Barcelona occupies a privileged international position in the field of business schools and as a talent hub, and to maximize this potential, resources and more favorable regulations are needed. This was stated by the general director of UPF Barcelona School of Management, José Manuel Martínez-Sierra, and the director of programs for national and international executives at IESE, Jordi Utgés, in a new session of the Moments Estel·lars cycle organized by The New Barcelona Post, in which both advocated for regulatory changes that favor the activity of the city's business schools: "When you are competing in the first division and you want to win the Champions League, you need to invest," Utgés highlighted.
"Barcelona is very powerful. When we ask our foreign students why they chose IESE, they first answer that it is because it is located in Barcelona; first it's Barcelona, and then IESE", Utgés recounted in the session, organized with the collaboration of CASA SEAT, Barcelona Global, Must Media Group and Giny Barcelona. The city brings together attractions such as its quality of life, its cultural scene, and its business ecosystem: "I believe we have many virtues and much to offer," based on this conglomerate of factors that shape an attractive city for international talent.
Attracting this talent, however, is easier than attracting professors to join the faculty. "They usually arrive with family and with the intention of pursuing a research career, and here there are a series of elements that could be improved," mainly through the regulatory framework, Utgés highlighted alongside Martínez-Sierra, in a session moderated by journalist and professor precisely from UPF-BSM, Toni Aira.
Along the same lines, the general director of the UPF business school defended that Barcelona is a talent hub: "Without a doubt, and it has a long way to go. It is a matter of money and regulations". For Martínez-Sierra, state regulations in the knowledge system have tended to equalize downwards, something that is not convenient for universities or business schools, according to him.
Despite this regulation, which he believes causes the training ecosystem to lose momentum, Martínez-Sierra maintains that the situation of universities and business schools is better in Barcelona. "It has a lot to do with the idiosyncrasy of Catalan society," which he sees as marked by an entrepreneurial spirit. "In Madrid, we make civil servants; here, companies are made," highlighted the executive, who is originally from Madrid.
Both agreed that few cities worldwide have business schools with the level of those in Barcelona. "It means having an enormous concentration of talent and knowledge through its professors, something that impacts companies," Utgés emphasized. To boost this symbiosis between these institutions and the business sector, he stressed the need to promote regulatory changes that favor donations with tax advantages, and also facilitate the attraction of professors by making it easier for all family members to settle in the Catalan capital.
And Martínez-Sierra went further: measures are also required to streamline the creation of new degrees, to keep the offer updated in a rapidly changing world. "We have so much bureaucracy that it doesn't let us compete with other places in the world," warned the general director of the business school, with extensive experience in international organizations and institutions, especially at Harvard.
Utgés, who has 24 years of experience at IESE, insisted: "We have a great ecosystem with a lot of potential, and we could go much further with a little help. We have the tools and the fabric to make a leap; we want to compete at the highest level, and we need regulations to support us."
Ambassadors of Barcelona
Both leaders in the field of business schools have highlighted the importance of these institutions when it comes to "generating ambassadors for Barcelona," as Martínez-Sierra has cited. This is because nearly half of their students are international students, which generates projection for Barcelona and positions it among potential future business leaders. "For someone to come and train in Barcelona is a memory for life, and it will weigh when making decisions, also from important positions in a company that must choose cities in which to operate," Utgés added.
And not only potential entrepreneurs come out of business schools: "I wish more people who passed through our classrooms would dedicate themselves to politics," Utgés pointed out. He highlighted that politicians who have passed through IESE have later chosen to leave politics, something he believes is partly due to "politicians being poorly paid": the salary of the Prime Minister compared to that of the German Chancellor is a one-to-six ratio, he exemplified. "There is little incentive to stay in politics, and you must have a great spirit of service," he stressed.
The ingredients for a good business school
Barcelona is home to business schools of recognized international prestige. In fact, several of those operating in the Catalan capital annually make it into the rankings in executive training worldwide. But what elements are necessary to articulate a good business school?
Utgés is clear: it is essential "to have a great faculty that allows for good students and, at the same time, good alumni who work in good companies and who support the business school for having a great faculty; everything begins and ends with the faculty." For his part, Martínez-Sierra has emphasized paying attention to quality in favor of consolidating Barcelona as an international benchmark in this field: "We must all be responsible and aware that a value the city has is taking care of the quality of its knowledge spaces; that will make the city grow."