Blogs
News & Events
Back

IE Business School partnered with BBVA for the new Tech MBA’s first Digital Finance Track, in which students seek to solve a professional challenge the company is addressing.

Through an experiential program the Tech MBA Track offers students the opportunity to expand beyond the traditional management curriculum through a series of modules that help students to better understand the digital finance ecosystem, leverage technology to create business opportunities, develop innovative solutions and go beyond status quo.

The Digital Finance Track is part of the period of the Tech MBA when students begin to customize their experience by selecting their track out of three options: Digital Finance, Digital Transformation, and Data Analytics.

BBVA asked the Digital Finance Track students participating in the five-week corporate immersion component of the Tech MBA program to find a disruptive, real-world solution to the question: How can BBVA become a catalyst for the European Fintech Payments Ecosystem.

The 5-person team -- all with STEM backgrounds-- gains the opportunity to work on the project with BBVA to develop the idea and use it as their capstone project for graduation.

Fernando Garcia, BBVA Spain’s Head of Engineering, Transformation & Projects, one of the mentors during the five weeks, commended the program as a role model for creating successful careers in FinTech.

“The Digital Finance track is a great example that shows that IE is aware of the digital transformation in the world of financial services.”
Fernando Garcia, BBVA Spain’s Head of Engineering, Transformation & Projects

“The Digital Finance track is a great example that shows that IE is aware of the digital transformation in the world of financial services. It is important for the students to have an understanding of this promising and disruptive ecosystem,” Garcia said. “And it’s not the same thing to work on a theoretical project as it is to interact with a real company.”

Garcia, an IE Business School alum, said he enjoyed engaging with current students.

“Although I have a lot of experience in this field within BBVA, I had never carried out training outside of this environment and I could not be happier. The students have challenged me beyond my areas of expertise,” shared Garcia.

Companies welcome the opportunity to access the fresh and demanding vision students offer and BBVA commended the ideas students had proposed regarding banking, regulation, and FinTech specifically.

According to Tech MBA Associate director, Igor Souto, students benefit from the real world experience of learning through hands-on work directly with a global company.

“Through an experiential program, the Tech MBA Track offers students the opportunity to expand beyond the traditional management curriculum through a series of modules that help students to better understand the digital finance ecosystem, leverage technology to create business opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and go beyond status quo.”
Igor Souto, Tech MBA Associate director

Tech MBA student Victor Martinez said the corporate immersion lab gives him an edge in the very competitive job market by offering the challenge experience and a network of professionals to address related trends in the FinTech field.

“I personally feel more prepared to get a job in the FinTech space after having this track than with normal electives,” Martinez said.

Fellow participant John Gebelly praised the level of  the mentors guiding the experience.

“It has been a great program. The professors are top notch and made sure all the main key academic trends were covered and their practical applications explored,” Gebeily said.

IE – CURATED LEARNING FOR THE NEXT BEST YOU