Archive for January/2012

IE University’s Bachelor in Business Administration has been accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the US-based international accrediting agency for business programs. IE University’s Bachelor in Business Administration thus joins the list of IE Business School programs that have been accredited since 2001.

This means that IE University’s Business Administration Degree now forms part of a select list of programs run by 643 business schools in 43 countries accredited by AACSB in recognition of their faculty’s commitment to academic excellence, continuous improvement, and close ties to global business realities.

“The recognition of the quality of our program by a prestigious international organization like AACSB is a major step forward for our project, aimed at equipping students with the competences they need to map a career in a constantly changing global environment”, said Isabel Sánchez, Vice Rector of IE University and Director of IE’s Bachelor in Business Administration.

IE University’s Bachelor in Business Administration was launched in 2009 and it has a student body comprised of some 200 students from 52 countries.

On January 10th, the IE Venture Day competition kicked-off very early in the morning at Fudan University in Shanghai, where aspiring IE entrepreneurs presented their business plans to a world-renowned panel of VC and Angel investors. This was the first time the IE Venture Day takes a step further delivering its entrepreneurial spirit abroad by launching the project in the Asian “hub”. The Venture Day is part of the IE Venture Lab which is the vehicle for preparing IE Business School student and alumni startups for pitches in different VC and Angel investor locations.

The Business Plan presentations included projects in micro finance, renewable energy, tourism, electric cars, theme parks, medical devices, biotechnology, agriculture, education, internet platforms and social media. The winner of this edition was the team of Medsynch, a new concept for health monitoring system. Some investors highlighted that all the Business Plans from the IE students were truly representative of the IE Business School approach to entrepreneurship and of its commitment to supporting new and disruptive ideas among the investors. In fact, during the event, one of the teams, XXBB (a social platform for Chinese mothers) has received a proposal from one the investors in the panel!

The IE Venture Day included as well a presentation from a local Angel Investor: The guest speaker, as well as a Jury member for the event was Mr. James Tan, a well-known Angel investor based in Beijing and Singapore who addressed the group on Startup Activity in China. Mr. Tan is Co- Founder of 55tuan and Managing Partner of QuestVC. QuestVC is a venture capital firm with offices in Beijing and Singapore that invests and incubates companies at the seed and angel stage. James is co-founder and former COO of 55Tuan, the largest social e-commerce site in China with 5,000 employees across 200 cities. Prior to this, James was in the technology and financial sectors with companies in the Singapore Technologies group and JPMorgan Chase.

Meet some of IE University’s students as they talk about settling in and their impressions during the first few days at IE’s campus in Segovia. Video produced by IE University’s Media Lab.

By Eliran Drucker, IE International MBA 2011 graduate

You don’t value your freedom when you are a student. Any deliverable seems like a major issue that intervenes with any minute of awakens during your day, you are full with guilt and your conscious works extra hours. On the other hand, can you imagine having at least one week off every three months and whole August free when you are a full time employee? It just hit me while I was seating in my graduation ceremony of IE’s International MBA program – this year is over and although I was appreciating my time as a student during the program, I’ll probably value it more when I get back to work. It’s not only about the freedom, is about having an exceptional opportunity to live in an amazing city with a group of excellent people always around you.

My friends – the next generation of global senior executives were walking on stage getting the applauses they deserve, the spirit of our intake was preserved even at that moments, such a great people, it is hard to believe we won’t have the opportunity to sit in the same classroom again. We finish by saying the Spanish traditional “viva el Rey!” and went to meet our beloved ones.

Then, for the first time in this year, I managed to come back from a party at 7am like a real Madrileño. The key is efficient use of the open bar and huge amounts of goodbyes… we are so  used to seeing each other frequently on different venues and occasions and it feels strange that starting tomorrow, we might be thousand miles away. Why can’t we all work at the same company?

The OCSC and IE are partnering in order to offer candidates who participate in the 2012 OCSC International Education EXPO the opportunity to study at a top tier academic institution in the European Union, and do so with access to an OCSC-specific scholarship program. Only participants who participate in the fair and who register with the IE representative will be elegible to apply. The available scholarships are as listed below, and to learn more about the 2012 OCSC International Education EXPO see there web site at www.ocscexpo.net.

Scholarships for IE Business School Programs
One (1) scholarship of 8.500€ for a Master in Management
One (1) scholarship of 15.000€ for a International MBA

Scholarships for IE Law School Programs
One (1) scholarship of 8.500€ for a Master in International Legal Practice (LLM)

Scholarships for IE School of Arts and Humanities Programs
One (1) scholarship of 8.500€ for a Master in International Relations

Scholarships for IE School of Communication Programs
One (1) scholarship of 7.500€ for either the Master in Corporate Communication, Master in Digital Journalism, Master in Political Communication, or the Master in Visual Media Communication

Scholarships for IE School of Social & Behavioral Science Programs
One (1) scholarship of 7.500€ for either the Master in Marketing Research and Consumer Behavior or the Master in Environmental Management

To learn more about the scholarships and study opportunities at IE contact singapore@ie.edu, or see the Asia Pacific Blog at http://asiapacific.blogs.ie.edu/.

Also, check out the OCSC Expo Facebook page (OCSC EXPO).

Luis de Guindos, an economist at IE Business School and director of the PwC and IE Business School Center for the Finance Sector, has been appointed Spain’s new Minister of Finance and Competitiveness.

“IE Business School is very proud that one of our prominent experts has been appointed Finance Minister for Spain’s new government”, says Santiago Íñiguez de Onzoño, Dean of IE Business School.

Luis de Guindos has taught economy on IE’s senior management programs and served as director of the PwC & IE Business School Center for the Finance Sector since February of 2010. The Center, unique in Spain and independent of banks, examines the future challenges facing the Spanish and international finance sector, including new regulations and monitoring mechanisms.

Luis de Guindos has extensive experience in Spanish and international economy in both the public and private sector. His previous positions include Secretary of State for Economy under José María Aznar,  partner of AB Asesores, and president of Lehman Brothers for Spain and Portugal. De Guindos holds a degree in economic and business studies and belongs to Spain’s prestigious Cuerpo de Técnicos Comerciales y Economistas del Estado (National Association for Trade Experts and State Economists).