How did it feel to win the Best Lifelong Learning Initiative 2023 award? “We felt happy because it was the first time participating in the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards and it was an important achievement for both our programme and our school. We regard it as a recognition of both the school’s and the programme’s efforts to strengthen their relationships with graduates and students through activities that contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants.” What were the reasons behind the launch of the Privilegios Programme? “We recognised the importance of giving added value to our stakeholders and started to work on this project by thinking about free-of-charge initiatives that we could use to engage them. We also created ways to set up networking opportunities among students, companies, lecturers, alumni and so on.” The programme covers a lot of different areas, from networking events and start-up support to mentoring programmes and scholarships. Why did the school decide to package all of these elements within one initiative? “Despite the fact that lots of different activities were available that focused on strengthening both the personal and professional skills of our graduates and students, they were disjointed and came under the management of different areas of the school. Measuring their impact was difficult and the participants did not equate the various initiatives with any one single programme. “The Privilegios Programme gave all these different projects their own identity and the activities were grouped into eight categories: entrepreneurship; worldwide travel; academic activities; networking; leadership; social projects (ie corporate social responsibility); career services and mentoring. “Throughout the year, activities are scheduled for each category. This facilitates monitoring, compliance with schedules, measurement of participant satisfaction and the impact of the programme itself. Privilegios represents an evolution in the relationship with graduates and students, aimed at recognising and addressing their needs over time.” Why was it considered so important to provide this service at no cost to graduates and how has this been achieved in a sustainable way for the school? “The relationship of the school with its graduates was conceived as a long-term one. Providing services free of charge has been a policy since its inception. This seeks to promote the sense of belonging in terms of our alumni’s links with the school. Every year, a percentage of our budget is allocated for this purpose. Due to the high degree of satisfaction, alumni refer our programmes to their colleagues or employees and this has in fact become one of the main ways to recruit new students.”
The take-up has been huge, with 70 per cent participation among your MBA graduate cohort. How did you communicate the initiative to them and engage them in the programme? “From the outset, the differentiating factors were highlighted, such as being able to participate for free in activities that promote their personal and professional development and the opportunity to strengthen relationships with colleagues for networking. Once the project was launched, the key was to guarantee compliance with all the activities and ensure the participants’ testimonials were the main source of communication. “In this way, it was possible to increase the participation of graduates over time. Privilegios, and indeed all of the school’s initiatives, has always been elaborated with a long-term vision in mind. More than 2,700 students and graduates of the MBA programme have participated in Privilegios activities in recent years.” How was the programme affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and how has the school been able to adapt? “Many of the activities that had previously been carried out in person had to be conducted online. It was a great challenge that also allowed
32 | Ambition | SEPTEMBER 2023
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