The Esade Full-Time MBA is #1 in Europe and #3 in the world according to the latest Poets & Quants ranking Best MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship, thanks, amongst other things, to the large number of students joining start-ups after graduation – 22% of graduates between 2017 and 2022 – or creating one themselves, and the high percentage of professors on the program who teach innovation and enterprise. These positions consolidate Esade’s presence in the entrepreneur ranking issued by this US publication specialized in MBAs, having climbed from #7 in the world in 2021 and #4 in the world in 2022.

Josep Franch, dean of Esade Business School, explained that “this acknowledgement endorses the teaching method employed by the Esade Full-Time MBA for its innovation and enterprise subjects, offering immersive learning and also much more outside the classroom. In addition to boosting learning and developing skills in both subjects, it equips students with the tools and resources they need for boundless experimentation, disruptive thinking, and creating and developing all sorts of businesses”. 

The subjects related to enterprise are an integral part of the curriculum for all students taking the Esade Full-Time MBA and are complemented by a wide range of optional specialized subjects (#3 in Europe). In all these subjects, the students work on real-life enterprise case studies designed by Esade professors and on start-up projects with constant mentoring, a form of guidance in which Poets & Quants also ranks Esade as #1 in Europe. In addition, students wishing to specialize in this specific area can include in their education such activities as talks and meetings with founders of companies, participation in events for entrepreneurs and visits related to this sphere during the international stay included in the program.

The Esade enterprise ecosystem: #2 in Europe 

Another of the factors valued most highly by the US publication in its ranking is the Esade enterprise ecosystem (#2 in Europe), which encourages interaction with other entrepreneurs and direct contact enterprise hubs around the globe in different places and centers. 

One of them is the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute (EEI), celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, which is dedicated to academic excellence in the realms of enterprise and other related fields through research, teaching, the inception and creation of new companies and outreach activities. One of the opportunities that the EEI offers Esade students and recent graduates is eWorks, a program providing a range of activities and services that foster and support the creation of new companies. 

Another part of the Esade enterprise ecosystem is the Rambla of Innovation, a place for experimentation and creation where Esade teaching and research activities coexist with the business world, the public sector and third-sector entities. It has seven learning labs spanning the road from the inception of a new idea (Fusion Point) to its research and feasibility test (Decision Lab), the manufacture of prototypes (Fab Lab), the definition of a business model (eGarage and Finance Lab), and finally the creation of the company (eWorks) and its media presence (Media Room). Every year the Rambla of Innovation, located on the Esade campus at Sant Cugat, welcomes more than 130 professors, and some 2,200 students and 350 companies. 

Esade’s support for enterprise is also found in its association for former students, Esade Alumni, which has its own network of business angels, Esade BAN, founded in 2006 and consisting of 240 private investors – mainly business angels, family offices and representatives of venture capital, corporate and other investment groups – and to date it has invested some €40 million in more than 260 projects.

“An education based on theory and practice provides the technical knowledge,” explained Franch, “but to be a successful innovator and entrepreneur, one must experience and apply things in real-life environments. This is why we equip our students with the necessary tools and spaces to enable them to develop a business mindset and approach and put their ideas into practice”.