The IE Business School Labs are immersive learning experiences designed to blend academic content with real-world application. Each Lab combines specialized coursework, weekly mentoring and coaching, and a final team presentation to real stakeholders. Whether you’re exploring innovation, entrepreneurship, social impact, or tech-driven strategy, these Labs challenge students to turn knowledge into action. They include:
Business Impact Lab
Startup Lab
Tech Lab
Social Impact Lab
Each Lab gives students the chance to make real-world impact, with opportunities for further development and career connections.
Let’s dive in.
Who are the Labs for?
You can take part in the IE Business School Labs if you’re enrolled in the Master in Management, the Master in Management & Strategy and the International MBA. There are some slight adaptations between the programs—let’s take a look at each Lab in detail and see how they vary.
Business Impact Lab
The Business Impact Lab is an intensive course that challenges students to find business solutions for real companies. Involving a series of tailored workshops and mentoring sessions, the Business Impact Lab helps candidates explore their career options. Like all the labs, it revolves around teamwork, with a special focus on corporate consulting, business strategy and intrapreneurship
For the Master in Management and Master in Management & Strategy, the course comprises 40 sessions. Before beginning the Lab, students will form teams and receive initial information about the client for research. They then take part in a crash course of classes on innovation, strategic thinking and consulting skills.
Sessions combine academic learning with high-impact, hands-on experiences.
The International MBA delivers the lab over a slightly longer period of time. It’s a great opportunity to identify corporate opportunities—with some students gaining full-time positions with the partner businesses. The business solutions may be continued in the Final Integrative Exercise for those on the 15-month International MBA.
Social Impact Lab
The Social Impact Lab takes students up close to social and economic challenges. This Lab has an international outlook, incorporating fieldwork in Africa to create sustainable social impact. The program emphasizes applying learning in the real world, with students traveling to locations such as Ghana, South Africa and Spain.
Students of the Master in Management and Master in Management & Strategy focus on a week-long trip to Ghana, where they collaborate with microfinance institutions to provide strategic recommendations. In order to do this, they form teams and work together to maximize their abilities over two weeks before traveling. This immersive experience strengthens their system-thinking skills while deepening their understanding of social enterprise and community development.
This cultural and professional immersion deepens impact and insight.
For the International MBA, students consult with nonprofits and social enterprises in Spain and South Africa. Their skills are enhanced through informative sessions and interviews before the project begins. Then, they form teams of 3-4 people to partner with mission-driven organizations. Some put their social-impact projects into action in Spain, though most travel to South Africa to immerse themselves in a foreign community while implementing their plans. It’s a great exercise in project management, with alumni being invited to join the Mighty Network for workshops, content and connections.
*Please note that the Social Impact Lab is not offered for the September 2025 and January 2026 intakes for the Master in Management and Master in Management and Strategy programs.
Startup Lab
The Startup Lab is the entrepreneur‘s essential. Before the Lab starts, students will form teams and take part in ideation and validation workshops. Then the course kicks off. Teams are challenged to identify a real-world proble, create a business ide and build a full business plan. With weekly pitch slams and top mentoring sessions, graduating students will be equipped to bring their business ventures to life.
Both the Master in Management and the Master in Management & Strategy deliver the Startup Lab over four weeks, throughout which students focus on seizing opportunity, taking risks and pushing the boundaries of innovation. Their weekly activities include short courses, mentoring sessions and quizzes to prepare for the Final Pitch. Students may also continue working on their startups during the Electives term by later selecting the Venture Lab, IE’s startup accelerator program. Bear in mind that the Venture Lab isn’t one of the four options we’re discussing here!
Students finish the Lab with the skills to create imapctful solutions for real-world problems, in both entrepreneurial and corporate environments.
The International MBA’s Startup Lab consists of a Pre-Lab period which includes team formation, mentor assignment and early idea validation. Then, once the Lab has officially begun, students are challenged to design products before testing and launching them to the market. They’re able to maximize their skills through pitch slams and expert-led roundtables. Those students who are part of the 15-month track can later apply to the Venture Lab or Knowledge Incubator to continue developing their startups.
Tech Lab
The Tech Lab immerses students in the world of technology-driven innovation and problem-solving. Students will focus on applying emerging technologies to real-world business challenges—with emphasis on strategic thinking, collaboration and impact.
For Master in Management and Master in Management & Strategy students, the Lab spans several weeks and centers around a collaborative Tech Challenge. Teams work on a real business issue provided by a partner company, applying insights from core workshops and tech-focused sessions in areas such as innovation, process mining, and prototype development. They’ll also receive weekly mentoring sessions to help them refine their ideas. The experience culminates in final presentations to company stakeholders, with top-performing teams earning the opportunity to pitch directly to company executives on Closing Day.
The Tech Lab lets students consult for a major company, tackling key challenges and delivering strategic solutions.
International MBA students, on the other hand, take part in an extended version of the Tech Lab. They form teams to address a business challenge, supported by industry experts, mentors and company partners. The Lab emphasizes professional networking, expert validation and project-based learning. At the end of the Lab, teams present their solutions to the partner company, and for those in the 15-month format, standout projects may evolve into Impact Projects within the Final Integrative Exercise. This can set the path for an internship or continued collaboration with the partnered tech company.
Become the Next Best You with IE Business School Labs
Studying at IE Business School means embarking on a transformative journey to discover and become the best version of yourself. With a focus on understanding your aspirations, strengths and purpose, IE guides you to explore diverse career pathways and develop the skills sought after by leading recruiters. Whether you aim to excel in marketing, finance, digital innovation, or leadership, the school offers curated, impactful programs designed to prepare you for real-world challenges—from tackling complex problems to making meaningful societal contributions.
Want to become the Next Best You? Find out more about IE Business School and join us for a transformative education.
*Please note that details of all Labs may change year on year.
Benjamin is the editor of Uncover IE. His writing is featured in the LAMDA Verse and Prose Anthology Vol. 19, The Primer and Moonflake Press. Benjamin provided translation for “FalseStuff: La Muerte de las Musas”, winner of Best Theatre Show at the Max Awards 2024.
Benjamin was shortlisted for the Bristol Old Vic Open Sessions 2016 and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize 2023.
