THE NEW IE

The long anticipated move to the new IE campus has caused some doubt in the mind of students. Even before COVID-19, there was uncertainty as to exactly when the change to the new IE tower would take place, and the challenges associated with the pandemic made many of us believe that there would be a delay in this process. However, the wait and uncertainty are finally over – it has been announced that the new tower will inaugurate in September 2021. 

This new chapter in the life of the IE community is extremely exciting. The new complex includes a 165m tower made up of 35 floors, and a 3,500 student capacity. What will probably interest us the most are the new facilities included in the project: many ‘work spaces and chill out zones’, an auditorium, sports centres (including sports courts and a swimming pool), leisure centres and libraries. These new facilities will  lead to a further development of a sense of community spirit at the university. Since currently many students have classes in different buildings in Maria de Molina Street where the areas to hang out are limited, much of the social interactions occur outside of the university. However, with the new tower and the coming state-of-the-art areas, there will be much more opportunities for daily interactions between all of us on campus. 

 The sports facilities will probably allow sports teams from the university to train more easily and perhaps IE will even hold competitions or events of the like. The auditorium will provide a space for large lectures from visitant speakers, for example, seminars, and an uncountable number of entertainment and academic opportunities. All in all, those facilities transcend their practical use, since they will allow for the development of IE as a community and as a university in many fields, both  academically and in terms of extra curriculars.

 When it comes to academics, the location of the new campus might be the most relevant aspect. Being in the business center of the city, where many of the most important organisations and companies of the country are located, will enable a closer communication channel between students, internships and job opportunities, possibly creating new networking opportunities for all of us. 

It should also be noted that the current campus in Maria de Molina is still going to be used for postgraduate degrees, and there will also be renovations made in it. The university’s website states that “The new building will be used to run university degree programs in fields that include business administration, architecture, technology, international relations, law, communication and psychology”.

In terms of what this means for the university itself, the change definitely shows how IE is growing and intends to continue growing. It will now have a more adequate campus to its status of being one of the best universities in Spain and in Europe, which will for sure attract new students and faculty. It has already provided for publicity: since the announcement that the move will occur in September, a number of newspapers have published about it. In fact, even when such change was delayed due to COVID-19, it was also covered by the press. The fact that the university’s tower will be a part of the skyline in the business center of Madrid is highly symbolic of how much the university is growing. Moreover, this will also impact Madrid as a city: IE has set to “promote urban and social activities”, to “make the entrepreneurship environment more dynamic, and develop new projects in collaboration with international organisations”.

Although right now we, as students, might see this move as a mere practical change, the impact that it will have in our day to day lives may be much bigger than we currently envisage. It will bring prestige to our university, and will create enormous advantages for all of us.