Sun, hospitable people, delicious food and splendid wines … Sounds like Madrid? Yes, but no! It’s about Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, the pearl of Caucasus, and this is where the CIS+ Alumni Get Together took place on June 5-7.
35 alumni from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan joined us for three wonderful days in one of the most beautiful cities of the region.
The event included a welcome dinner hosted by Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, Vice Chairman of the School, teambuilding activities facilitated by Balvinder Powar, IE Leadership Professor, pitches of startups/businesses by alumni, Georgian cooking show and wine tasting delivered by Fernando Cortiñas, IE Marketing Professor and a notable wine connoisseur.
The combination of business and fun ensured that everyone had a great time and tanked up with new knowledge and impressions.
This is what our alumni have to say about the event:
Maria Yanusheva, Russia: First of all, I was amazed by the choice of a location for our reunion. Tbilisi is a beautiful city inhabited by cordial, hospitable people. It was great to spend time with old friends as well as to meet new people from all over CIS. IE is a never-ending story, even after the graduation!
Salome Sikharulidze, Georgia: CIS + Alumni Get Together was a truly unique opportunity to meet with alums from around the region, catch up with old friends, meet IE professors. The three unforgettable days enabled us to interchange ideas, points of views and experiences, have fun and enjoy friendly and inspiring atmosphere. I would like to thank IE administration, professors and alumni for the wonderful weekend! Looking forward to next gathering again!
Shushan Vardanyan, Armenia: After 10 years from my own graduation, it was fascinating to meet IE CIS alumni in Tbilisi and to enjoy once again that unique and precious feeling, which is being surrounded by people who are coming from different countries, cultures and generations and still feeling at home with them, because we all share that big idea: DIVERSITY IS GOOD! And we all can learn a lot from each other. I truly missed IE people!
Anar Babazade, Azerbaijan: In IE we had a common goal and common value uniting us – we struggled to get better every day. This kind of reunions are very important to see what still keeps us all on the same ground and links to each other – to share our common professional interests and keep learning from each other. This is the best way to get more synergies from IE family and utilize the benefits of being international school alum, at its maximum.
Ekaterina Korsun, Russia: “I’ve never been in Tbilisi before, but I was warmly welcomed there as a bosom friend. Thanks to this amazing city and to my new friends living there for reminding me that life is beautiful”
Teona Mikadze, Georgia: The alumni weekend in Tbilisi was a wonderful opportunity to connect to alumni in the region, expand the network, forge new friendships and share.
Alexey Velikiy, Russia: It was an unforgettable event, full of joy, great mood, incredible people, wonderful moments seasoned with great city of Tbilisi, astonishing food and stunning landscape. It was the event where you realize every moment that you are surrounded by people who share same values, same knowledge, same principle; you feel everywhere the IE spirit. Special thanks to IE team and Georgian Alumni.
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