IE Business School x NYU Stern: Doing Business in Spain

IE Business School welcomed a group of 27 NYU Stern MBA students for a week-long exchange program as part of an ongoing collaboration between the two universities.

The program, Doing Business in Spain, focused on developing a thorough understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the tech-entrepreneurship ecosystem in Spain and Europe via a series of lectures, master classes, round tables and company talks.

As part of the course, the global financial services group BBVA issued a tech entrepreneurship challenge to the students, who were tasked with presenting innovative solutions at the end of the week. The challenge was to propose a sustainable technological solution to answer the question: How can BBVA design innovative products that allow customers to offset their carbon footprint?

Alberto Aguilera, BBVA Digital Capabilities Senior Director and challenge mentor for the week commended the course for bringing students together with professionals.

“I believe that participating in a program of one of the most internationally recognized Spanish academic institutions, such as IE, and having the possibility to interact with their students is always a terrific opportunity to share experience and knowledge and learn from all the talent that the new generations treasure,” Aguilera said.

Students said they appreciated the insights into the Spanish and European tech entrepreneurship landscape and opportunities to grow their network.

“I walked away from my time at IE with a greater understanding of what it means to scale up and how tech entrepreneurship in Spain is different from that in the US. Moving ahead, I look forward to applying these concepts to my growing teams and ideas.”
Mallory Minster, MBA student

Stern student Jane Gannon said she enjoyed learning how working abroad differs from what she knows.

“I enjoyed experiencing how business is done outside of the US, and in Spain in particular. It was great to hear from professionals with such rich industry experience, and I was able to grow my network both from that perspective and among my peers,” the MBA student said.

A key element in the exchange is how IE offers the Stern students real-world, international experience.

“Our week at IE complemented my coursework in finance and management in ways I had not anticipated. It was a great way to apply what I've been learning in the classroom to real companies and founders,” said Minster. “Having taken classes in entrepreneurial finance and growing companies, I have read plenty of cases and had countless discussions in the classroom, but through our week with IE, I was able to apply those concepts to real companies in real-time.”

Paula Robles, director of Program Experience Innovation at IE Business School, said these collaborations expand students' opportunities for career development and strengthen the schools’ relationship.

“Our vision is for this new program has been to expand our collaboration with NYU Stern, a longstanding exchange partner, and also to increase the international opportunities for our own MBA students.”
Paula Robles, director of Program Experience Innovation at IE Business School

“We continuously seek to add customized curriculum options to enhance the experience of our students, and this facet of our partnership will also allow more of our students to apply for an exchange term at NYU Stern, which is beneficial for those seeking to expand their network in the U.S. and boost their career options post-graduation,” said Robles.

This short exchange program also allowed the participants to enjoy Madrid during their free time, while also giving them the chance to meet some of IE’s MBA students during the week. Program participants celebrated the end to a successful program with a paella cooking competition on IE’s campus.

IE Professor Joe Haslam applauded the students' classroom etiquette and eagerness to learn.

“Having lived and worked in the USA, I was quite excited about teaching a group from NYU Stern. I was struck immediately by their respect for the professor. You often have to spend the first 15 minutes of a class convincing the group that you have something worthy to teach them. With the NYU Stern students, this was immediate.”