IE Business School – International MBA

Here it is! The community travel guide made for IE Alumni and their friends; the idea came to Joseph Freiha during his International MBA in 2009. How great would it be to have a travel guide where IE Alumni would share their favorite addresses and tips in their home countries or the places they have visited;

When travelling, we do not need lots of addresses; we just need a few good ones shared by friends. FriendsChoices.com includes the traditional travel guide information on Restaurants, Hotels, Clubs, Attractions…; It also brought innovative and exclusive functionalities, making it one of the most complete and collaborative travel guides on the market. Only members can post their recommendations.

Of course, all IE Alumni are invited to join the community!

Go ahead and register! Use your IE email at www.FriendsChoices.com/IE

¡Aquí está! La guía de viajes comunitaria hecha para Antiguos Alumnos del IE y sus amigos; la idea surgió de José Freiha durante su año en International MBA en 2009. ¡Sería estupendo tener una guía de viajes donde  los Antiguos Alumnos del IE pudiesen compartir sus direcciones favoritas y  aportar consejos acerca de sus países de origen o de los lugares que han visitado;

Cuando viajamos, no necesitamos un montón de direcciones, sólo necesitamos unas pocas pero buenas y compartidas con amigos. FriendsChoices.com incluye no sólo la información tradicional de viajes sobre restaurantes, hoteles, clubes, atracciones,… sino que también muestra funcionalidades innovadoras y exclusivas, por lo que es una de las guías de viaje más completas y  colaborativas del mercado. Solamente los usuarios pueden publicar sus recomendaciones.

Por supuesto, todos los Antiguos Alumnos del IE están invitados a unirse a la comunidad!

Seguid adelante y registraros! Utiliza el correo electrónico de IE en www.FriendsChoices.com/IE

Current IMBA student Deep Mehta gives some insights into his IE experience. Check out his other posts here!

Without a doubt the number one reason why people pursue an MBA is to bolster their professional career. Some perceive it as a ticket to a high paying job, some are tired of the same old routine and some don’t know what they want from their professional lives and try to discover their true professional calling. All the reasons are one hundred percent valid.

Most of the subjects taught during the MBA ameliorate everyone’s business acumen and certainly augment their prospective careers. Yes, for someone like me with zero finance and accounting knowledge I can now confidently say I understand at least the basics. But is the knowledge the only thing that we can take from IE? And, is a “better career” the only thing we want? I reckon not.

For almost six months now I have been surrounded by 400 top professionals from across 70+ countries. Being immersed in an intensive program like this has certainly made me a better business professional, but is this only thing I am taking back? No!!

When you are made to work in a forced (willingly for some and unwilling for some) environment of multicultural teams, your learning goes beyond the “text book”. The typical conversations during the day would be about the volcano peak you can climb in Nicaragua, to the presidency elections in Venezuela, to the poverty crisis in Africa. Is this important? According to me this is more important than learning from a “text book” whose knowledge might become redundant within a few years due to advancements in technology and business. But these discussions not only make you a wiser person, help you to get a broader perspective of things in life, and – for those who think “classes” are the only thing that matter – it makes you a well-rounded global business leader.

So I submit to you a humble argument that the MBA experience is not just grades and careers. According to me, it’s the friends you make for a lifetime, it’s about the friends who you will call at 4AM and they will do anything in their reach to help you, it’s about the friends you will call to map your travel plan when you visit one of the 70 countries, and most importantly it’s about being a part of THE BIG IE FAMILY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFETIME.

Please take out your agendas, personal planers or calendars to update the key dates for the International MBA Program that starts in November 2013:

• Intensive Spanish course (optional): TBC
• Pre-programs (online): approx. one month before the program starts
• Opening Ceremony: November 18th 2013
• Orientation days: November 19th to November 21st 2013
• LAUNCH: November 25th to December 3rd 2013
• Graduation: December 19th 2014

Please remember that IE has a rolling admissions procedure which means that there are no explicit application deadlines. 

