If we are to tackle major challenges such as climate change, poverty and gender inequality, we must educate future professionals to become conscious leaders who are responsible and committed to society. At an event yesterday to mark ESADE’s 60th anniversary, Michael C. McCarthy, Vice President for Mission Integration and Planning at Fordham University, argued that in order to train people to have solid values, schools must have a capacity for reflection and be capable of working transversally. “All subjects must enhance students’ personal growth and help them become socially responsible,” he commented.

According to Prof. McCarthy, it is important for professionals to be “capable of understanding how their work can contribute to the mission”. Cristina Giménez, Director of Identity and Mission at ESADE, echoed Prof. McCarthy’s words, noting that reflection and awareness are key traits in anyone who wants to help build a better world. “If we want to be agents of change, we have to work on our inner selves,” she commented.

According to Anna Iñesta, Director of the ESADE Center for Educational Innovation, in order for students to develop their human potential, the university must offer them “a space where they can think differently, where they feel secure enough to explore the idea of being different”.

The higher education of the future: a topic of debate at ESADE

Throughout the 2018-2019 academic year, ESADE has held various events to mark its 60th anniversary and encourage reflection on the future of higher education, covering topics such as the job profiles of the future, educational innovation and the impact of technology on higher education.

This session also featured the participation of Koldo Echebarria, Director General of ESADE, Josep M. Lozano, Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at ESADE, and Ignasi Martí, Director of the ESADE Institute for Social Innovation.