Carlos Rafael González Soffner

Carlos has always enjoyed math and statistics, knowing from a young age that he wanted to pursue them. In his final years of school, however, he came across the social sciences and fell in love with economics and philosophy. He was struggling to find a degree that encompassed both of these passions but, in his mind, it made sense to study both. For Carlos, the two go hand-in-hand.

Carlos discovered IE University by pure chance; his friend sent him a social media post about the dual degree program, which struck him as a particularly unique learning experience. He took a leap of faith and applied—and three years in, he’s never once looked back!

Carlos’ experience so far has been multifaceted and enriching. For one part, he hadn’t met many people from outside Spain before starting university—and now, his classes are international environments composed of many nationalities and backgrounds. Here, he is constantly exposed to different perspectives.

What’s more, learning at IE University has been a hands-on experience. Carlos values the amount of real-world examples, case data, and immersive experiences that require him to put new knowledge into practice. In Carlo’s view, this style of learning shows him that what he’s studying is real, rather than existing in an academic bubble. He also enjoys the creative freedom at IE University and believes he gets better results when he can adapt his learning to his own interests.

In his spare time, Carlos is one of the coordinators of the Eco Club, where his role involves organizing events and meeting new people. Since there is a range of different perspectives in the club, members tend to learn a lot from each other. While some people express their environmental views through veganism, others are interested in environmental entrepreneurship, and some want to assist in helping IE University go even further on its sustainability commitment.

Independently, Carlos is also an avid film lover. He loves to analyze films and talk about them with his friends, writing reviews to share his thoughts on film. When reading in his own time, he also gravitates towards texts about artificial intelligence and technology, preferring to read about it from a philosophical point of view.

Drawing his personal interests together with academics, Carlos recently entered the IE Foundation Prizes in the Humanities competition. He took the opportunity to showcase his talent, producing an essay called Political Filmmaking. It focused on how the film industry has influenced the political landscape from three different perspectives: the historical, the social and the statistical. The latter was a particularly interesting study, giving him an opportunity to apply data-based knowledge to his love of film.

Although he didn’t expect to win a prize, Carlos’ essay placed third in his category. Appreciating  the feedback he got from the judges, he felt it was a great opportunity to present his work to senior academics. At the awards ceremony, Carlos also enjoyed being part of a smart and creative community.

Carlos has a lot of respect for the humanities, believing that they give purpose to knowledge and science. When engaging with the arts, he appreciates the thinking processes behind a work as well as its entertainment value. In his university life, Carlos sees IE University as a cornerstone of arts and humanities. With the IE Creativity Center in Segovia and the university community of talented artists, poets and directors, Carlos believes that IE University has a lot to offer the world of arts.

Being at an important phase of a demanding degree, Carlos is focusing on his studies and isn’t entirely sure where his future path will take him. He has, however, already received guidance and support from IE Talent & Careers to help him map out his professional ambitions, and also appreciates the advice of his experienced professors. From legal scholars and political advisors to data analysts and entrepreneurs, there is always someone to offer him professional advice.

While a concrete professional trajectory is yet to take shape, Carlos knows that he’d like to explore other cultures outside of Spain in his future work. He’s considered working as a data analyst or getting another degree in philosophy, but he doesn’t yet want to pursue a single path. What he is sure about is a firm desire to keep learning—and, of course, crunching numbers!