Por favor, preparen sus agendas personales o calendarios para actualizar las fechas claves del International MBA Program que empieza en noviembre de 2013: 

• Pre-programas:  aprox. 1 mes antes del comienzo del programa
• Ceremonia de Apertura: 18 de noviembre
• Días de Orientación: 19 a 21 de noviembre
• LAUNCH: 25 de noviembre a 3 de diciembre
• Graduación: 19 de diciembre 2014

No olvides que nuestro proceso de admisión es continuo, es decir, no tenemos fecha límite de solicitud para ninguna de las dos convocatorias anuales.

Gain an understanding of the IE Experience by reading what current International MBA student Jonathan Riskin from the USA has to say about IE after having become part of its family in November 2012. Don’t forget to also check out his other posts. 

Choosing a Direction

It is undeniable that the IE’s use of a 13-month framework has its advantages. The intense focus, the shorter gap between work experiences, and the lower overall cost are all benefits directly related to shorter program duration. But, as my classmates and I are finding out, the 13-month framework is unforgiving to those who enter without direction.

Let me elaborate. You don’t need to come to IE with an exact job function or a sole industry as your target employment. IE still provides room for growth and career change. There are many options to explore different industries, to develop new skills, and to learn how to transfer past experiences into new functions. But it is this same wealth of options that causes problems. As Term 2 nears an end, I am selecting between an internship, a long exchange program, a short exchange program, the Emzingo project, case study competitions, the Venture Lab, the accelerator program, the IE Consulting Project, and over 100 potential elective courses in English or Spanish.  And that’s my point- the choice is overwhelming for those students who approach business school without self-awareness around career choice.

In 13 months, it is not possible to do it all. For me, this limitation is a positive feature- it forces the student to decide upon a course of action and prioritize which activities and classes will be most beneficial to achieving career goals. The IMBA isn’t a liberal arts degree- we’re here to gain depth in subject areas and make real world contacts.   So for me, I’ve decided on an internship in the sports management world. Of course I feel some regret that I cannot spend two weeks in China or participate in Venture Lab, but this choice is a powerful investment in my career. By eliminating the experiences which are not essential, I strengthen my commitment to my true professional goals. Besides, China isn’t going anywhere.

Since we have welcomed the IMBA April intake a few weeks ago, we would like to dedicate a post to this badge and anyone else who is interested in career change, and getting the most out of the IE experience, even if you are a student or alumnus.

Participate in Alumni Events!!!

Something unique about IE is that right from day one the Career Management Center encourages students to go to alumni events. Even if it’s not a careers event per se, if you’re interested in working for that company and the director of supply chain is coming, come to the event and introduce yourself. The next day, you can send a targeted cover letter.

Last year, the Executive Director of the Career Management Center, Amber Wigmore Álvarez, was selected along with her counterpart from Kellogg-Northwestern, to present at the annual conference on Best Practices in International Recruiting. With 42% of IE’s recruiting happening outside Spain, that is a very high volume. In addition to the mandatory career sessions that students have, the Career Management center also organizes different career drives, voluntary sessions on personal branding with different gurus brought in from different parts of the world. The Career Management Center always tells students to be active and participate in alumni events.

How to Handle a Career Change

If it’s functional change, consider going back to the same company. At IE’s Career Management Center, students and alumni can talk about industry change and leverage relationships and networking. If it’s geographical change, an internship is a great way to lay the groundwork for a career change. Also, getting involved in the IE Clubs can help. Students who come in with an interest for a career in finance but they don’t have any experience in that field, are encouraged to join the IE Finance Club. If they’re interested in consulting, join the Consulting Club. Participation in clubs should be put on your resume, and shows an active passion for the area you are looking to enter.

Questions Commonly Asked to the Career Management Center

Where are graduates placed?

For those looking for information on where students have secured opportunities from previous intakes, look at the various placement reports which are published online. In each section (IMBA or Masters in Management), there is a detailed report.

What countries do IE alumni end up working in?

IE has a tremendous diversity of profiles and students coming from more than 80 countries and alumni working in more than a 100 countries. They are going everywhere. The Career Management Center is approached by a lot of recruiters because they know of the tremendous international profiles here. There is quite a lot of geographic mobility amongst IE students. They don’t necessarily go back to their own countries.

What are my internship opportunities?

