On September 17, IESE joined the MobilityXlab Tech Day in Gothenburg. Beatriz Camacho from IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center and Marc Sosna  from the Learning Innovation Unit shared insights from IESE’s research on Corporate Venturing Squads—multi-corporate alliances that co-innovate with startups. MobilityXlab, one of the featured squads, exemplifies this model. Drawing from 50+ global cases, they highlighted benefits such as increased deal flow, broader network reach, and shared learning. Tech Day was a celebration of innovation and collaboration between corporates, startups and ecosystem partners. Find out more.

Delegations from INALDE Business School (Colombia) and Tampere University (Finland) recently visited IESE’s Barcelona Campus, where they met with the met the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center team to exchange insights on IESE’s initiatives supporting entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. Discussions focused on shared goals: empowering entrepreneurship, advancing entrepreneurial education, promoting technology transfer, and exploring future collaboration across global networks.​​​​​ 

In this Poets & Quants article, Sarah Mack (MBA ’23) credits IESE with sparking and shaping her entrepreneurial journey. Inspired by classroom discussions, supported by professors like Thomas Klueter, and energized by the school’s diverse teams and case-based learning, she co-founded Vinat—a research-driven wine brand—during her MBA. IESE’s Summer Entrepreneurship Experience gave Sarah a low-risk opportunity to validate their concept. Vinat recently launched a successful U.S. collaboration with Wharton-founded Vigie Limoncello—proof that strong ideas, nurtured early, can scale boldly.

As we welcome the new cohort of MBA students at the start of the academic year, the buzz and energy on campus is palpable and contagious. The MBA Class of 2027, now in its sixth section, includes 421 students from 56 nationalities, with 38% women and 88% coming from outside Spain. During orientation, Josemaria Siota, Executive Director of IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, presented its services to the new cohort, highlighting the support provided to MBA students, in collaboration with the student clubs in Startup and Entrepreneurship, Private Equity and Venture Capital, and Search Funds. Learn more.

On October 1, the IESE Entrepreneurship Club will host Venture Day Munich at IESE’s Munich campus. The event brings together alumni entrepreneurs, current students, investors, and founders for an afternoon of candid conversations and practical insights. Panels will feature founders sharing lessons from their journeys, investors on finding the right partners, and workshops on legal setup, international expansion, and corporate venturing. With networking and community at its core, Venture Day Munich is open to students, alumni and extended IESE community. Find out more.  

IESE has unveiled its search fund conference calendar for this academic year. These events will bring together entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors, and academics to advance research, share best practices, and strengthen networks worldwide. With initiatives across different geographies, IESE continues to expand its impact as a hub for education, thought leadership, and community-building in the growing field of entrepreneurship through acquisition. Hosted by IESE, HKUST Business School and Spectra Investments, IESE looks forward to expanding its impact in the search fund community. Find out more.

Professor Sandra Sieber’s new technical note explores how generative AI can enhance creativity and decision-making. By augmenting human thinking rather than merely automating processes, the guide introduces five principles for effective prompting—Context, Clarity, Complexity, Communication, and Constraint—helping leaders turn AI into a strategic partner. It also highlights the Human-in-the-Loop approach, ensuring humans remain central in directing, evaluating, and applying AI outputs, while offering comparative insights on leading platforms for informed adoption. Find out more.

Founded in 1886, Barnes & Noble was one of the few traditional booksellers to survive Amazon’s sweeping disruption of the industry in the 1990s. IESE research by Professors Yuliya Snihur and Christopher Zott reveals that its leaders framed digital disruption as an opportunity—not a threat. By crafting strong, future-oriented narratives, aligning stakeholders, and integrating online with offline operations, they steered the company through change. The research offers timely lessons for navigating today’s fast-evolving innovation and technology landscape. Read more on IESE Insight.