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IE University and Bancaja have signed a collaboration agreement to create the Bancaja Chair in Young Entrepreneurs, aimed at promoting the entrepreneurial mindset among IE University students. The Chair will make IE part of a project that already comprises 34 chairs in universities throughout Spain, whereby Bancaja fosters the entrepreneurial spirit on university campuses. The Chair will be headed by Dr. Cristina Cruz, professor of entrepreneurial management and family business at IE. 

The management education calendar for the first phase includes workshops on entrepreneurship at the IE University campus. IE University students will have the opportunity to draft a business plan supervised by professors from IE, which enjoys world renown for its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to management education. The Bancaja Chair will organize dissemination events, including the sponsorship of the Second European Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium (SEEC) at IE University, which serves as a platform for entrepreneurs and researchers to present social entrepreneurship initiatives run by international universities. Chair heads will also be coordinating projects and research in the field of entrepreneurship, addressing issues like the impact of the economic crisis on entrepreneurial activity in Spain, based on the experience of Spanish entrepreneurs. 

Cristina Cruz, director of the Chair at IE, said that the project was a source of great satisfaction for IE Business School. “We are delighted that banks like Bancaja are helping promote the entrepreneurial spirit, a field on which we have placed a special focus for over 35 years now, based on our conviction that entrepreneurship is an engine for the creation of employment, wealth, and social well-being.”

The prominent author and blogger explains how the internaut, the indisputable star of the web, has become a web actor 

Internet is currently undergoing a fascinating transformation process that is fast becoming a revolution thanks to web users, the indisputable stars of this change. Users participate, express themselves, exchange knowledge, create social networks and are the first to break news stories thanks to new tools like Twitter or Facebook. The phenomenon of web 2.0, a term coined by experts, was today the central theme of the address given by researcher and IS and communication Guru Francis Pisani, at IE School of Communication at IE University.   

Based in San Francisco, Pisani is considered one of most influential bloggers and "thinking heads" worldwide in the field of the impact of the cybernetic world on our day-to-day lives and on business. He is a visiting professor at IE University and serves as guest speaker at institutions like Stanford University or the University of California at Berkeley.   

A columnist for press agencies like El País and Le Monde, Francis Pisani has brought many of the aspects that are revolutionizing the web to the discussion table, aspects that have turned the internaut into a web actor. The user is now the real star thanks to the many opportunities offered by the internet, like the creation of web content and communities, and the growth of e-trade. Pisani explains how all this has a direct impact on the global economy, on business and on journalism,  how we are on the brink of a transformation that will change our lives and the key components of which are basically social networking, and new information and communication technologies.    

Pisani wanted his address at IE University to be an interactive event for the students of IE School of Communication, who asked the expert numerous questions related to the future of digital journalism and the professional opportunities that this new scenario would bring.  

Pisani was joined by the dean of IE School of Communication, Samuel Martín-Barbero, the writer and associate professor of IE University, Eduardo Martínez-Rico, and the IE School of Communication program director, Begoña González Cuesta.

The blogosphere phenomenon, the current status of digital journalism and emerging trends in web 2.0 were just some of the issues addressed during a workshop focused on the theme of "Bloggers and/or digital journalists", organized by IE School of Communication. The event brought together opinion leaders, professionals from the field of journalism, members of faculty and students from IE School of Communication to debate related issues at the Segovia campus.   

Participants included Borja Echevarría (Soitu.es), Ignacio Cardero (el confidencial.com), Daniel Martín (laestrelladigital.es), Manuel Bonachela (eleconomista.es), Ignacio Esteban (EFE-Multimedia), Natalia Martín (blog-RTVE), Pedro Cifuentes and Óscar Crespo (IE School of Communication).  The inaugural session, "Journalism in times of conflict", was led by Javier Farjé (BBC World Service Trust) and moderated by Samuel Martín Barbero, dean of IE School of Communication.  

The question was raised of whether Blogs constitute a threat or an opportunity for journalists. The proliferation of bloggers – there are an estimated 49 million  blogs on the Internet- and digital journalism are challenging what has been the reserve of traditional journalism for centuries, and now maintained mainly by the “old guard” made up of veteran journalists reluctant to use new communication tools. The dean of IE School of Communication, Samuel Martín-Barbero believes that “journalists are now faced with an identity crisis with the surge of this cybernetic phenomenon”.   

