The University Development Service (SUD), an ESADE initiative that coordinates the institution’s efforts in the field of university development cooperation, recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. Since the creation of the SUD in 2003, 646 ESADE students have collaborated with social institutions and provided more than 225,000 hours of voluntary consulting and pro bono legal assistance. Over the past 15 years, the SUD has coordinated 380 projects with more than 150 institutions in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Tanzania, Senegal, Vietnam, Thailand, India and the Philippines.

According to SUD Director Jaume Maranges, the main objectives of the service are “first, to strengthen the institutions of developing countries so that their activity can have a greater impact over time and, second, to contribute to the training of citizens from economically advanced countries, who are highly sensitive to the promotion of social justice”. He added: “The students are given an important opportunity to put into practice the knowledge they have acquired at ESADE. They know that the best way to do this is by paying attention to people: serving others, engaging in dialogue, and being respectful, courageous and humble.”

The SUD emerged from ESADE’s tradition of academic cooperation with Central American universities, which dates back to the 1980s. The service makes the talent of the ESADE community available to social enterprises, non-profits and institutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia for the purpose of working together to strengthen these organisations.

Very positive experiences

“These experiences enrich our students personally and professionally, making them more aware of the complexity of social problems, as well as the local and global context,” said Mr. Maranges. Alícia Palmero, a student in the Bachelor of Business Administration who collaborated this summer with the organisation CCAIJO in the Cusco region of Peru, commented: “Getting involved in a SUD project helped me define my professional purpose – which is intimately linked with my personal purpose – and to find a place where the management is the key tool for the development of a place like the Andes of Peru, where people want to live with dignity.”

FUNDAP, a private development institution that has been working in western Guatemala for the past 35 years, is another organisation that has benefited from collaboration with the SUD. “Every year, we value the enthusiasm, willingness and professionalism of the students who take great care to perform their consulting work and help to improve our programmes,” commented Eunice Martínez, Manager of the Education and Health Division of FUNDAP. “This support provides an opportunity to systematise, delve deeper and conduct research, as well as to help raise the students’ awareness about the reality and potential of our country.”

In addition, with the aim of continuing to offer transformative new professional opportunities, the alumni initiative ESADE Giving Back has joined forces with the SUD to consolidate the joint development of Together, a programme that allows alumni and students doing internships to collaborate on various projects in developing countries, thereby helping to generate productive activity in these countries. Mr. Maranges commented: “This is a transformative and immersive experience that provides conditions of support over the long term through remote collaboration on the part of our alumni and specific collaborations by students on the ground. This approach allows us to guarantee a more intense and ambitious impact.”