entrepreneurship.

The conference was joined by experts from over 20 countries, including Germany, Canada, Chile, Denmark, US, Egypt, Holland, India, England, Gambia, Mexico, Norway and Venezuela. They shared knowledge of the challenges and impact on society of social entrepreneurship, an innovative business model that is increasingly widespread.

 

Internationally renowned speakers.

Conference participants comprised academics, social entrepreneurs and key players from the field of social entrepreneurship, including:

 

·         Odón Casadesús, founder of RECICLEM (http://www.reciclem.es), Spain.

 

·         Boyd Cohen, Ph.D., LEED AP, founder and CEO of 3rdwhale.com (www.3rdwhale.com), Canada and US.

 

·         Robert Katz, Knowledge and Communication Associate of Acumen Fund (www.acumenfund.org), US.

 

·         Mareike Hussels, Dutch representative of E+Co, leading firm worldwide in investment in the clean energies sector, focused on development of low income communities (www.eandco.net ), Holland.

 

·         Robert Katz, Knowledge and Communication Associate of Acumen Fund, María Calvo, Director of Ashoka España, Patricia Moreira, General Director of Ayuda en Acción and Javier Martin-Cavanna, President of Compromiso Empresarial.

 

·         Ana Millán, Director of Accenture Foundation España.

 

·         Javier Martín-Cavanna, President of Compromiso Empresarial (http://www.compromisoempresarial.com/ )

·         Patricia Moreira, Executive Director of Ayuda en Acción (www.ayudaenaccion.org)

 

·         María Calvo, Director of Ashoka Spain (http://www.ashoka.org)

 

 

International Social Entrepreneurship Projects

The workshops that comprise the conference included a business plan competition for social and environmentally sustainable business projects. Some 10 student teams from countries that include the US, India, Spain, Gambia, Mexico, and Norway competed in front of an expert panel for a prize of €1,500 and business assessment sponsored by the Accenture Foundation.

 

 

Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium 

SEEC is a non-profit organization founded by Stanford University, MIT and Elon University, and is aimed at people involved in the promotion and creation of social companies and businesses dedicated to research or education in the field of social entrepreneurship. https://www.seecglobal.org/SEEC_Europe.html