IE IMPACT is a multi-bachelor, multi-school core academic program for all IEU students whose mission is to foster the skillsets, mindsets, and toolsets we at IE University believe students need to develop into innovative problem-solvers who lead positive change.
IE IMPACT learning journey begins with “pillar courses” centered on three of IEU’s core values; the Humanities (6ECTS), Technology with Impact (3ECTS), and Entrepreneurial Mindset & Practice (6ECTS) to help IEU students develop:
- Humanistic approaches to interpersonal relations, decision-making, and critical thinking.
- Familiarity with the technologies that are applied to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges; and
- Entrepreneurial mindsets, know-how, and skills to identify and solve problems worth solving, and to create validated business models that enable solutions to be enduring and scalable to achieve a greater positive impact.
It culminates with the IE Challenge (6ECTS) where students apply the skills, mindsets, and knowledge acquired in the three pillar courses to address problems framed within IEU’s core values of sustainability and diversity.
Students from all IEU schools and undergraduate degrees come together in this dynamic program where they are introduced to some of the most complex issues and challenges facing societies; develop a working knowledge of the technologies that are applied to address these challenges, while contemplating their implications; and develop an entrepreneurial mindset by learning to ideate, design and validate business models that can serve to make positive change happen over the long-term.
THE THREE PILLARS + IE CHALLENGE
HUMANITIES
The Humanities course is the first pillar course of IEU’s core studies program, IE Impact. It is offered to students in the second semester of their first year of studies.
In the Humanities course, students choose among an array of topics that raise their awareness of and address complex issues and challenges societies face worldwide.
Students learn to observe, question, analyze, and then synthesize and communicate their conclusions – all of which are necessary to develop critical thinking.
By providing a foundation in the Humanities, students are exposed to diverse approaches, ideologies, and responses to problems societies have faced historically, providing them with frameworks from which to tackle current and future challenges.
TECHNOLOGY WITH IMPACT
Technology with Impact is the second pillar course of IE Impact. It is offered to students in the first semester of their second year of studies.
In Technology with Impact, students learn about technologies that are reshaping how societies, enterprises, and individuals interact and operate or behave. They learn how and when such technologies can be applied and about their possibilities and limitations, including such important aspects as ethics, bias, and security.
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET & PRACTICE
Entrepreneurial Mindset and Practice is the third pillar course of IE Impact offered to students in the second semester of their second year of studies.
In Entrepreneurial Mindset and Practice, students learn to step out of their comfort zones, question both themselves and existing solutions and/or systems, and work in conditions of uncertainty; they develop entrepreneurial mindsets by ideating, designing, and validating business models that can be applied to solve problems over the long-term.
Students deepen their development as innovators, and they develop key teamwork skills while continuing to learn about themselves, their teammates, and the value of diversity. Ultimately, students will not only learn how to identify problems but how to identify problems that are worth solving and how to provide enduring solutions to those problems to achieve the greatest positive impact.
The culmination of IE impact is the IE Challenge, which is offered to students in the first semester of their third year of studies.
Students choose from a wide variety of challenges that are related to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals. They apply the skillsets, mindsets, and toolsets they have learned and developed in the three pillar courses to problem-solve a challenge posed to them and their team.
