Link between Business and Picasso’s Paintings? The IE Business School in Tbilisi

Representatives of Instituto de Empresa (IE), ranked the best Business School in Europe by the Financial Times, have been in Tbilisi recently. And some lucky Georgian students may soon be able to learn from a system that goes beyond charts, numbers and graphs.

It all started as the very personal project of Diego del Alcázar y Silvela. It was in Madrid, the year 1973. Spain was about to start its transition to democracy, a period of fast and drastic changes that would ultimately bring the country to the European space 13 years later. These changes encompassed the transformations of the IE, setting a precedent for the years to come. Indeed, the word change is ever present in the emphatic words of Diego Alcázar, son of the IE’s founder: “We are continuously expanding our horizons. In 1980, we were pioneers in making the subject of Business Creation mandatory. Already in 2000 we started the system of blended education; partly online, partly face to face. Today we are a reference for this type of education. In 2007 we expanded the School and started a University.” Asked about the coming changes, Alcázar answers that they are planning to remodel their MBA to make it shorter in order to optimize its opportunity cost, and also explore new methodologies and technologies to improve their programs.

Alcázar talked exclusively to Georgia Today in the Rooms Hotel cafe in Tbilisi. Over a hot caffe latte, he announced that the IE has just negotiated three partial scholarships for students of the Free University of Georgia. He argues that the ability of transforming oneself is something that the IE and Georgia have in common: “Georgian students can bring a lot to our school. Georgia is a country that has had to reinvent itself since the fall of the Soviet Union. The capacity of recreating itself is in its DNA: after a traumatic period in the 1990s, now it is a country open to Europe and to foreign tourists, a country with an entrepreneurial mentality that looks to the future”.

Alcázar passionately argues that the IE is unique in its approach to teaching: “Rather than having a professor giving a lesson, we try to stimulate debate and challenge the students’ preconceptions”. He explains how at the IE the aim is to train leaders from a humanistic perspective: “Humanities are a very important part of our approach to teaching because for us it is of utmost importance to stimulate creativity”.

This way of understanding business education is just one of many brush strokes of Alcázar senior’s contribution to his brainchild. In his own words: “I have lots of interests, I read about many different things, go to exhibitions and speak to lots of different people.” This curiosity and passion to discover new things are inextricably linked to the way the IE designs its programs and teaching methodology.

Indeed, this approach is directly linked to another of the IE’s pillars: Diversity. The IE prides itself on having students of almost 90 countries, something that, according to Alcázar junior, is a great asset “because it opens up endless possibilities to network and open your eyes to new perspectives”. This, again, is part of the view of the IE’s founder. On the University’s website, he compares the school’s work to a Picasso painting from the Cubist period: “Above all, for the diversity of shapes”.

The combination of these factors has proved successful: according to Forbes, 92% of those seeking jobs found employment within three months of graduation. Beyond their MBA, the IE offers tailor-made programs for companies, having a team from the IE moving to the hiring company on order to do personalised training for executives. Also, the IE is expanding by partnering with other prestigious schools such as Brown University, Yale and Westings, among many others.

The Free University is just another edge on the cubist image that Diego Alcazar envisioned in 1973.