Borja Santos
I grew up in the wonderful city of Valladolid, Spain. For the last 15 years, I've worked across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, designing economic strategies, leading humanitarian programs, conducting impact evaluations and managing international aid. At IE University, I combine teaching with leadership roles as the Vice Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs and Academic Coordinator of Sustainable Development & Management Skills. I integrate real-world experience into my classes, guiding students to develop analytical rigor, strategic empathy and the courage to act. In my free time, I enjoy basketball, mountain running, yoga and playing the piano.
"There are numerous global issues, including climate change, migration, economic crises, inflation, wars and the governance of technology, that can only be solved through the improvement of international relations."
Empowering learners to build impactful, global careers
How does classical piano training and telecoms engineering lead to a global career in development and education?
Playing piano is about more than remembering the right notes. It’s about passion, patience, discipline, attention to detail and a love for history and structure. And with the many years it takes to master, students of classical piano also develop focus and technical precision, invaluable skills in any field.
For Borja Santos, that dedication to such a complex craft has molded him into a compelling, effective teacher in the Master in Public Policy classroom at IE University. No stranger to difficult challenges, Borja’s background is a masterclass of what happens when creativity intersects with rigorous standards.
His professional journey started in a completely different world: telecommunications engineering. After taking a job in Berlin, he soon realized that his true ambitions lay in a very different field: international development. This interest deepened when he got the chance to work with the United Nations.
The role required Borja to move to Ecuador, marking the start of a global professional journey that has since taken him to Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Argentina, Belize, Peru and other countries around the world. During his time abroad, he worked for many other notable organizations, including the European Commission, the World Bank, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Harvard Center for International Development.
He’s developed a thoroughly global profile as a result, establishing himself as a leader in the policy and development sector. While pursuing his career, Borja has never stopped learning and broadening his knowledge. On top of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, he holds two master’s degrees in international relations and development.
His varied professional experience, combined with such an international academic trajectory, has given Borja a uniquely cosmopolitan outlook on today’s big challenges. "There are numerous global issues, including climate change, migration, economic crises, inflation, wars and the governance of technology, that can only be solved through the improvement of international relations," he says. Such a perspective is just one reason why he’s become such a valuable asset to his students.
But it’s his approach to teaching that makes all the difference. Borja first discovered a love for teaching as a young man when he helped instruct younger members of a Boy Scouts group, and this practical approach still defines his style today. He complements each lesson with real-world simulations and applied projects to help cement new concepts. Plus, students in programs like the Master in Public Policy gain real-world insights from industry practitioners, immediately applicable knowledge through specialization tracks, and the chance to consolidate everything they’ve learned in the highly practical Capstone Project.
Borja’s students develop analytical rigor, strategic empathy, interdisciplinary thinking and the ability to generate and implement actionable solutions, all invaluable skills for today’s evolving workplace. They also get to see the full picture by being immersed in a comprehensive learning experience at the heart of Madrid’s policy ecosystem, which prepares learners for the realities of the world of work far better than a purely theoretical framework would.
"A student with knowledge of international relations is very important in any organization," notes Borja. That’s because it’s transferable to different contexts. For instance, graduates can harness their unique perspective to refine strategy and enrich decision-making, helping companies position themselves to successfully achieve their objectives across markets. Understanding global affairs is also vital for future planning: with the right regional insights, a business can effectively hone and retain its competitive edge.
More than that, programs like the Master in Public Policy set the stage for a career filled with positive impact. Whether they go on to work in private companies, multinationals, the public sector, international organizations, think tanks or philanthropic bodies, one thing is clear: students graduate with the skill, mindset and global networks to effect change that improves institutions, communities and lives around the world, both now and in the future.