Esade and SEAT have signed a collaboration agreement that will create joint lines of cooperation to promote research, training in entrepreneurial and management disciplines and the sharing of knowledge around the automotive industry.

The agreement envisages the organisation of activities aimed at fostering a culture of management in the automotive industry and calls for Esade students to work on case studies on initiatives lead by SEAT. The agreement also encourages the sharing of knowledge around the automotive industry and calls for joint participation in think tanks related to this sector. Collaboration on research in the areas of data science, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship will also be a major focus of the agreement.

At the signing ceremony, Esade Director General Koldo Echebarria commented: “This alliance reinforces the collaboration framework between two institutions that share values and a commitment to training the professionals of the future so that they can tackle the challenges of innovation.”

Xavier Ros, Vice President of Human Resources at SEAT, commented: “This collaboration agreement represents yet another step forward in our commitment to training young professionals as a way to enhance their talent and prepare them to meet the needs of the professions of the future.” He added: “Companies and academic institutions must work side by side to create new collaborative environments for training tomorrow’s workers to address the challenges of the digitalisation of industry.”

Scholarships for students

With this new agreement, Esade and SEAT have reactivated a bond that dates back many years to establish new synergies around training and employability in the automotive industry. The two organisations hope to continue creating joint projects linked to the future of mobility.

Thanks to SEAT’s firm commitment to developing young talent and preparing workers for the emergence of new professional profiles in a rapidly transforming sector, the company has agreed to fund two scholarships for undergraduate students and three scholarships for students in the MSc in Business Analytics and MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Esade.

SEAT holds the same commitment towards its staff, using training as a tool for building talent and preparing its employees for tomorrow. The automaker is ramping up its training programmes for more than 15,000 workers, in particular by providing instruction on topics related to digitalisation and new technologies. Armed with this knowledge, SEAT’s employees will be better equipped to cope with the coming transformation of the automotive industry and the evolution of their jobs.

In addition, the SEAT Apprentices School has consolidated its position as a leading provider of dual education in Spain, having trained more than 2,500 professionals since its founding in 1957. The school’s training plan encompasses up to 5,000 hours – twice as high as the average for training cycles in Spain – split evenly between theory and practice. At the same time, the school has expanded the number of subjects focused on topics such as Industry 4.0 and technology linked to digitalisation. Jobs at SEAT are provided to 100% of the students who successfully complete their third year of studies at the school.