North America

Madrid, April 1, 2011. Prince Charles visited IE Business School this morning to meet with young entrepreneurs and senior executives in the Youth Entrepreneurship Seminar, a workshop focused on the challenges facing entrepreneurialism. The seminar was organized by IE and Youth Business International (YBI), a UK foundation presided by the Prince of Wales. The Prince was received by Diego del Alcázar, President of IE Business School, Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, Dean of IE, and Juan José Güemes, President of IE Business School’s International Center for Entrepreneurial Management.

As a world leader in the field of entrepreneurship, IE Business School organized the Youth Entrepreneurship Seminar to explore the current status of entrepreneurship in global terms, including the challenges facing entrepreneurs, the problems they face, and the impact of public policies. During the event, Juan José Güemes presented the main findings of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, a survey of entrepreneurial activity carried out in 59 countries worldwide, the Spanish edition of which is coordinated by IE Business School. Andrew Devenport, CEO of Youth Business International, explained the main lines of action undertaken by the Foundation to support entrepreneurs and business organizations.

“The commitment shown by HRH The Prince of Wales and the YBI are an example that other institutions should follow. We need greater recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship and the values it represents. We should celebrate the efforts and initiative of entrepreneurs”, said Juan José Güemes.

During his visit to IE Business School, Prince Charles showed an interest in entrepreneurial projects developed by young entrepreneurs at the School, businesses like BitBrain, centered on the development and commercialization of brain-computer interface technology; Fluff, specialized in the design of toys for children’s development; or Vaelsys, specialized in artificial vision solutions. These projects were developed under the aegis of the Banespyme Orange School, an initiative launched by IE Business School, Orange, and Banesto Society and Technology Foundation, to promote technology-based start-ups.

Prince Charles also met with leading figures from the Spanish government, including María Luz Rodriguez Fernández, Secretary of State for Employment, and Felipe Petriz, Secretary of State for Research. The Prince heard opinions from executives heading companies committed to entrepreneurship, including Carlos Mas, President of PwC, Antonio Basagoiti, President of Banesto, Vicente Moreno, President of Accenture, Fernando Ruiz, President of Deloitte, José Miguel Andrés, President of Ernst & Young, Carlos Domingo, CEO of Telefónica R&D, Miguel Crespo, Secretary General of Bankia, and Blake Winchell and Giuseppe Tringali, members of the IE Advisory Board.  The Prince of Wales also talked with heads of foundations, including IE Foundation, Accenture Foundation, Bankinter Innovation Foundation, BBVA Microfinance Foundation, PwC Foundation, Ramón Areces Foundation, Banco Santander Foundation, Junior Achievement España, and Professor Uría Foundation.

Katrina Managan co-authored a white paper on unleashing energy efficiency opportunity in buildings while doing her MBA

Katrina Managan is no ordinary student of IE Business School. She wants to make a difference by providing realistic solutions to problems like global warming. And the way she has made her mark is by co-authoring a well-received white paper on energy efficiency.

Titled ‘Financing Energy Efficiency Retrofits in Buildings’, she has worked in collaboration with Peter Sweatman of Climate Strategy and Partners to provide recommendations that can bring about a change to Spain’s economy.

In a tête-à-tête with Katrina, she tells more about her research, her life and experience, and what she hopes to do in the future. With a BA (Honours) in Political Science and Biology from Brandeis University in Boston, she is a Fulbright scholar currently pursuing the International MBA at IE Business School.

She hopes to gain in-depth knowledge of the tools of business, with an aim to increase energy efficiency within the business world.

So how did she decide on an MBA after studying politics and biology? Well, her five-year work experience with the National Wildlife Federation seems to have brought along the transition.

According to Katrina, her work with NWF allowed her to use her political skills to do some policy work, and her biology knowledge to deal with global warming. And by using this combination, she realised that energy efficiency could not only provide some upward boost to the economy, but could also be a solution to the problem of global warming.

She stresses the fact that buildings are responsible for 40 to 45% of all energy used in developed countries. Not just that, a business model based on reducing energy usage in a cost-effective way is attractive to investors. Hence, her motivation to travel thousands of miles to pursue an MBA in a country she thinks is the world leader of clean energy.

What started off as a search for a summer internship, turned into a five-month research project ending with the publication of a white paper. The research sheds light on cost-effective opportunities to improve energy efficiency in buildings, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

She devised an Aggregated Investment Model, which provides recommendations on how countries like the US, UK and Spain can increase their investment in building retrofits to conserve energy.

Besides that, ideas are also provided for Spain in particular to act on energy efficiency as a means to improve its declining economy. According to Katrina, working on the white paper was very special, especially her chance to talk to experts and reviewers in the field, and to put what she had been studying to practical use.

Her passion for her field of work comes across when she reveals that her goal is to find a position that will allow her to be a catalyst to develop the clean energy market. She plans on heading back to Washington DC after her graduation in December, and make a transition from working in public policy to working in the private sector dealing with energy and technology.

