ESADE-URL and Aalto University in Finland have joined forces to train entrepreneurs committed to innovation

Wednesday, 21 January 2015. ESADE-URL signed an agreement this morning with Finland's Aalto University, considered a global benchmark in the field of innovation. Through this new international alliance, both institutions expand their offer of training and support to entrepreneurs and managers committed to innovation through design and technology to create new business opportunities.

The agreement was signed at the ESADECREAPOLIS centre for innovation, located in the international ESADE-URL campus in Sant Cugat (Barcelona). The event was presided over by Tuula Teeri, president of Aalto University, and Eugenia Bieto, General Manager of ESADE-URL.

Aalto University is one of the newest universities in Europe, born in 2010 as a result of the merger of three academic institutions in Finland: the Helsinki School of Economics, the Helsinki University of Technology and the University of Art and Design. Since its inception, the international academic community has followed the joining of management, technology and design with great interest, in what has been considered a clear example of the need to redefine the future role of universities in Europe.
 

Entrepreneurship, innovation and technology

ESADE-URL, with campuses in Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), is one of the leading business schools in Europe and stands out as a leader in the fields of training in entrepreneurship, innovation and social leadership. It has been ranked third in the ranking of European Business Schools and fifth in the Financial Times' Executive Education ranking. ESADE-URL has over 150 agreements with international universities, including those signed with Georgetown University (Washington, USA), the Guanghua School of Management (Beijing, China) and HEC (Paris). It has a network of 50,000 alumni who hold positions of responsibility in companies on five continents.

“ESADE-URL remains committed to partnerships with global reference partners to bolster its growth strategy", said the ESADE-URL's General Manager. “I think ESADE-URL and Aalto are the best combination for entrepreneurs passionate about innovation as a way of opening new business opportunities”. For Prof. Bieto, the joint programmes and projects between ESADE-URL and Aalto "are perfectly suited to today's environment", in which technology and the digital revolution "are leading constant innovation processes in the business world”.

Aalto University's Prof. Tuula Teeri was delighted to have taken a further step in this collaboration: “At Aalto University, we are committed to multidisciplinary cooperation and have considerable experience in student-driven entrepreneurial activities. ESADE-URL's future vision in the field of management training fits perfectly with our approach. Both of our institutions evaluate and look for innovative solutions in the field of higher education.”

Students work on real innovation projects in companies

The innovative approach of both universities has made it possible to launch training programmes that are extremely attractive to the market, a notable example of which is the Internship Innovation Programme (I2P), in which multidisciplinary teams of students from ESADE-URL and Aalto University propose innovative solutions to real problems posed by Spanish and Finnish companies. In their first editions, they involved nearly a hundred students from both schools along with companies such as HP, Repsol, BBVA Planeta, Kekkilä and Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Another result of this new alliance will be the Double Master Degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship which, after two years studying in Barcelona and Helsinki, will allow students to obtain a double degree at ESADE-URL and Aalto (www.esade.edu/management and www.idbm.aalto.fi).

And finally we would like to point to another joint programme, aimed at executives and focusing on training in design thinking, one of the latest trends in management for implementing innovation in the market (www.designthinking.eu.com).

More information:
Judith Mangrané
ESADE-URL Communication and press
Tel. 934 952 099 | 646 094 992
judith.mangrane@esade.edu