“We are looking at ways to work closely together on teaching, research and corporate relations,” said Eero Kasanen, a former rector of the Aalto University School of Business (formerly the Helsinki School of Economics). “Through our strategic partnership, each school can benefit from the other’s strengths. ESADE is very strong in management education and Aalto is making great strides in design thinking and multidisciplinary platforms.”
The schools’ first joint project was to create the Internship Innovation Project (I2P), a course on strategic innovation that runs from 1st February to 10th May 2013. “This exciting new partnership will give ESADE students experience in two leading institutions,” said Alfons Sauquet, dean of ESADE. “It will also give both Aalto and ESADE students the chance to make new contacts that will serve them well in their careers.”
“We’re proud to be working in close cooperation with one of the world’s top business schools,” said Ingmar Björkman, dean of Aalto. “We complement each other’s expertise extremely well.”
First joint course
The I2P is a fundamental part of ESADE’s MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) programme. “Running this project in collaboration with Aalto will help us to position the MIE as the benchmark programme in Europe,” said Jordi Vinaixa, academic director of the ESADE Entrepreneurship Institute and director of the MIE.
In the I2P, teams of students work on real challenges posed by companies such as AbbVie, Veritas, TV3, Santa & Cole, Hewlett-Packard, Comsa Emte and Repsol.
Each school is home to ten teams. Five of the teams are ‘mixed’, with students from both Aalto and ESADE, who will travel to visit each other three times during the project, explained lecturer Lotta Hassi, who is involved in the course at both ends.
Also a joint executive education programme
ESADE and Aalto are also joining forces in executive education. The schools plan to produce a joint International Design Business Management (IDBM) programme that targets Europe, Latin America and Asia. Aalto University Executive Education (Aalto EE) will bring a multidisciplinary approach and new, innovative learning methods to the IDBM programme, while ESADE’s core competencies include executive education in business models and innovations. This initiative will allow the schools to pool their executive education experience in various geographical markets. Aalto EE has been operating in Asia for 18 years, and ESADE is a strong executive education provider in Latin America.
The programme will target sectors that stand to benefit from it directly, including the traditional forestry and chemistry industries and select service sectors such as healthcare. The IDBM programme will be imparted in Barcelona and Helsinki.
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More information:
ESADE and Aalto EE set sights on Latin America and Asia, with design-sector executive education
ABOUT AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Aalto University School of Business (formerly the Helsinki School of Economics) was established in 1911. Today, it is the leading business school in Finland and one of the top schools in Europe. The School belongs to the 1% of business schools that have earned the top international quality accreditations in the field: AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS. A lively, innovative community of about 4,000 students and 600 faculty and staff, the School has its main campus in Helsinki and another in Mikkeli, Finland. The School is part of Aalto University, a new multidisciplinary community in the fields of science, business, art and design. Founded on Finnish strengths, the University aims to become one of the world's top universities.
ABOUT ESADE
Founded in 1958, ESADE now has campuses in Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires and centres in São Paulo and Munich. It also has collaboration agreements with over 200 universities and business schools worldwide. Each year, more than 12,000 students participate in courses at ESADE (MBA and Executive Education, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in business and law). The School’s business park, ESADECREAPOLIS, is a pioneering innovation centre that brings together academia and the world of business. With a clear international outlook, ESADE ranks near the top of the main business-school rankings (Financial Times and Businessweek). ESADE currently has a network of over 45,000 alumni occupying positions of responsibility in enterprises around the globe. Since celebrating its 50th anniversary, ESADE has adopted ‘Inspiring Futures’ as its institutional motto to illustrate the goal of fostering a spirit of renewal in the fields of business and law.