If you’re wondering who has been her mentor and inspiration over the years, she names two important people in her life: “Peter Sweatman, the CEO and Founder of Climate Strategy and Partners, with whom I wrote this white paper has been an amazing guide and role model for me as I enter the world of business.

“And Jeremy Symons at the National Wildlife Federation, now Senior Vice President of Conservation and Education, is my greatest mentor – he constantly challenged me to become better than I thought I could be, he is the best strategic thinker I’ve ever met, and he showed what it is to live with purpose, kindness and humility.”

For Katrina, there is never too much on her plate. She is also the Vice President of the NetImpact Club and Energy Club at her School. So how did she manage to balance her education, her club activities, and her work on the paper? Though she admits that she had to step back from a few things over the last two months, she also adds, “It was all interesting and engaging, so I didn’t mind balancing them all.”

Written by:  Rashmi KRISHNA KUMAR

http://www.businessbecause.com/business-school-news/ie-business-school-mba-has-a-plan-to-save-energy.htm

By MICHAEL DIBIASIO, News-Record Writer mdibiasio@gillettenewsrecord.net 

Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010 12:45 PM MDT

Coree Schmitz loves energy. She loves it so much that she is traveling half way around the world to feed her passion for it, but not all on her own bill.

Schmitz, a 2003 Campbell County High School salutatorian, leaves for Spain as a Fulbright Scholar in November and hopes to explore that country’s renewable energy sector. She will be overseas for 13 months working on her international master’s of business administration at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.

She said it has been a personal goal ever since she came back from her Spanish exchange program in college.

Schmitz and two other applicants received the scholarship out of 35 applicants. It will cover her tuition, books, plane tickets, health insurance and a roughly $1,600-per-month stipend to live on.

“Working in an accredited MBA will just open the door for more learning experiences,” said Schmitz, who’s had a variety of experience in the energy industry already.

She was a field hand for Western Gas, checking natural gas pipelines for leaks for three summers in college.

From that position, she became a company intern in summer 2006, where she decided she liked the corporate side of the energy sector. She’s spent the past two years in Denver working for Bill Barrett Corp. as a natural gas scheduler for its marketing department, “but I knew I wanted to take a year off and focus on my studies,” she said.

Schmitz also said she was craving some international energy exposure.

“Spain is a big sponsor of wind energy, and I want to see the alternative energy base they are working on there,” Schmitz said. “Their renewable energy sector is moving faster than others out of necessity, and while I enjoy natural gas, primary energy is shifting to renewable. It may not be very efficient yet, but I want to go somewhere that’s trying to be cutting edge so I can apply what I learn when I come back.”

Schmitz isn’t sure what her plans will be when she returns.

“I want to keep my options entirely open,” she said.

“I’d like to come back to Denver, or maybe work a couple years overseas. Whatever I do, I’d like to remain in the energy sector. It’s a passion of mine,” she said.

Schmitz graduated magna cum laude from Valparaiso University in 2007 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration and minors in finance and Spanish.

What is a Fulbright?

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to study or conduct research abroad for one academic year.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered by the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

It was established in 1946 by Congress to “enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”

We’ve just launched a new award program for students bringing their spouses/partners and/or families with them to Madrid while they are completing full-time studies. The key details are below, see the Financial Aid web site for more information on how to apply...

The Family Support Grants are meant to help two types of students:

1) Admitted students who are coming to IE for full-time master study, and who will be bringing their spouse and/or family with them.
2) Spouses of current and admitted students who decide to also do a master program at IE, while their spouse is completing their program.

Admitted students bringing their family.  If you are an admitted student who will be bringing your family with you to Madrid while you are studying at IE on a full-time basis, then we may be able to help with the financial burden. While funds are limited, the IE Foundation has made a set amount of awards available to support students coming to Madrid for study, who will be bringing their spouse and/or children.

Spouses of current and admitted students. While you may not have children yet, every year many students bring their spouses to Madrid with them when studying a full-time master program. Given that spouses generally can’t work, the IE Foundation has also set aside funds to provide financial support for those spouses of current students who decide they too want to study a program at IE.

Requirements: Definitive Admission to an IE master program and official documentation showing you will be bringing your spouse and/or family with you. Additional documentation may be requested.

Value: From 20%-50% of tuition fees, applied directly to the pending tuition due for the student or spouse studying at IE.

Madrid, April 2010. Students from IE Business School´s International MBA were the runners up of the 2010 edition of Cerebration, the annual business plan competition held in Singapore. The competition is run by NUS National University and is aimed at promoting the international growth of companies in Singapore.

Mark Peinhopf, Matteo Perondi, Joseph Berlino and Mario del Duca presented a strategic development plan for Vestas, a major international supplier of wind power solutions. The IE Business School students competed against some 500 teams comprised of students from leading business schools to reach the final of the competition, along with 5 other teams. This is the third time an IE Business School team has reached the final of Cerebration. In 2005, students Martin Paley, Sami Shiro, Tesia Hostetler and Chris Kozup from IE’s International MBA took 2^nd prize, and in 2006, Michael Cole, Mohammed Al-Menifi, Deepanjan Mukherjee, and Kapil Jhindal were overall winners of the competition.