More than 80 MBA students from various universities – including ESADE, IESE, IE, the University of Bath School of Management and the University of Amsterdam – participated in the latest edition of Leading Futures. The aim of this competition, organised by students in ESADE’s Full-Time MBA, is to bring innovation to companies and provide solutions for complex business situations. This year, Leading Futures focused on the financial services industry, specifically the creation and launch of new digital businesses, the identification of user needs, and the development of innovative solutions to improve the quality of people’s lives.

The initiative was supported by InnoCells, Banc Sabadell’s new digital business hub; Infosys, a multinational IT services firm; Business Models Inc.; the innovation consultancy Insitum; Google; Bragi, the company that developed the world’s first wireless smart earphones; and other organisations.

Leading Futures explored the key role of innovation and technology in guaranteeing a company’s survival in today’s increasingly fast-changing world. Even so, it is not easy to put these concepts into practice. The competition raised various questions about what can be done to introduce and implement these ideas in a particular sector and about how innovation and technology can be harnessed to redefine today’s world.

“Leading Futures is organised by students in the Full-Time MBA, and it aims to provide students with the tools they need to become leaders of disruption,” commented Karol Kalejta, student in the Full-Time MBA and organiser of Leading Futures.

Competition and lectures

The participating students split into teams of three to five people and organised themselves as new digital companies. Six teams qualified for the final round and presented their proposals to a panel of judges comprising representatives of the participating companies.

Leading Futures also featured a series of lectures on innovation by Julio Martínez, Executive Director of InnoCells; Adrià Batlle, Director of Venture Building at InnoCells; Maria Santolaria, Director of Venture Design at InnoCells; Laura Díaz, Director of Life Design at Google; Claudia Bigas, Agency Account Strategist at Google Marketing Solutions; Moniek Tiel Groenestege, Strategy Designer at Business Models Inc; Lilly Vasanthini, Head of Engagement at Infosys; Yoel Lenti, Director of INSITUM Europe; and Marlene Kirchen, Director of Human-Centered Design.