The internship program is a part of the IMBA Program Management. For example, IMBA Program Management organizes the IMBA in Practice which is the internship they get academic credit for it. However, even though it’s organized by program management, the Career Management Center is involved from the beginning. At the information session, somebody from Careers gives a presentation about the best resources for looking for an internship.

In a pre-workshop class students are talked through the process of converting the internship into full-time employment. This is essential, because one of the major trends in Career Services is that multinationals are no longer doing a separate process for internships and a separate process for full-time. For example, Johnson & Johnson are looking to hire full-time from their pool of internship candidates.

Can Career Management help me secure a visa to work abroad?

Many students coming from the non-European countries expect that it’s going to be a lot easier to get a visa because they’re studying here and that is not necessarily the situation. Career Management doesn’t provide students with visa services but it does provide them with information on firms that do.

What are current trends in recruitment?

One of the biggest trends around recruiting is the use of LinkedIn. There’s a statistic that 80% of employers will look at your LinkedIn profile before they call you for an interview. So one of the things that the Career Management Center suggest is that students put at the very top of their CVs, in addition to their contact information and email address, the public URL of their LinkedIn profile. There is an active Career Services professionals group on LinkedIn which stays abreast of what’s going on. There’s a new, powerful tool which is LinkedIn.com/alumni. This is a powerful search filter for students to help them identify IE alumni that could help open doors to certain companies.  Additionally, the IE Alumni Association has an Official Alumni LinkedIn group, Twitter and Facebook which often have job postings and can be used as networking tools.

For more information, please visit IE´s Careers Blog.

IMBA/MIAFDual Degree Alumno Moritz Heck

Are you tired of the mess in your wallet overfilled with loyalty cards and coupons? – The free Stocard app collects all loyalty cards on your smartphone and is now available on the Spanish app store. Providing users with personalized offers and coupons, Stocard creates a unique communication channel, through which offline retailers can reach young mobile customers. Moritz Heck has joint Stocard after completing his dual degree at IE Business School last December. He is convinced that the Stocard app has the potential to change the offline shopping experience. Working as CFO & Head of Business Development he can put the entrepreneurial knowledge into practice, which he acquired during his MBA and Master in Finance at IE Business School.

The Stocard app has already replaced about four million plastic loyalty cards for more than one million users in several countries. Now it also puts Spanish customers’ wallets on a diet. Stocard currently ranks 1^st in the Spanish app store – just a few days after its launch. “Smartphones are the future. They can completely replace all loyalty cards with the free Stocard app for iPhone and Android”, says David Handlos, CEO and founder of Stocard.

Stocard is very easy to use: Simply scan your loyalty card with your smartphone’s camera. The app then creates a digital version of the card on your phone. Stocard already supports 100 default loyalty cards – from Club Vips, over El Corte Ingles to Shell Clubsmart. If a rare card is not on the list, you can type in the store’s name by hand and easily add the desired card. Whenever you want to use your loyalty card, just show your phone with the digital copy and receive discounts and rewards, just as you would with the plastic card.

In May Moritz will be able to put his IE experience into action, when he will pitch Stocard at the biannual IE Venture Days in Madrid. Stocard has been announced as one of the ten finalists presenting in front of VCs from across the globe. This will be an excellent opportunity to find potential international partners for Stocard’s future expansion in Europe and beyond.

This post was written by current IMBA April 2013 student Basil Alrayes from Saudi Arabia.

Last week I participated in the LAUNCH program, which consisted of a week full of activities designed to prepare the students for the upcoming year. I have only two words to describe my experience: surprising and inspiring.

It was nothing like a typical MBA class. There was no talk of finance or accounting (that, for sure, will come.) Instead, the classes were about teambuilding, working in diverse environments, communication, sports, and even acting!

I had several favorite classes, one of them was “The Pursuit of Happiness” delivered by Adam Pervez, an IMBA alumnus who graduated in 2009. After his graduation, Adam worked in two very demanding and high paying jobs in Copenhagen and in Dubai until he realized that, in spite of the excellent financial incentives, he was not happy. As a result, he left his job and started traveling around the world and searching for happiness. He showed us pictures of his travels to India, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, and many other countries. His story was quite interesting and very relevant to us, since many of us wish to improve or switch careers. It made us question the meaning of success and what we really want and although I have a different view from Adam’s, I admired his courage in doing what he wanted. I also realized that we worry too much!

