IE University Announces Plans to Reopen Campus in July

IE University has announced that it will reopen the campus in July, as soon as the Spanish authorities permit it. At the start of the crisis, IE University anticipated the need to exclusively train all students online and now prepares, once again, to be ready to reopen the campus this summer with all the necessary health, academic, technological, and logistical protocols. Furthermore, the institution will begin the coming academic year normally.

During a virtual event today, IE University's top management presented its strategic commitment to liquid learning, a unique training model that represents a transformation in the education landscape. More than 1,000 IE University professors and staff took part in the event, connecting from 32 countries to the WOW Room, the University's classroom of the future. The institution will launch its liquid education model in all undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education programs this September.

With the new model, programs will have an innovative design that integrates classes on campus for all of IE University’s students, who currently hail from 140 countries. Hybrid sessions will simultaneously connect face-to-face students with online students for the same immersive experience and academic quality. In addition, asynchronous sessions will allow the development of individual work with the support of faculty. This new format will provide flexibility to students and reinforce active and personalized learning, and focuses on solving real world problems. IE University has redesigned all courses with new methodologies, contents, and academic materials to adapt the programs to this mew model of liquid learning. The institution is also redesigning its facilities and equipping classrooms with technological solutions that enhance interaction.

IE University has 20 years of experience in online training and was a pioneer in Europe with the launch of its first online masters. The quality of the institution’s online programs is recognized by international media such as QS and the Financial Times, which consider IE University the 1st and 2nd best in the world in their annual online MBA program rankings. At the start of the crisis, IE University anticipated the need to train students exclusively online and, since last March, 12,000 online sessions have been delivered across all programs.

During the presentation, Diego del Alcázar Silvela, Founder of IE University, said to participants that “nothing can stop those who take a step backwards in order to leap forward. I believe that we have shown ourselves to be innovative, entrepreneurial, and people of meaning who are able to find new paths. This world has changed our habits, our systems of relationships, and it has affirmed our willingness to study any question and to actively seek answers.”

“Looking forward, we see two main forces of change in the world: technological and social disruption, and the challenge of sustainable progress.”
Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, Vice President of IE University

Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, Vice President of IE University, pointed out that “change is challenging, but it is also an enormous source of opportunity for society. Looking forward, we see two main forces of change in the world: technological and social disruption, and the challenge of sustainable progress.”

Del Alcázar Benjumea presented IE University’s manifesto, which is based on four pillars: education, research, innovation, and the value of people. He went on to highlight the institution’s purpose in fostering positive change through education; the knowledge generated by IE University’s academic ecosystem, which lies at the intersection of technology, business, and society; the power of innovation that inspires each strategic project; and the importance of people as the organization’s main asset.

“We live in a world in which the boundaries between the physical, digital, and natural environments are increasingly blurred, and we must learn to move seamlessly amongst them. The world needs leaders who are capable of navigating this new reality, and education must be more liquid every day in order to push and prepare us for this new environment.”

Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University, underlined that “To be flexible, adaptable, intensive, even entertaining: these are the hallmarks of liquid learning, which centers on the classroom but augments and stretches the learning momentum.” Students will attend face-to-face classes, work on projects, expand their network, and enjoy life in Madrid and Segovia. In addition, our hybrid methodology will allow students to expand and enrich their training through synchronous and asynchronous online classes, as well as individual training that boosts both their critical thinking and capacity for reflection and personal discover.