The higher education sector is currently undergoing a transformation. To rise to today’s challenges, Esade has developed a new strategy for 2019-2023 called Do Good. Do Better. Under this new strategy, the school’s priorities for the next four years will be to invest in talent and digital knowledge, enhance its social impact, intensify its internationalisation efforts, and generate economic resources to invest in the future. The plan also envisages a parallel line of action in which the institution will prototype new initiatives. Moreover, Esade has also created a new visual identity and brand image for this new stage in its history.

“Our goal for 2028 is to position ourselves at the forefront of educational transformation and be internationally recognised for our academic excellence, innovative methodology and impact on society,” commented Koldo Echebarria, Director General of Esade.

The next few years will bring about an unprecedented transformation involving four great waves of change. As we are already seeing, digital disruption and the democratisation of access to knowledge will reshape the educational landscape. Just as importantly, the labour market is evolving more quickly than the education system is. On this point, Echebarria commented: “Today’s context demands profiles with new multidisciplinary, tech-oriented competencies that combine business knowledge with technical and analytical capabilities.”

Finally, students are looking for an unconventional educational experience. The way people understand higher education today bears little resemblance to our understanding of the sector as recently as ten years ago. International mobility is ever-increasing, new players are emerging in the sector, and new regions, such as Asia, are on the rise.

Digital transformation, internationalisation and social impact

In the first stage of this new journey, Esade will be guided by its “Do Good. Do Better” strategy for 2019-2023. The roadmap for the coming years consists of two distinct parts: a plan, which covers the most important challenges facing the institution, and an agenda, which will allow Esade to prototype disruptive and emerging initiatives dynamically and on an ongoing basis. For this plan, Esade envisages a total investment of €42 million over the next four years, €9 million of which will be spent during the 2019-2020 academic year.

One of the key challenges will be to innovate in programmes and methodologies, creating a different sort of educational experience and making a major commitment to innovation and digital formats. Esade Executive Education has developed a new model of hybrid master’s degrees – known as In·On – which offers subjects and services in a combination of online (60%) and face-to-face (40%) formats. The first edition of these programmes drew students from Latin America, the United States and Spain. Similarly, innovation and reform measures will be promoted in the undergraduate courses in order to develop a higher-quality, more flexible portfolio.

The international expansion process will remain a key priority. Esade will strengthen its portfolio of training in English, which primarily targets the European market, and revitalise its more than 185 student-exchange alliances and agreements with other academic institutions, which focus primarily on the United States and Asia. International talent recruitment will continue to be a key area for the school. Esade currently has more than 100 nationalities represented in its classrooms and interest on the part of international students has grown by 173% since 2015.

Esade also strives to help create a better future by training responsible, socially committed people. The school’s strategic plan calls for measures to attract diverse talent to Esade’s classrooms, to award more scholarships, and to increase the overall volume of donations from €2 million in 2018-2019 to €3.6 million in 2022-2023.

For this to be possible, the school intends to improve its corporate capabilities through more efficient management processes that make it possible to generate resources to invest in the future. Esade also aims to increase its net income by 30% over the next four years.

“Do Good. Do Better”

To support its new positioning strategy in the national and international markets, Esade has renewed its corporate image with a design that evokes the school’s roots. The new brand recalls the business school’s founding mission while adapting to the challenges of a constantly changing context and strengthening its social commitment. Under the slogan “Do Good. Do Better”, Esade’s new global brand positioning highlights the institution’s commitment to creating a fairer and more prosperous society while fully developing the potential of the school and its students.

The new logo abandons the acronym and highlights the Esade name, thereby further strengthening the brand. To enrich the brand’s visual system, a unique typeface based on the logo has been created to maintain visual consistency at all points of contact. In addition, the colour palette has been expanded, with the dominant navy blue being complemented by a variety of colours that lend a more dynamic and sophisticated look in digital environments.

Esade Law School innovates and internationalises its training

Esade Law School is reaching out to international students with a new undergraduate programme taught entirely in English. The Bachelor in Global Governance, Economics & Legal Order was offered for the first time in during the 2018-2019 academic year, drawing a total of 58 students, 57% of whom were from outside of Spain. Another step taken by Esade Law School to internationalise its training portfolio is the introduction of the new MUA+LLM programme, which students can take at several internationally renowned law schools in the United States: Penn Law, Fordham University, Cornell University and Cardozo Law School. The aim of the programme is to prepare students for a global job market. Career opportunities for alumni include international organisations, think tanks and multinational corporations.

Esade Law School has also incorporated technology into the training of future jurists by adding programming language subjects to the Bachelor in Law and introducing new legaltech programmes.