Ignacio Esteban, from EFE, feels that credibility marks the fundamental difference between the two mediums and highlighted the fact that “confidence, veracity, rigor and contrasting sources are the hallmarks of his profession. He added that the challenge now facing EFE does not consist of embracing the use of the so-called “citizen’s journalism”, but rather of ensuring that professionals in the field of journalism know how to use these new tools. Borja Echevarría, associate director of Soitu.es, believes it is possible to combine journalistic rigor with internet philosophy, i.e. immediate coverage, and makes no distinction between paper and digital journalists. Echeverría says that traditional Spanish media is not yet fully prepared to integrate new technologies into journalism and that they have to change to meet new needs. “The problem with blogs is not a question of the medium, but rather one of veracity and credibility. People who demonize the world of blogs are making a big mistake”.   

RTVE blogger Natalia Martín defended citizen’s journalism “because it is a way of feeling reality”. Javier Farjé, a BBC journalist, replied that democratizing journalism could have negative effects for both the public and professionals, while Ignacio Cardero from el confidencial.com stated that “citizens are not journalists, and blogs cannot be compared with an online newspaper”.  

All the experts agreed that journalism has taken a new direction from which there is no turning back. Journalism on the web is moving forward at a vertiginous pace, providing communication students with magnificent opportunities to give rein to their entrepreneurial spirit and all their talent in a profession that still has a great future.

IE University co-sponsored the 2008 ACPE (Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in Spain) Awards, presented yesterday in Madrid. The recipients of the awards this year were: Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Mayor of Madrid and President of Madrid 2016, in the politics category; The Bank of Spain, for its regulatory rigor, in the economy category; Expo Zaragoza 2008, for its international and ecological approach, in the culture category; and the Spanish football selection, for its team spirit, in the Sports category. The awards recognise the excellence of persons, institutions or sporting events in their respective fields, and their relevance from a press perspective. Founded in 1923, ACPE members currently comprise 110 foreign correspondents accredited in Spain, from all five continents.   

The ceremony was attended by key players in Spanish politics, including Spanish Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, and Spanish Secretary of State for Communication, Nieves Goicoechea. It was co-sponsored by IE University and Repsol YPF, represented by Diego del Alcázar, president of IE, and Jaume Giró, general director of communication at Repsol YPF.

IE University is playing an active role in the fourth excavation campaign at the Monthemhat burial site in el-Assasif, Luxor, Egypt. Monthemhat was Governor of High Egypt (670-648 BC) and the fourth Prophet of Amon, and his mummified remains lie somewhere in one of the largest and most complex burial sites in Western Thebes, Egypt. IE University researchers are working with experts from Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, under the supervision of Dr. Farouk Gomaà from Tübingen University, to pinpoint the exact location of the mummy, which has survived attacks by tomb raiders over the centuries and resisted to date the attempts of archaeological expeditions to find it. Archaeological studies and fieldwork at the site are being led by IE University professor Emilio Illarregui.  

The team is using a latest generation geo-radar to reveal hidden items and buried chambers. Coupled with tomographs, 3D scanners and radiodiagnostic aparatus, the radar is playing a major role in advancing this fourth excavation campaign. The geo-radar findings published yesterday in Madrid are positive and augur well for key discoveries over the next two weeks.

The excavations of the burial site of Monthemhat, also known as the King of Thebaid, have brought to light several important discoveries, including the sarcophagus of Nesptah, one of his sons. Researchers have also revealed that raiders had already found the remains of this wife. Monthemhat’s mummy has so far eluded archaeologists, who believe it may be buried under the actual burial site. The fact that the site comprises a total of fifty seven chambers constructed around two impressive courtyards serves to evidence the power held by the governor. “The tomb is more like that of a pharaoh than a high ranking civil servant”, says Professor Illarregui. “Each discovery is a step forward in piecing together our knowledge of a crucial period of Ancient Egyptian History.”

The archaeologists gained access to the underground chambers through 15 meter-deep wells and an intricate labyrinth where the lack of oxygen and colonies of bats hindered progress. The use of latest generation technologies to find underground chambers is key to advancing this fourth edition of excavations. A team comprising several MDs, a radiologist and a biologist are using a latest generation X-ray device, courtesy of Philips, to obtain X-rays of 40 mummies found in the tomb. Scientists are also creating a tri-dimensional reconstruction of the burial site using a 3D scanner, enabling a highly detailed virtual image of the site which will permit the analysis of the burial chambers from thousands of miles away.  

The project is financed by IE University, the Bonastre Foundation and Universidad Internacional SEK.