Last Thursday, the 8th of July, marked the momentous occasion of IE’s first hybrid Community Awards ceremony. The event was hosted at the Maria de Molina campus while being simultaneously streamed online. The IE Community Awards celebrate IE’s students and clubs who have championed the impact of our institution and made it stronger along their journey with us. The awards offer an opportunity to thank and highlight how they, as student leaders, club organizations, and advisors, forged a path to success for the IE community through their achievements and involvement in campus life. As not one single club event had been cancelled this academic year, there was much to celebrate as each of the clubs had put in much effort to ensure the success of this year.
The event opened with IE President Santiago Iniguez thanking and congratulating the IE community for their commitment to the extracurricular activities which help to establish the university’s culture. Mr. Iniguez noted the unwavering commitment of the IE Campus Life Team led by Juliana Pereira and Jennifer Serrat as without them, none of the events this year would have been possible. He also reminded the IE Community that it has only been through our teamwork that this past year has been as successful as it has and to continue this success into the future, our cooperation together as a student body will be necessary.
Lee Newman, the new Dean of IE School of Human Sciences & Technology, followed Mr. Iniguez speech by highlighting the Spirit of IE through the analogy that the IE community is one that stands against the status-quo to be the resilient and adaptive leaders of the future. The event went on to feature many inspiring speeches from university faculty, each highlighting the resilience of the IE community during this unprecedented academic year. One speech in particular that stood out was that of Cristina Mateo, Associate Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design, as she recognised the additional importance that extracurriculars held in our lives this academic year. She mentioned that in a time where we have come to understand the need and importance of social interaction, extracurriculars have contributed to make campus life an anchor in our lives.
The big winners of the afternoon were the IE Consulting Club and the IE Net Impact Club each going home with two awards with the Consulting Club taking home the title of Best Professional Club and the IE Blueprint Award while the Net Impact Club was awarded Best Sustainability Club and Event of the Year.
Arguably the most important award was the IE Spirit Award, presented by last year’s recipient Sofia Kritikopoulos, as this award is presented to a student who best embodied the spirit of resilience and community building in these challenging times. This year the Spirit Award was awarded to Elias Houeiss from the IMBA Section 2 who is President of the IE Lebanon Club and Private Equity & Venture Capital Club. Elias ensured in his speech to thank all who have supported the events that have been held this year in order to support the IE Lebanon Club as it is a cause close to not only his heart but many in the IE community. He also noted that his success would not have been possible without the support of his fellow nominee and friend, Nicola Saporito and even invited him onstage to share the award.
The event itself ran very smoothly in its hybrid format and was able to seamlessly transition between speakers that were present at the event as well as those presenting or receiving awards online. The Campus Life team truly worked their hardest to ensure all the club representatives felt celebrated, whether they won an award or not and that is truly commendable. Congratulations once more to all the winners and nominees!
For anyone who was not able to attend the event this is the link to watch the recorded livestream.
See the full list of nominees and winners below:
Best New Club:
IE Girl Up Club
IE Investment Club (winner)
IE Photo Club Segovia
Best New Initiative:
Charity Fashion Club-IE Charity Club & Social Awareness Club (winner)
IE MUN-IE Debate Club
Show Me Your Smile-IE Photo Club Segovia
Best Social Media Account
IE Behavioral Economics Club (winner)
IE Girl Up Club
IE Women in Business Club
Best Arts & Humanities Club
IE Arts & Business Club
IEU Arts Club Segovia (winner)
IEU Photo Club Segovia
Best Community Club
Chess Club
IEU Leap
IE Yes Theory Club (winner)
Best Sports & Wellbeing Club
IE Dance Club
IE Tennis Club
IE Volleyball Club (winner)
Best Diversity & Inclusion Club
IE Lebanon Club
IE Out & Allies Club
IE Women in Business Club (winner)
Best Sustainability Club
IE Rotaract Club
IE Net Impact Club (winner)
IE Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Club Madrid
Best Technology & Innovation Club
IE Coding Club
IE Big Data & AI Club (winner)
IE Technology & Innovation Club
Best Professional Club
IE Behavioral Economics Club
IE Consulting Club (winner)
IE Debate Club Madrid (winner)
IE Ethics and Compliance Club
IE Entrepreneurship Club
IE Finance and Capital Markets Club (winner)
Event of the Year
IE Day – The Largest Scavenger Hunt Ever
Global Village Day – Conversations at the Table Dinner Series (winner)
The Future of Work – 5th Annual Women in Leadership Conference
Outstanding Advisor Award
Jana Bezova – IMBA Program (winner)
Elisa Hicks – Campus Life
Teresa Callejo – Talent & Careers
IE Spirit Award
Elias Houeiss – IMBA Section 2, President of the IE Lebanon Club and Private Equity & Venture Capital Club (winner)
Nicola Saporito – IMBA Section 3, Class Representative, President of the Tech & Innovation Club and Coordinator of the Astropreunership and Space Club
Eduarda Uliana – 3rd year Bachelor in Behavioral Sciences, President of the IE Behavioral Economics Club, IE Sustainability Committee Coordinator, and Jury Member of IE Grant4Impact Challenge
IE Blueprint Award
IE Consulting Club (winner)
IE Big Data & AI Club
IE Net Impact Club
