Building a responsible institution
At IESE, we understand that our own organizational practices should serve as an example of the values and attitudes we convey to our students and the community. Since IESE seeks to make a lasting impact on society through a strong focus on personal and business ethics, these are interwoven into the school's program curricula and a focus on ethics is also a part of virtually all of its activities.
Here are a few examples that reflect this commitment:
- The school stands out among other schools in developing innovative courses and programs with the dimension of global social responsibility, and in incorporating these values in its MBA and executive MBA programs.
- IESE's "Doing Good, Doing Well" conference is among the largest student-run events of its kind, drawing MBA students and business leaders from around the globe to discuss corporate social and environmental responsibility.
- IESE's Business Ethics Department has always played an integral role in the development of the school's curricula, and the MBA program has included a core course in business ethics since 1964.
- One of IESE's longest running events is the International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society.
- Public and health care sector management programs include ethics components. One example: "Driving Government Performance," led by IESE and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, aims to sharpen leadership skills and ethical awareness of senior professionals of public institutions.
- Six research centers and three chairs are primarily dedicated to social responsibility issues.
- Junior IESE faculty receive support for pursuing Ph.D.s at many of the world's leading business schools in the United States through scholarships.
IESE is a member of the United National Global Compact, an initiative to promote corporate responsibility and sustainability in business education. Among the principles of the compact is to engage in research that advances the understanding of the role, dynamics and impact of corporations in furthering social, environmental and economic sustainability.
IESE is also a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education, an engagement platform for business schools and management education-related institutions. An organization that signs on to PRME expresses its conviction that academic institutions, through integrating universal values into curriculum and research, can contribute to a more stable and inclusive global market and help build prosperous and thriving societies. IESE has signed the Principles for Responsible Management Education, where it actively participates in the Working Group on "Curriculum Change and the PRME."
REACHING OUT GLOBALLY
Associated Business Schools
IESE is at the core of a network of Associated Business Schools, most located in emerging countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. IESE has helped these schools grow independently so that they may also have a significant positive impact on their local business environments. The main goal of this activity is to contribute toward economic and social development in these regions. In 2010-2011, IESE made important contributions to these schools through direct donations, discounts for participants to executive education programs, scholarships for graduates of Associated Business Schools to the MBA program and the Ph.D. program and faculty development. The total value of all these contributions was roughly 173,000 euros in 2010-2011.
International Faculty Program
In addition, IESE's long- established International Faculty Program helps develop junior faculty at business schools mainly in emerging countries all over the world. This important initiative helps international faculty members develop professionally and personally in the following areas: communication skills, teaching methodologies and course design, career development and institution building.
Women Business Training Program
IESE is a key partner in Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Women project in the Philippines. IESE is one of a group of business schools and non-profit organizations committed to providing management education to women in developing countries under the project. Through
the initiative, Goldman Sachs supports partnerships with universities and development organizations to provide 10,000 under- privileged women with a business education over five years.
IESE, together with the University of Asia & Pacific, developed the 10,000 Women Business Training Program (BTP), a 150-hour certificate program targeting 150 Philippine women entrepreneurs who want to scale up their existing businesses. In addition to classroom time, BTP participants will benefit from some 50 additional hours of mentoring by local entrepreneurs. As well as providing under- privileged women with practical management skills, 10,000 Women aims to bolster the quality of business education in developing countries through the preparation of local professors and the development of locally relevant case studies.
SOME SOCIAL INITIATIVES
Reflecting IESE's collaborative spirit, many students, professors and staff members contribute to campus- based activities to help those in need locally and in other countries. An example of this is the launch of a fund by IESE staff members in 2011 to support the Enugu Hospital in Nigeria. The state of Enugu is located in the tropical rain forest belt and has 2.7 million inhabitants. It is an area characterized by major health problems, especially:
- High rates of fatal infections (malaria, diarrheas and respiratory infections)
- Children and pregnant women are at high risk as they are particularly vulnerable to the infections
- General lack of knowledge of basic hygiene and preventive measures
- High rate of maternal mortality (arising from childbirth)
- Shortage of professionals trained in healthcare
- Inadequate public investment in healthcare
The MBA Responsible Business Club also leads a fundraising event to benefit "Fundación Raval," which assists Barcelona's most economically disadvantaged district. It also leads an annual gift- giving campaign for residents in the district.
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Many of IESE's graduates go on to create companies with a clear social and sustainable focus. Examples include Jan Willem Bode, the founder of One Carbon, a company that originates carbon credits, and Antonio Molina, founder of Advanced Medical Projects, which is dedicated to developing new drugs to treat cancer, among other health problems.