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On 20th October, EADA’s International MBA participants took part in the 4th edition of the Barcelona MBA Day, which is a great initiative organized by Barcelona Global, a private non-profit association made up of 229 of the city’s leading companies, research centers, entrepreneurs and professionals. A total of 640 MBA participants from EADA Business School, IESE Business School, ESADE, UPF Barcelona School of Management, ESIC and IQS spent the day visiting multinationals, local companies, research centres, startups and places of cultural interest in Barcelona. Leaders from these organisations and institutions explained to current participants their business models, its connection with Barcelona and the potential of the city has to become a global city.

The goal of this initiative is for future global executives to gain first-hand knowledge of the entrepreneurial, economic and research-oriented side of the city, and to encourage them to consider developing their professional careers in Barcelona or becoming global ambassadors for Barcelona once they complete their studies. The event aims to position Barcelona as a destination for an international university and postgraduate students.

According to Bibiana Camba, EADA’s International Development Director, “the Barcelona MBA Day is a great opportunity to know about Barcelona’s competitiveness from a business, entrepreneurial and technological innovation perspective and also to attract and retain international MBA talent”. Camba adds: “The event also showcased the excellence of higher education in Barcelona where you can find some of the top business schools worldwide”.

An immersion in the entrepreneurial, economic and cultural side of Barcelona

EADA’s participants were divided into 2 groups. Each one carried out two visits: one to a large company and another to a research centre. Each group was accompanied by a guide from Barcelona Global. The first group began the day visiting two big companies. On one hand, Grupo Freixenet, is one of the leading companies in the Spanish wine-growing sector and the world leader in high-quality sparkling wines produced using the traditional method. The representatives of this company were Thomas Scholl, CFO and Member of the Managing Board, and also Javier Flores, Public Relations. Their second stop was the headquarters of Prensa Ibérica, which is a leading communication group in regional and local information that publishes 24 print and digital newspapers, as well as magazines. In this company, they were guided by Anna Domènech, who is the Marketing Director at El Periódico and Head of Brands at Prensa Ibérica.

The second group started at Quadpack, which is a global manufacturer and supplier of packaging solutions for beauty brands. The People Director David Ackley welcomed our participants and told them not only about the business model but the company’s sustainability approach and its commitment to society’s positive impact. After that, they moved up to Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, the Art Noouveau site which is the most important work of Catalan architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner. Its modernist pavilions were restored recently and were declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1997. Sant Pau hosts several resident organisations working in the fields of innovation, sustainability, health and culture, among others. One of them is Mediktor, the second stop of the day for EADA’s second group. As Gonzalo Gómez, Global Business Development Director, pointed out, Mediktor is the most accurate AI-based medical assistant for triage and pre-diagnosis. This is an interactive tool that can analyse users’ symptoms and evaluate their state of health.

The Barcelona MBA Day concluded with an event at the MACBA Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, the benchmark of contemporary art museums and a must-visit for all art lovers. Here, the students from all the business schools gathered and shared the amazing experience lived all day.