Another favorite session was “Teambuilding,” delivered by a professional basketball player. We took the session in a gym and our teams were given goals to achieve with time limits. As we practiced, the lessons became clearer. First, the more you practice the better you get, as a team. And second, the whole team improves even if not all team members improve. Our results were an eye-opener for me, as they demonstrated that a team generally does better than its individual members. To build a strong team, you do not marginalize the underperforming members; instead you practice more as a team. That was my conclusion.

The classes I mentioned are just examples, as each class had a lesson to learn and a question to think about. I particularly appreciated the fact that our instructors came from different professional backgrounds. We had an architect, an actor, a professional mountaineer, and an athlete, which made our experience more diverse and richer. I also loved the intellectual nature of the discussions. We were not learning and applying tools, instead we were learning a new way of thinking.

Fort the 35th time, IE opened its doors to welcome a new set of students into its IE family. For 71 nationalities, and therefore a student body of  91% international students, IE will become much more than just an MBA – it will become a life experience that will last for years to come.

The ceremony was attended by keynote speaker Isabel Aguilera, Managing Partner, I. Aguilera Operations and Innovation Consulting, who gave some insights into what is required to become a successful manager, looking at her own experiences having worked for Dell Computer Corporation as Member of the Board, CEO and BU Director for Spain, Italy and Portugal, for NH Hotels as Chief Operating Officer, for Google Inc. as General Manager Spain and Portugal and for GE as President Spain and Portugal, among others. However, most importantly she was able to transmit what it means to be an entrepreneur and what value the IE International MBA program provided to her when she was a student.

Class of 2014, we wish you all the best and welcome you to the IE family.

Gerardo Lara

Si hiciera un análisis de las palabras más utilizadas durante el programa, seguramente NETWORKING se encontraría dentro de las primeras. La construcción de una red de contactos es uno de los principales atractivos de cualquier programa de negocios, y el IE pone a la disposición de sus estudiantes tanto sus herramientas como su capacidad de atraer centenares de estudiantes provenientes de todas las regiones del mundo para la construcción de networks de gran complejidad, sumamente diversas en cuanto a cultura, experiencias, conocimientos y otros.

A pesar de que el concepto de networking pareciera sencillo de entender y es usado ampliamente en nuestra vida cotidiana, no fue sino hasta el inicio de mi programa cuando pude empezar a comprender su inmensa utilidad. Empecé a entenderlo gracias a varias charlas que nos imparten al respecto. Y seguramente no será hasta después de la culminación del programa, luego de que evidencie los resultados tangibles, que aprecie lo poderoso que puede ser esta herramienta.

El concepto de networking está presente entre nosotros hoy más que nunca. Hoy en día, gran parte de nuestra interacción con el mundo virtual se lleva a cabo a través de redes sociales. Todos tenemos una red, por lo tanto estamos familiarizados con el concepto. Pero la construcción de la red no representa ninguna dificultad pues el valor agregado proviene de los contactos que hay en ella. Imagina una red de contactos pero en vez de estar compuesta por familiares y amigos, cuyo vínculo sea afectivo, esté integrada por profesionales de distintos ámbitos que puedan solucionar o referirte en cualquier inconveniente que se te presente en diversos campos y hasta en distintas geografías. Su utilidad es tan importante como para el candidato que busca oportunidades laborales en determinada industria como para el emprendedor que busca nuevos proveedores para su negocio.

Lo mejor de este proceso de creación de redes de contacto en el IE es que no sólo se trata de contactos profesionales sino de amigos. Desde que iniciamos nuestra jornada, hemos estado en constante exposición con nuevas personas quienes están ávidas de conocer mi origen, así como yo lo estoy por conocer el de ellos. En el camino nos hemos ido conociendo, compartiendo de múltiples maneras: cenas, viajes, reuniones, etc. Oportunidades que nos permiten aprender más de otras culturas, de diferentes maneras de pensar. Oportunidades que nos permiten fomentar nuevas amistades, las cuales serán de por vida. En mi opinión es una experiencia imprescindible en el camino de formación de líderes en esta era de globalización.

