Creating Mindful Professionals: Well-Being in Practice Workshop

The IE Center for Well-Being and Happiness and IE Business School introduced the new Well-Being in Practice workshop, designed to foster self-awareness and help students gauge the impact their emotions have on their wellness.

The pilot program launched in all undergrad and some master programs in IE Business School this semester and will expand to all other IE University schools and programs over the course of the next year.

“Well-being in Practice is a workshop to build awareness about student well-being, the interconnection of body-mind-soul and to leverage the science of positive emotions to cultivate ownership and action around well-being.”
Lisa Bevill, Academic Director of the Center for Health, Well-being and Happiness

The director said the workshop, comprising two sessions over a three week period, equips students with practical knowledge to deal with an increasingly demanding society and continuously invest in themselves.

“Our mission is to proactively and intentionally support students in cultivating the skills and confidence to be their best, to continuously thrive through learning and to feel the confidence in who they are and how they manage the challenges and changes of life,” said Bevill.

She said one of the primary goals is to foster positive emotions, connection and practice to align what is important in life to students’ behavior, as well as to strengthen their ability to manage themselves.

One of the main topics students discussed was the PERMA-H model (a key framework developed by Dr. Martin Seligman, considered the father of Positive Psychology): Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment and Health.

Participants applauded the inclusion of well-being education as part of their academic program and stressed the overarching benefits of the course.

“Modern life leaves little spare room to devote to ourselves, especially to take care of our well-being. When we finally decide to pay attention to our wellness, we realize that usually, we are ill-equipped for the task,” said Rodrigo Granovsly, Global Online MBA (GOMBA) student. “The workshop provided valuable advice to practice well-being. However, as with all other relevant aspects of life, it requires practice.”

GOMBA student Saki Kozai said the timing of the workshop has already proved practical.

“It was a great opportunity to learn about well-being at the beginning of my MBA program because it would be challenging to balance MBA, work, and parenting for me. Learning the tips to stay healthy physically and mentally will definitely help me during the program,” Kozai said.

One of IE Business School’s critical missions for students is guiding every individual towards defining their Next Best You and working together to shape an achievable plan to pursue it.

Students were asked to produce their own personal well-being plan while using a holistic approach. In their plan, each student considered their strengths and where they wanted to focus to improve their well-being.

“This workshop is one example of the importance we place on how working well means not just delivering on results but fostering the well-being of the people we work with,” said IE Business School Dean Lee Newman.