IESA Foundation

Professor Rosa Amelia González attended the annual meeting of the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) in Buenos Aires

iesa-master — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 17:30:24 +0000

The annual meeting of the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) was held in Buenos Aires on May 25th and 26th, with attendance of professors and researchers from the following Latin American institutions: University of São Paulo (Brazil) ), INCAE (Costa Rica), Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), ESPAE Graduate School of Management ESPOL (Ecuador), ESADE (Spain), EGADE-Tec de Monterrey (Mexico), Universidad del Pacífico (Peru) and Universidad de San Andres (Argentina), which served as the host school; on behalf of IESA (Venezuela), Professor Rosa Amelia González attended the event.

This meeting reviewed the progress of the ongoing project of the network, called Inclusive Distribution Networks, carried out within the framework of the Scala Observatory, sponsored by BID-FOMIN. The status of in-process articles and case studies related to previous research projects were also reviewed.

Additionally, administrative and financial aspects of the network were reviewed. The Network’s mission, created in 2001, is to expand the frontiers of knowledge and practice of entrepreneurial and socially, inclusive and sustainable initiatives, through research and the strengthening of managerial training, focused on participant centered learning. Among the contributions achieved are 3 books and more than 70 pedagogical cases published.

IESA was among the first three finalists of the “MBA Innovation Award” given by AMBA

iesa-master — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 17:29:00 +0000

The MBA Association (AMBA) recognized with the “MBA Innovation Award” accredited business schools that stood out for their innovative practices and creativity in their masters of business administration programs. The award ceremony was held at the Awards & Gala Dinner held in London on Friday the 29th this past January.

Distinctions and awards were given to prestigious business leaders, deans from schools in several countries, graduates of programs accredited by AMBA and journalists. IESA was among the first three finalists and the trophy was received by a graduate of our Master’s in Business Administration program, Felipe Montemayor.

The Institute competed with other well-known international schools. The ALBA Graduate School at the American College in Greece was the winner, from a large list of participants. In addition to IESA, the following academic institutions were finalists:

• IEEM, School of Business, University of Montevideo
• Imperial College Business School
• Open University Business School
• Politecnico di Milano School of Management

Our school received an award for the Financial Assistance Program (PAF), whose purpose is that IESA’s masters candidates, who have the necessary merits to be admitted, but do not have the financial resources to pay the tuition, can receive financial support (credit, and total or partial exoneration of repayment depending on the their grade point average) to study the master’s program of their choice.
The success of PAF has been possible thanks to the generous contributions of a group of individuals and companies that have donated to the fundraising campaign of the IESA Foundation. Bancaribe, which is responsible for the administration of the trust, has also been instrumental in its implementation.

Andrea Delgado, IESA’s Alumni and Career Services Manager, expressed satisfaction with this important achievement: “Competing with universities and business schools around the world, and IESA being a finalist in the MBA Innovation Award 2015, means that we are doing the right things and encourages us to continue working for our students, our institution and our country”.

She emphasized that the Institute is constantly innovating to support students. This is why the IESA Foundation is proud to be part of those efforts that are made to contribute to the development of more responsible leaders and managers

Evolving with the Market

iesa-master — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 17:28:07 +0000

IESA was established in 1965 in the oil-producing nation of Venezuela. The school’s founders created the private, nonprofit institution to establish a source of business talent that would facilitate the country’s development as it profited from the oil industry. As oil prices rose, both the private and public sectors of Venezuela expanded, and the school’s growth followed the growth of the economy.

IESA was among the first schools in the region to address both private and public management and to require core faculty members to possess PhDs. From the beginning, knowledge-based research has formed a key part of the educational process in both academic and executive education programs, and professors have contrasted global trends with local realities.

Originally, the school offered two-year daytime academic programs that focused solely on general management topics. Over time, these evolved to academic and executive education programs that were taught mainly at night and increasingly on weekends and that included more specialized studies for the financial and marketing departments of private enterprises.

Without a doubt, one very important factor that has allowed IESA to achieve and maintain high academic standards has been the accreditations we earned from AACSB in 2004, AMBA in 2005, and EQUIS in 2008. Faculty, students, alumni, donors, and business executives all place great value on the accreditations. Because the market also values these accreditations, we are able to maintain the premium pricing we must charge to guarantee financial stability, since the school does not receive public funding.

Nonetheless, we see challenges ahead. During the school’s first 30 years, our progress stemmed from the political stability of the nation and the fact that democratic governments placed great importance on the availability of both free universal public education and private education. But ever since Hugo Chavez was first elected president in 1998, the economic, political, and social climate has deteriorated, resulting in a significant brain drain for the country. Many of the business professionals who have left are IESA graduates. While we are pleased that they are able to compete successfully in the global village, many of us believe IESA must play a new role in the future. We must help educate the next generation of leaders who will reconstruct Venezuela’s public and private institutions once the current political leadership changes.

We believe we have other critical tasks in the years ahead. For instance, international employment trends indicate that the majority of tomorrow’s jobs will be in services rather than in the traditional agricultural or industrial sectors. We recognize that many of our future graduates will be more interested in self-employment than in working for large corporations—where jobs will be very scarce, in any case. Consequently, IESA is placing more importance on entrepreneurship, family business, and social leadership.

We also will need to develop our strategy for e-learning. Because it provides free or low-cost education over the Internet, e-learning poses a challenge to IESA’s business model. At the same time, it offers new opportunities for both academic and executive education programs, and we know IESA will need to manage this new way of communicating knowledge to be successful in the future.

Therefore, to maintain our position in local and international markets, we will do what we have always done: evolve with the changing needs of our industry, our business leaders, our civil servants, and our nation.

Gustavo Roosen is President of the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) in Caracas, Venezuela.