Meet IE Business School’s MBA Class Of 2020

Those aren’t the only intriguing stories in the class. At the Boston Consulting Group, Mees Middelweerd earned the company’s “Most Impressive Development” award. More impressive, however, is his hobby. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a Class 40 racing sailing boat. In three years, Antonio Lucena López has moved from being a tax lawyer to corporate finance consulting to running a medical device company. How is this for a good reason to head to business school?

“I decided to come to the MBA to mend a broken heart,” admits Ripple Wu. “So far so good.”

“DRIVEN, COLLABORATIVE, AND OPEN-MINDED”

That could be the motto for the Class of 2020. Along with the program’s entrepreneurial mindset, the students also hail their classmates’ supportiveness and spirit. “Before starting the IE Business School MBA, I was a little bit afraid of how competitive I imagined students would be with one another,” says Ann Kathrin Landgraf. “Fortunately, this fear was unfounded.  There is a true collaboration in our section and in my working groups. Everyone has an open mind and ear and is willing to support you in all ways imaginable. Here, “Team” doesn’t only mean just a group of people, but also “Together Everyone Achieves More.”

This team-driven mindset is reinforced by the class’ shared principles, adds Swasti Mishra, an analyst with Bayer Crop Science. “Together, IE’s student body represents a lot of geographic, ethnic, and experience-based diversity. In spite of these differences in background, we share a common ground: a desire to change and improve the world. Everyone I’ve met here is driven, collaborative, and open-minded. It is fascinating to see a passing conversation turn into a passionate discussion and then eventually a business plan. Whether it is starting new projects, organizing groups, or launching a start-up, I’m constantly impressed by how driven and results-oriented my peers are.”

IE’s one-year, full-time MBA program typically enrolls 400 students from roughly 70 nationalities, with 92% traditionally hailing from outside Spain. According to Forbes, IE MBAs can expect their post-graduation pay to increase by $104,300, one of the ten-highest bumps among non-American MBA programs. The return is even greater when you factor in IE’s 12-month length, which cuts tuition and enables graduates to return to work and start earning sooner.

DIVERSITY PREPARES STUDENTS FOR MANAGEMENT

“I am financing the MBA myself,” writes Ripple Wu. “This, plus the fact that I work in the fast-paced, ever-changing technology industry, I was conscious that time away from work must be considered very seriously. I also wanted a program that allowed me to maximize my learning through internship opportunities, exchange periods, elective courses, and labs where we can focus on social impact, technology, or starting our own business venture. Yes, the shorter period is more demanding for the student, but the program is highly suitable for people like me who desire a have-it-all MBA experience in a limited time.”

One big part of that ‘have-it-all’ experience is the diversity of the class. IE is a place where differing ideas, business practices, and social visions are exchanged. Cultural mores are explored and strategies are debated – all in an atmosphere where students can’t get too comfortable with long-held beliefs and knee-jerk impressions.

“I have always been a part of international teams,” writes Ann Kathrin Landgraf. “I have thoroughly enjoyed this because I find it fascinating to try to understand how colleagues approach projects and challenges based on their cultural and professional backgrounds. However, I must say, I have never experienced such great diversity as I have here at IE. I absolutely love it. In my section, S1, we are 52 students from 30 countries and the daily classroom experience has brought the meaning of “diversity” to a new level for me. Where else would be a better environment for me to train and develop my leadership and management skills? In my opinion, you can learn the hard skills of being a manager in various ways, but what distinguishes an “average” manager from a great manager is his/her soft and intercultural skills.”

NEW CAMPUS COMING

Considering IE’s roots in startups, it is hardly surprising that it promotes innovation and disruption in its own curriculum. Last fall, IE announced that it would roll out Europe’s first “Tech MBA“ in the coming school year. Think of it as a one-year program targeted to MBAs looking to work in tech, with special emphasis on areas like AI, robotics, and Fintech according to P&Q.

“In a digital, interconnected world, companies need managers with the talent and training to promote technological innovation,” says Martin Boehm, Dean of IE, in an interview. “Technology rules our lives, rules the world, and accelerates our capacity for innovation. Areas such as data management, artificial intelligence, or automation take center stage in corporate strategy. Our Tech MBA will equip managers to propel their business into the future.”

That said, COVID-19 has slowed some of IE’s momentum. In May, the school announced that it would miss its 2020 opening date for its new 50,000 square meter campus in Madrid’s financial district. The plans haven’t been scrapped, however. Instead, IE expects the campus – where many of the classes would’ve been held in a 35-story skyscraper – to open sometime next year. Still, the school hasn’t made any decisions on how the Class of 2021 will be conducted, though the school’s online MBA ranks alongside Warwick as the best in the world according to the Financial Times.

What else can MBAs from IE Business School in the coming years? Earlier this year, P&Q submitted a series of questions to Jose Esteves, the associate dean of the International MBA program and professor of information systems. From outlining new developments to reviewing its lab-based programming, here are Esteves’ thoughts ons what MBAs can expect from the IE MBA experience.

A Q&A WITH JOSE ESTEVES

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments at your program (and how will they impact and benefit incoming MBA students)?

JE: “Recently, we introduced concentrations that will allow students to focus on specific business areas with the selection of electives related to their career aspirations. MBA concentrations prepare students for a particular career path, while also giving them a solid foundation of business knowledge. Upon graduation, IE Business School will provide the student with an extra certificate highlighting their area of concentration. We are also extending the development of digital and analytical skills by including a core course in data analytics and more electives related with the subject. IE Business School is unquestionably diverse, thus, we extended the education on diversity by adding new workshops and activities related to the diversity topic. For example, we’ve created a woman and TECH online mentorship program to accelerate emerging MBA digital leaders’ development, where the mentor acts as a sounding board, catalyst, and role model.

Also, we have redesigned the leadership component of the MBA program and will focus on transformational leadership development. Our Transformational Leadership Lab enhances students’ resilience and agility as a leader and high-performance analytical skills with essential leadership and communication behaviors. We combine this with a unique environment where students challenge each other, and where diversity brings a variety of experiences, perspectives, and new ways of solving old and future problems.

In addition to the courses, the student life on campus is very vibrant with many co-curricular activities including student clubs, guest speakers, social events, company visits, and cultural events. This year we launched the IE Global Innovation Challenge, a case competition that aims to attract future leaders in innovation from top business schools around the world to solve the challenges faced by firms in today’s digital age.”

P&Q: Talk to us about your core courses and overall curriculum, whose structure, content, and approach are quite different than a traditional MBA program.

JE: “Our International MBA works like a hothouse: we deliver an environment designed for those who can think outside the box and challenge conventional thinking. The program emphasizes the use of important, universal, skills such as critical thinking, communication, interpersonal skills, and collaboration. We constantly foster our students’ intellectual curiosity—something which has always been at the heart of our learning experience and promote a unique environment of asking, exploring novel possibilities, and developing more-trusting and more-collaborative relationships with peers.”