Archive for November/2011

On December 1^st IE Business School and the Saudi-Spanish Center for Islamic Economics and Finance will host the conference “Islamic Finance in the 21st Century” to be held in Madrid. We are delighted to have on this occasion the presence of H.E. Dr. Ahmad M. Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, who will talk about the future of Islamic Finance and its increasing importance in economic development in the world today. The roundtable will be completed experts representing business, academia, and government officials to debate issues on new ways of expanding Islamic Finance in the 21st century. The delegates will share their knowledge and insight in contemporary issues and best practice guide to use Islamic finance successfully into practical projects.

For more information about the agenda, please check the official webpage.

Jem Bendell, visiting professor at IE Business School recently participated in TEDx Transmedia and talked about the money myth. Interesting thoughts… a little frightening though.

Applying to business school can be a tough slog. With all the information that is out there, it’s hard to even find time to dedicate to your resumé, essays and application form. You could be forgiven, therefore, for eschewing the opportunity to attend an information session or master class held by your university of choice. A recent post on the Forté Forum, however, recommends these events as the perfect opportunity to gain an insight into the school and lists three key ways to leverage these sessions in your favor. Click here to read.

In Asia we are regularly offering information sessions, master classes, 121 meetings. Just watch our events calendar on www.ie.edu/events and join us.

The IE Masters in Finance portfolio is expanding adding the Executive Master in Finance bi-weekly and the Global Master in Finance. Both programs enable the possibility to combine the professional development with the educational experience. As a immediate benefit, the learning can be applied on a daily basis in the job. The Master in Finance and Master in Advanced Finance provide a full academic experience conducted within 1 year in Madrid.

Here are some more details and the links:

• Master in Advanced Finance- starting in January 2012- 12 months duration
• Master in Finance – starting in September 2012 -  10 months duration
• Global Master in Finance- starting in October 2012 -  14 months duration
• Executive Master in Finance Bi-weekly  – starting in February 2012 – 13 months duration

Despite the differences in the student profile and program delivery, all Master in Finance program share the following common features:

• Ranked #2 in first ever FT Masters in Finance ranking
• IE Business School – CFA Partnership (Finance full-time programs – CFA program partners)
• Faculty – 93% practitioners
• Well-rounded academic content: 120 core classes and 80 electives
• Technology Savvy – Trading Room, Bloomberg, Factset, Matlab, Zoologic
• Entrepreneurial focus – VC, Finance start ups, PE

Besides the information on the web, IE encourage interested candidates to join the upcoming virtual session dedicated to these Masters. Please register here. Please also see our blogs Blog Masters in Finance blog and see Mr. Ignacio de la Torre, Academic Director of the Masters in Finance at IE talking about our Master in Finance. Please click here.

There are many “online learning models” named online programs, distance-learning programs, internet-facilitated programs. IE’s innovative blended education format, however, combines the best techniques of traditional face-to-face education with technology-supported online interactive learning, making it a world-class learning experience recognized by international media and by highly satisfied alumni.

Check this out and let us know if you wish to learn more!

The IE Careers Department is celebrating today the first virtual career fair aimed at graduates and alumni interested in working in the Luxury, Cosmetics and Fashion Industries. Participating companies are Beiersdorf (Nivea), Desigual, Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti), Gucci, Loewe, L’Oreal, Mango, P&G and Richemont Group.

More than 100 positions in 8 different countries are accessible – but, sorry, for IE only!

Have you ever had a security problem with your computer?

Currently there are many out there, such as viruses, spyware and malware. These are regularly called security attacks. Certainly, most of you have encountered one of these.

If you think about it, this may be a disaster for end-users, but it’s an even bigger problem for a company due to the amount of information needed for their daily operations. Companies therefore need to be aware of the latest security measures for their IT systems.

Should we get some advice from an IT security expert? Some might think so… Of course you should, but through this simulator, you will be able to tell what the most common IT security measures are, what their main purpose are, their limitations so you can really understand what is going on and what your company needs.

Check out the simulator by following link, learn and play the final game where you have to keep the IT system safe while accessing the web. Click here to access

This is just one of a large number of interactive resources you will see in IE’s classes; visit the IE multimedia documentation catalogue to experience more.

Contrary to popular belief, Steve Jobs was not a great inventor, but rather a great re-inventor, capable of transforming existing products like the mobile phone or MP3 to make life easier for the user.There are certain battles we human beings know we can’t win – at least for now. We all knew that Steve Jobs was going to die: first, because although he may have seemed to be immortal, he wasn’t. And second, because the gap between cancer and technology means that cancer is still cancer, and when it goes badly, you can’t beat it, even with all the means in the world at your disposal. It is very possible that many of the obituaries we have read recently in the press were actually written months ago. When a person with a reputation for being a born worker with a vocation stays at the helm of Apple until so recently, despite such obvious physical decline, you tend to think the worst when he finally takes the decision to stop working, namely that he must be in a very bad way. Read more…

Aleksandra, current student of the Master in International Management, talks about her experiences during the Master.

Hi Aleksandra! Start off by telling us about yourself…
Hello! My name is Aleksandra! I’m a girl from Cleveland, USA, with Serbian blood, heart, and soul. I did my Bachelor degree in International Business at the University of Akron, USA, and now I am in beautiful Madrid pursuing my passion in international business and management. I first fell in love with Spain when I lived for a summer in Sevilla (southern Spain, in Andalusia). Having that daily magical influence of exquisite Arab architecture, centuries upon centuries of Roman, Jewish, and Moorish history at every step, and the daily siesta coma that apparently comes with the arrival stamp in your passport, the Spanish summer heat just ignited my passion for this land. Did I mention that I also love the culture, language, and zeal for life here in Spain?!

Great stuff, do you have an interesting fact or story to share with us?
I started learning Arabic during my last semester of university! I loved it… but haven’t done it since. It’s such a beautiful language to write!

What are the kinds of things you admire in a person?
I admire people who “dare to be themselves in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity….. Since these are the choices that measure your life” (author unknown). Read more…

IE Focus | By Fernando Fernandez, professor at IE Business School

The IMF’s absurd proposal to buy debt from threatened European countries like Spain or Italy would have made it into a hedge fund, and it would have been developing countries that paid the price.Ever since the Mexico peso crisis resulted in the so called tequila effect in the early nineties, the International Monetary Fund has been trying to find the formula to prevent financial contagion. To be more specific, it has been searching for the way to stop financial market dynamics from unfairly impacting countries that have no serious solvency problems, but which will end up having them if they fall out of favor with investors, who then pull out en masse causing spiraling debt differentials coupled with a credit crunch. But what it has not done so far is to suggest that it should serve as a highly speculative investment fund that would intervene directly in the debt market, stockpiling the currencies of countries under threat. This is exactly what Portugal’s Antonio Borges, the inexperienced head of the European Department, proposed. The suggestion was only on the table for the space of a few hours, because it was such a ridiculous idea, so out of synch with the nature and functions of the IMF, that he had to withdraw it before the end of the day. Read more…