Archive for May/2011

IE students enjoy dinner and a night out with the IE Portuguese Club.

Not only does IE have alumni clubs in cities around the world, it also has several cultural student clubs on its campus in Madrid. These clubs hold cultural events, where students from one country share their food, music and customs with their classmates. IE has student clubs representing a range of countries in Europe and around the world. Among those included are France, Italy, the UK, Lebanon, Israel, Japan, India and Singapore.

Recently, the IE Portuguese Club held an event (pictured) with Portuguese food, drinks and music. “It was for people to know each other and mingle. There was a lot of Portuguese culture and really good Portuguese music during the dinner,” said David Coutinho, president of the Portuguese Club.

“I met a lot of new Portuguese form IE because of the dinner,” he said, noting that he knew there were 7 Portuguese students in his International MBA program, but he met several others studying in different masters programs. He also met many  non-Portuguese as well.

“I had several people that I didn’t know coming up to me and saying that they love Portugal and because of that they wanted to join the party,” he said.

Other cultural events that took place this Spring included a St. Patrick’s Day event from the Ireland Club, the Italian Club’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the reunification of Italy, and the Iran Club’s celebration of the Persian new year.

Now students are in the middle of exams, but even more events can be expected in the summer. The biggest — The Global Village — will be held on May 26.  There cultural clubs will converge outdoors on IE’s campus, offering food, drinks, dance and music from all over the world. The video below shows the Global Village event from last year:

As you can see, the highly international student body at IE offers students access to cultures from all over the world, all in one place!

Spain and Russia are working together to promote cultural awareness throughout 2011.

Spain and Russia have lauched an initiative in 2011 to work together throughout the year to create an extensive programme of educational, cultural, scientific and economic projects. The aim is to boost Spain-Russia relations and create new opportunities between the two countries.

This week IE hosted deans, rectors and vice rectors of key Russian education institutions to talk with leaders from IE and other Spanish institutions on ways to work together on education. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Russian Association of Business Education (RABE).

Several more upcoming events can be found here. Many of the events are open to the general public, and cover a range of topics, from studying abroad to language and culture.

A group of MBA students from IE's November 2010 intake enjoy Madrid's April weather on the lawn outside of classes last month.

Sunny Madrid was once again ranked as one of the top cities to live and work in worldwide. According to the 2010 Most Livable Cities ranking by www.monocle.com, the Spanish capital is ranked tenth. Having grown up under the grey sky of England, of the first things you notice on arriving in Madrid is the intensity of the blue sky and a very pleasant climate, with over 300 days of sunshine all year round, be it summer or winter.

The city has a cultural vibrancy and a 24-hour lifestyle that one does not find in other cities. Furthermore, despite the 5 million population, Madrid provides you with the safe sensation of being almost like a village, with the madrileños being especially warm and welcoming to the fairly recent influx of people from all over the world.

Apart from the more touristic sites in Madrid, such as the Palacio Real, la Plaza Mayor, the Rastro market in La Latina, the worldwide renowned Art Museums such as the Prado, El Reina Sofia and Thyssen, the city also offers many alternative options. In recent years many cultural and art centres have opened, the Matadero, Caixa Forum, La Casa Encendida and La Fabrica, Museo del traje, providing a very innovative and creative approach to the more traditional and austere Art Museums in Madrid.

In addition, as one of Europe´s greatest party towns, there are endless bars where you can have a “caña” (little beer) or tapas, in the many different parts of Madrid from La Latina, Lavapies, Salamanca to Malasaña. Music-lovers are truly catered for by the many music festivals, featuring both local and international bands, and the various concerts halls: La Sala Sol, Heineken, Moby Dick, Siroco and Sala Caracol.

For a more peaceful moment, one can rest in one of the many green areas such as the Retiro, Casa de Campo, Parque del oeste or even take a stroll along the newly re-opened River Manzares, which recently reclaimed 8km of river parkland and urban beaches. However to escape from the city, there is no better option than to go out to the Sierra mountains, just one hour away, and breathe the fresh air and visit the local historical villages.

– Kim Goddard