ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
and government bodies. The idea is that bringing them into our space sows the seeds for executive education down the line. Similarly, our MBA graduates can come back at any point and undertake two MBA modules, free of charge. That helps keep the relationship with our alumni alive, keeps them in the classroom and hopefully fuels things further [down the line].” How is your school seeking to stay competitive against non-traditional providers? Macarena Cuenca: “In Spain, institutional prestige is still perceived as a value. The ecosystem of international accreditations and rankings adds to this, as well as bringing processes of quality and care for the delivery of top products. Having said that, it’s more important than ever to position yourself around the value you bring and what makes you different. In our case, as a Jesuit university business school, this revolves around the principles of humanistic management and our emphasis on positive societal impact.” Dan Pearson: “There are three strands to how we differentiate ourselves above and beyond prestige. Research is one, with our faculty furthering knowledge in their areas of expertise and translating that into the classroom. The second relates to participants’ ability to build meaningful relationships with other students in the classroom, across sectors and global boundaries, as well as becoming part of a community post graduation; this is
something I don’t think non-traditional providers can supply. The third area is around our clear employability offer. The institution has a responsibility beyond the transactional benefits of students paying fees and being awarded a qualification; we’re there to support their career journey.” Tiago Botelho: “We constantly try to understand the needs of the market. We spend lots of time speaking with companies that work with us, bringing them in, arranging a lunch and picking their brains to see what they need. We then try to revamp our programmes in line with what the market is asking for.” José Martínez-Sierra: “There are many providers out there and some offer very disruptive models. Our instinctive reaction towards that is to engage with those providers and grow together. On the other hand, many of those claiming to be disruptive are not offering any value in practice. There is a lot of noise and I think organisations that set the bar, like AMBA, can help us to be more proactive in differentiating between the noise and the providers that take care of the quality of their offerings.” How are operational realities and emerging technologies affecting your school’s approach to sustainability? Tiago Botelho: “It’s the direction of travel that can be problematic, particularly in the UK where many universities are worried about the financial sustainability of programmes and the institution as a whole. How far can investments in that direction go before your senior leadership starts to question whether it is worthwhile to keep investing in sustainability instead of investing in other programme aspects? And when might we reach the point where students will not appreciate what they are being taught because what they want – first and foremost – is a job?” José Martínez-Sierra: “This is a big structural debate – our university’s primary motive is planetary wellbeing and we want our students to be aligned with our values. I think you need to have the courage to select people with those principles beforehand. The conversations in admissions always start with this, so it’s a question of whether you are the right fit and we are the right fit for you. “The decision we took is to launch an undergraduate degree for the first time in our history by creating a bachelor’s in sustainable business administration, because we think that we need a longer period to model the material around sustainability. There’s already so much on the plate of the MBA family of programmes to rely solely on implementing this structural change in a one-year programme.” Dan Pearson: “Like many universities, we produce a report each year on our type one and type two emissions, encompassing student and staff travel, the insulation of our buildings and so on. But it doesn’t cover the use of AI and this does have an
Ambition • ISSUE 4 • 2026 33
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