Iker Graña Guillem

Much of our time out of class was spent talking to each other about our unique backgrounds and about how different our countries were both culturally and politically.

I am one of those people who can’t stand being idle. Before I even finished my first semester at university, I was certain I wanted to make the most out of my summer break. As a Business and International Relations student at IE University, the HEC Paris Summer Program in Geopolitics, Globalization, and Business Strategy seemed perfect for me. I was thrilled by the opportunity to both practice my French and get out of my comfort zone at a world-renowned business school.

We live in a world where the business environment of today can become redundant in an instant. The covid-19 pandemic and the recent explosion of generative AI tools prove that business as usual is unsustainable. Throughout the two weeks at HEC, we got to know a plethora of tools that can help us imagine, analyze and mitigate those massive changes whist developing a business strategy to face them.

Interacting and working with the other summer school participants proved to be both the most rewarding and challenging part of the program. I shared a class with people from all over the world and from all walks of life, from undergraduates to MBA students and early professionals. Much of our time out of class was spent talking to each other about our unique backgrounds and about how different our countries were both culturally and politically. At times it proved a challenge to work with such different individuals, but thanks to this, my teamwork and leadership skills have leveled up.

Our interactions were augmented by our unforgettable professor, Jeremy Ghez. His classes are not just highly interactive but also deeply thought provoking. He employs games, jokes, and stories to bring to life the ideas and concepts studied in class and in the online activities.

Professor Ghez would often remind us that we will seldom be asked to perform a geopolitical analysis at work, that it would be up to us to demonstrate its importance and necessity for a business. Thanks to this HEC Paris Summer Program, I am prepared to do just that, and to face those massive changes in the business environment, no matter how unexpected they might be.

For more information on this Summer Program