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Today IE University conferred degrees on 302 students at its Santa Cruz la Real campus in Segovia. Fifty-two percent were men (157) and 48% women (145), from a total of 44 countries. In the class of 2017, 188 students were from the Bachelor in Business Administration, 9 were from Architecture, 16 from Communication, 20 from International Relations, 12 from Psychology, and 33 from Law, and 24 from the Dual Degree in Business Administration and Law.

Interesting stats include the fact that 65% of students of the class of 2017 have done at least one exchange with an IE University partner institution, while 49% of graduates have studied a foreign language, 37% have studied two different languages, and 8% have studied three or more.

During the graduation ceremony the Rector of IE University Salvador Carmona underscored the extension and improvement of the Segovia campus facilities thanks to an investment of almost 12 million Euros. He also talked about how the construction of the “fifth tower”, a 36-storey, 181-meter-high skyscraper, is already underway in Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana, adding that although it will serve exclusively for the use of IE University, the Rector’s office and central services will continue to be based in Segovia.

The improvements in infrastructure include the ongoing renovation of the courtyard and facade of the main cloisters of the old Santa Cruz la Real convent, a building which dates back to the thirteenth century and which is now equipped with the latest generation learning technologies. Today it provides one of the most international environments of the IE University buildings with a student body comprised of over a hundred nationalities.

Two ceremonies

IE University’s Aula Magna was decked out today to bid farewell to its most recent graduates in a ceremony divided into morning and afternoon sessions. Participants included a large number of key players from Segovia’s academic, political, social and cultural communities, including the President of IE University, Santiago Íñiguez, Rector Salvador Carmona, and the managing director of university studies for the regional authorities of Castilla y León, Pilar Garcés.

Benoît Jaubert, CEO of Darty Francia, served as the patron of IE University’s class of 2017 in the morning session, while the patron for the evening session, which was dedicated to students of the Bachelor in Business Administration, was Christen Sveaas, founder of Kistefos AS. Psychology graduand Marwa Amer and Business Administration graduand Zainnab Al-Kurdi gave farewell addresses on behalf of the entire class of 2017.

In his address, the Rector reminded the new graduates that IE University offers a university education with a markedly international focus, aimed at improving their networks, enabling a more diverse approach to life, and equipping them for a career with greater depth. Carmona emphasized the importance of the application and integration of new technologies in the university sector, saying that IE had invested some 25 million euros in innovative learning projects over the past 15 years, including the recently launched WOW (Window on the World) Room. The WOW Room is the first of its kind in Europe, using the most advanced technology and software to deliver classes to students who are off center for work purposes or for internships.

The Rector also commented that Financial Times had described IE University as “an unusual institution led by unusual people.” He added that IE’s philosophy was centered around five pillars - an international approach, technology-based innovation, a business mindset, a special focus on the humanities and ethical values, and the combination of academic rigor and exposure to internships in business organizations.

As well as the presentation of the corresponding diplomas to over 300 graduates, the graduation ceremony included the recognition of students from the year of 2017 with the best end of degree projects. The students who received recognition for the best end of degree projects were Nathalie Lagard and Deiene González Uriarte (Architecture), Ángel Metodiev Angelov (Communication), Lara María Schober and Marco Alexander Pastor (International Relations), Estefanía Peromingo Jiménez (Psychology), and Nieves Bayón Fernández and Ignacio Jiménez de la Iglesia (Dual degree in Business Administration and Law). Graduate Hanna Jelezovskaia received the White&Case Prize for the best end of IE University Law Degree work.

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