Last week young business hopefuls and future entrepreneurs at AIESEC Austria’s Youth 2 Business Forum feasted on food for thought. Alongside keynote speakers Alexa Wesner, US Ambassador to Austria; Rudolf Lichtmannegger, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; and UNIDO’s Fatou Haidara, IE Professor Andrew McCarthy inspired many young minds in the realms of Design Thinking and User Experience through a series of intriguing workshops. At the event, Professor McCarthy gave many bright, young minds a taste of what it is like to study at IE, where professors and students are not afraid to take a holistic approach to business in their attempts to drive innovation. For all that attended, it was clear that although pure business knowledge in realms such as financial accounting and strategic management are certainly as important for organizations as they ever were, business is not exclusively about numbers. In creating products and services for the future, an altogether more creative approach is often necessary to innovate in the most user-centric way and to design solutions to real-world issues. Coming from diverse fields of study and countries of origin, attendees came together in the heart of Vienna and likened a typical class of energetic IE students, ready to engage with each other, share opinions and co-create. We hope that they embrace some of what they learned from Professor McCarthy and each other and wish them every success in their continuing studies and future innovative undertakings.
Killian O’Keeffe
Associate Director of Master Programs
DACH Region
germany@ie.edu
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