There are many posts on this blog and everywhere on the Internet talking about making dreams a reality. Some of them started as a hobby that you put a lot of passion into, and that you decided to make it a “real” job. That’s the case of Joaquin Grech Gomendio, IMBA alum of 2010 and founder of his own mobile applications company, Echoboom Apps.

Since 2007, Joaquin started to program mobile apps; the first one was a Financial Calculator that has been top 10 in the Apple financial apps, and later on, as he was pursuing the IMBA he started to develop Dogfight, a multiplayer flight simulator that has reached more than 3 million downloads.  

“With Dogfight we explored a niche for flight simulator lovers, and with time we realized our supporters wanted more: a historical component behind the airplanes, the missions, and the fun. That’s why we decided to plunge into the next- level adventure: Dogfight Elite an educational game that begins in the World War I, and continues through the World War II”, says Joaquin, that is looking for funding for this new project on Kickstarter.  

Dogfight Elite

What makes Dogfight Elite appealing is that each one of the missions will be based on an historical fact, and it will allow you to play their historic missions. We also found it important that Dogfight Elite could be played in multiple platforms.  You will be able to fly your plane from a desktop computer or a mobile device, including Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Everyone will be able to play it from the sofa or on the go!

Kickstarter is a worldwide known crowdfunding platform that able startups   to pre-sale their products (such as in this example, Dogfight Elite) with different kinds of perks. The list of perks by Dogfight Elite starts with an “early backer” version of the game, and goes to the Marketing Guru perk, where any legal business or organization could have a landmark of their own that is permanently in the game, seen by every player. So far, they have raised more than $5,000 and the most backed reward in the one that gives access to an Alpha version of the game, something that will make the Dogfight Elite creation process an engaging and fun.

We will certainly keep you posted of the developments of this crowdfunded – crowsourced online project.

Good luck Joaquin and Echoboom Apps!

En este blog hemos publicado muchas entradas sobre MBA que se han decidido a hacer realidad sus sueños tras el programa en el IE. Algunos de ellos han comenzado cultivando una afición, que fue convirtiéndose en mucho más, hasta que decidieron hacerla “un trabajo de verdad”. Este es el caso de Joaquin Grech Gomendio, antiguo alumno del IMBA 2010 y fundador de la empresa desarrolladora de aplicaciones móviles Echoboom Apps.

Desde 2007 Joaquin comenzó a programar aplicaciones móviles. La primera fue una Calculadora Financiera que ha estado en el top 10 de las aplicaciones financieras de Apple.  Más tarde, mientras cursaba el IMBA en el IE empezó a desarrollar Dogfight (combate aéreo en inglés), un simulador de vuelo de la Primera Guerra Mundial que ha alcanzado más de 3 millones de descargas.

Dogfight Elite

“Con Dogfight hemos podido explorar un nicho de amantes de los simuladores de vuelo, y con el tiempo nuestros seguidores nos han pedido que exista un componente histórico detrás de los aviones y las misiones. Fue a partir de esa inspiración que decidimos poner nuestro esfuerzo en una aventura mucho mayor: Dogfight Elite un juego online educativo que empieza en la Primera Guerra Mundial y continua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial”- menciona Joaquin que están buscando financiación a través de Kickstarter. Cada misión se basa en hechos históricos, y estará disponible para jugar en múltiples plataformas: desde el PC o desde un dispositivo móvil.  

Kickstarter es una plataforma mundialmente conocida de crowdfunding que permite hacer una preventa de un producto a cambio de financiación. En este caso, Dogfight Elite ofrece diferentes beneficios para cada tipo de colaborador. La lista de premios llega a incluir a las empresas que quieran inmortalizar su marca en el terreno de juego, con lo que llaman la recompensa del “Marketing Guru”. Hasta ahora la recompensa más codiciada es la que da acceso a una versión Alpha del juego, lo que hará del proceso de producción de Dogfight Elite una experiencia inolvidable. Hasta ahora han recibido más de $5000 en apoyo y la campaña dura hasta el 4 de mayo.

Ciertamente estaremos muy pendientes de este proyecto basado en el crowdfunding – crowsourcing, que estará disponible a finales de año.

 Desde aquí deseamos buena suerte a Joaquin y a Echoboom Apps en sus proyectos!