“You are embarking on a new stage that is going to shape your future”

The Dean of EAE Business School Madrid, Antonio Rodriguez Ruibal, used this phrase to welcome over 1,000 students on the Full-Time, Part-Time and Weekend Master programs starting the academic year in the October 2022 intake. Throughout the week of 17th to 21st October, these students had the opportunity to take part in the Welcome Week organized at EAE Madrid’s Joaquín Costa and Príncipe de Vergara Campuses.

EAE Business School Madrid’s Welcome Week got under way on Monday 17th October with a networking at the Fortuny Home Club, where the Dean welcomed all the students, who also had the chance to watch a talk entitled “Innovation when Tackling New Challenges” given by César Quintero del Valle, the Co-Founder and Institutional Relationship Manager at Befootball.

The Dean advised the students, throughout their programs, to “learn, make the most of the classes and realise that the assignments and reading that they will have to do every day form part of the learning process”, describing them as good disciples of the best teachers.

He also encouraged them to take full advantage of their lecturer’s wisdom, experience and research in order to learn. He went on to remind them that “the teachers are the people in charge of equipping you with all the tools that you will need for the future”.

Lastly, Antonio Rodriguez Ruibal asked which of them “wants to work hard for a better world. I am not talking about the future but about the world. Who is ready to work hard for a better world? It is an honour to hear your responses and we applaud you. I find it very moving to see that the youth of today will fight together for a better, fairer, more sustainable world”.

The Dean then handed over to César, who was recently given the highest award granted by the Community of Madrid in the field of sport in recognition of his Zero Tolerance in Football protocol. He encouraged the students not to settle with their lot, to aspire for more and fight for a brighter future. “That is why you are here today, on the first day of a new great adventure, entitled Your Life”.

The main goal of Welcome Week is for the students to get to know the different services they are offered at EAE Business School Madrid, as well as to meet the faculty and their classmates. Emmanuele Adamo, the Director of EAE Madrid’s Marketing and Communication Department urged the students to "enjoy Welcome Week and be excited about embarking on an adventure that will change their personal and professional life forever". He also encouraged them “never to stop learning in every possible way”.

Over the days of Welcome Week, the students had the opportunity to take part in different sessions, including EAE Alumni Talks, in which former students share their experience at the School and how they overcame their greatest challenges as well as Soft Skills workshops and Masterclasses given by experts in a range of sectors.

Lorena Rioli, a Belgian student on the Master in International Business, explained that she chose to study at EAE Business School Madrid because she wants to specialize in International Business. "Browsing online, I saw in the rankings that EAE Madrid was really highly rated. It is a great opportunity because it also gives me the chance to live in the city of Madrid". "I am sure that starting this chapter of my life at EAE Madrid will transform my professional career, setting me on the right path. I am certain my time here will really help me achieve my goals”

Max, a student on the Master in Digital Marketing & E-Commerce, explained that he has come from Frankfurt to do the program EAE Business School Madrid because he is sure he will learn a great deal about Digital Marketing on the Master, enabling him to develop his own projects as a consultant, as well as living in an international setting and tackling new challenges.

The masterclasses were led by experts such as Silvia Bueso-Inchausti, who discussed the revolution of innovation, and Alberto Gómez and Sara Garcia from DHL, who talked about leadership and sustainable solutions, as well as exploiting creative potential in a coordinated way and making the digital supply chain a reality.

Víctor Asensi, the Deputy Country Head of Degroof Petercam Asset Management, who has a Bachelor Degree in Law from the Universidad Complutense and a Master in Stock and Financial Markets from the IEB, gave a masterclass on "Sustainability in Finance and Investments Today". In their session, Cristóbal Herrera and Maribel Osuna from Enterprise discussed “Shared Mobility and Transport Sustainability”.

Juan Carlos Cubeiro, one of Spain’s leading experts on talent development, leadership and coaching for professionals, Head of Talent at ManpowerGroup, CEO of Right Management and Honorary President of the Spanish Association of Process Coaching and Consultancy, gave a masterclass entitled “Post-Pandemic Leadership in the Face of the Great Resignation”

Next, Augusto Santos, from Corporate Excellence shared his insight into “Corporate Purpose as the Heart of Organizations”, and Tomás Giovanetti, from TGA Company, recounted his experience as an entrepreneur, having started to build a company specializing in the development of corporate video games at just 16 years old.

For the programs in English, Augusto Santos gave the English version of his session on corporate purpose, while Gabriel Zangenfeind gave a talk on “Current and Future Trends: Challenges in the Sports Industry”

The students also had the chance to look around the Info-stand area, where EAE’s Partner companies, such as Citylife, Altafit and Sabadell, explained their services to the students. Pamela Abad, the Head of EAE Ambassadors and Alumni also gave an overview of all the service and benefits involved in being an Ambassador.

The week culminated in another networking event that gave the students the opportunity to listen to Silvia Rivela, the Co-Founder of Dowe, who discussed the Metaverse and the future of work. Silvia analysed the current situation of work and emphasized that flexibility is the future. “Talent drain is a real problem for companies nowadays. We have to define a clear, standardized work culture.”

She went on to talk about the use of the Metaverse, defining its key application as a channel for communication and learning.

Silvia answered questions on creating a corporate culture remotely and giving feedback digitally. “In the Metaverse, the environment and experience that you build is the same thing. When you interpret by profile, patterns in the game are replicated. These patterns exist and, thanks to the game, you can identify them”.

As a negative aspect of the Metaverse, Silvia highlighted that “there is no point of collaboration or any ethical guidelines on how we have to behave”.