IE University begins new academic year with the addition of two new graduate programs

IE University today started its 2017/2018 academic year with the launch of two new degree programs (Design and Politics, Law and Economics) along with a global community of 2,900 students of 110 nationalities at its centers in Segovia and Madrid.

This year a total of 940 new students from 82 nationalities will be attending IE University to study their different degree programs. Of these, 67% are from outside Spain, making the academic institution a reference center for foreign students. In addition, 53% of new students are women.

Addressing students and staff at a ceremony to mark the start of the academic year, and that is the first contact between students and their families and the academic authorities and faculty of IE University, IE University’s Rector, Salvador Carmona welcomed António Bernardo, President for Latin America of global strategy consultants Roland Berger, who gave the opening session of the morning session, while Juan Picón Co-president of international law firm DLA Piper, gave the inaugural lecture in the afternoon program.

In his opening address, Rector Carmona expressed his satisfaction that close to 1,000 students from eighty-two different countries have chosen IE University to study their degree programs. Of this class of 2021, Carmona highlighted the wide range of nationalities and "a good balance in gender, with 53% women," highlighting how such  diversity "will enrich our students' experience."

Carmona recalled that last year saw the launch of a degree program in Management in Information Systems, joined this year by new degrees in Design, as well as Political Sciences, Law and Economics taught by the schools of Architecture and Law, respectively. The Rector noted that IE University will continue to introduce new degree programs at its different faculties.

The Rector emphasized IE's continued commitment to technology and innovation, pointing to the launch during the last academic year of the Wow Room (Window on the World), which uses cutting-edge technology for teaching and interaction between students and teachers, and that will be extended internationally further over the course of the coming year. The Wow Room is a futuristic training space that aims to revolutionize the learning experience through artificial intelligence, real-time simulations, big data analysis, interactive robots, emotional recognition systems and the presence of experts via holograms.

"During this academic year we have made unprecedented investments in our teaching models; thus, in this wonderful historic campus in Segovia, where the 13th century Convent of Santa Cruz la Real is located, we have renovated its structures and connectivity," said the rector, referring to work over the summer to refurbish the courtyard and facades of the main cloister.

He also highlighted the recent opening of a new building in Madrid, "which will be part of our excellent facilities for the world of university education." This new building, located on Velázquez street in Madrid, covers 7,800 square meters over some 11 floors, which was opened September and is a reflection of the continued growth of IE and the consolidation of its schools. In addition, Rector Carmona said that in 2020 IE University will inaugurate the Fifth Tower, joining four emblematic skyscrapers at the northern end of the capital’s Castellana boulevard. “It will be part of the Madrid skyline, carrying forward the idea of a university established in two different centers to further improve the experience of our students."

"IE University is a young project, but our higher education model is already beginning to receive recognition that reinforces our commitment to quality and university excellence." The rector quoted The New York Times as "which has placed our university 25th in the world in its employability ranking." Rector Carmona insisted that this result "is not a flash in the pan," noting: "in previous rankings, we came 34th in the world and this in turn was an improvement over the previous scores, which placed us in the not insignificant posts of 43rd and 45th in the world ".

Finally, the rector pointed out that IE University, as a member of CRUE-Spanish Universities, has adhered to the 'Pact of Coexistence', which brings together organizations and collectives of civil society to strengthen society against radicalization in its different forms, including terrorism. Rector Carmona stressed the importance of universities, as well as other relevant institutions in the country, having joined this initiative for peaceful and inclusive coexistence in Spain.