Esade has been declared the most innovative university in Latin America in El Economista’s new On-line Innovation ranking after analysing the scope of digital transformation at 500 educational establishments in that region. The business school made the number 1 slot in this ranking for several reasons including its In/On programmes [40% in class / 60% on line] and extensive portfolio of programmes, guaranteed to equip executives to deal with the future. The publication emphasised the technological transformation of both the structure and teaching methods of the programmes.

Marc Correa, vice dean of Esade Executive Education programmes, sees this acknowledgement as "the result of our commitment to innovative teaching and quality education, and the need to transform the learning model. We believe in always keeping pace, and innovation is an intrinsic part of the journey towards excellence today". "This involves not only digital processes and new teaching methods but the entire organisation and faculty. Everyone at Esade has thrown themselves into this innovative culture, a characteristic trait that sets us apart,” he added.

When drawing up this ranking, the economic journal took into account five factors in which Esade came out top: methodological innovation, the category that evaluates adaptation to the needs of the new digital area, and in which Esade is a long way ahead of its competitors; digital tools enabling courses to be customised; curriculum design with its focus on technological disruption; digital orientation of faculty; internationalisation of students; and global acclaim.

In/On: the transformation methodology

El Economista selected the Executive Masters in Marketing and Sales, Business Analytics and Finance as the three best blended master courses for the digital transformation of organisations, thanks to the combination of the best face-to-face and on-line teaching methods in their In/On programmes. This avant-garde method featuring a first-rate curriculum tailored to the 4th Industrial Revolution is based on teaching developments using digital tools.

“The In/On project has revolutionised the academic ecosystem,” said Marc Correa, “by enhancing students’ digital capabilities whilst increasing the extent to which they learn and benefit from it. This is definitely the way to go because we cannot imagine the future without technology and innovation applied to education”.

The best executive programmes

Another factor of particular importance in this new ranking is the commitment to lifelong learning in the programmes taught at the establishments being evaluated. This concept in response to the need for on-going learning enables participants to attain their goals whilst combining their professional and personal lives.

In this specific category, the journal pinpointed several Esade Executive Education Programmes as the most innovative on the Latin American market: Legal Tech, ‘eSports’ for Marketing Strategies, Customer Experience Management, Digital Marketing and Strategic Innovation, highlighting their on-line methodology and ability to prepare participants for an increasingly competitive job market that calls for on-going specialisation.

"We have created a range of executive masters and programmes that teach the latest technological developments and the skills that companies need now and in the future. We have achieved this by designing our own teaching model that brings together learning communities, customised monitoring, interaction with teachers, gamification, symmetric and asymmetric learning dynamics, all with a very high quality of technology, teaching and education,” concluded the vice dean of Esade Executive Education programmes.