The first TEDxIESEBarcelona was launched three years ago, a student run event born out of the desire to discover ideas with “Hidden Potential” by Ziad Moubarak, Rodrigo Diaz Mendez, and Rashid Idaiatov (MBA Class of 2016) along with other motivated MBA students from both Classes of 2016 and 2017. The event provided a platform for amazing talks from students and teachers, like Carlos Garcia Pont’s “Going Beyond the Task” and subsequently Itziar de Ros’ “Expect the unexpected while interviewing” in 2017 with the second installment run by MBA Class of 2017 alum Kevin Rook.
For 2018’s edition, the theme selected was “Weaving the Path.” We felt that this was an apt parallel to the diversity and collaborative nature of the IESE Community. Together we explored the multi-weaving path towards the future with an excellent line up of ten speakers. Details of the speakers and topics can be found on www.tedxiesebarcelona.com.
From fellow MBAs, Ayur Wu (MBA Class of 2018) and Andrew Moll (MBA Class of 2019), we learnt the power of saying no and the value of a holistic life in making genuine connections. Professor Kandarp Mehta, from the Entrepreneurship department, assured us that creative mental blocks are normal. And Career Services mentor, Luca Venza, highlighted the key ingredient in investing in the future.
We also took a peek into the future with neuroscientist, Mavi Sanchez-Vives, as she shared with us the leaps they’ve made in the development of virtual reality for the field of physical and psychological therapy; and creative director, Marc Catalá, as he took us on an aesthetic experience in understanding the universality of visual language.
When we were putting materials for the event together our fearless leader (and TEDx license holder), Peter Causey (MBA Class of 2018), had to correct me because I used “Ideas worth sharing” instead of TED’s official tagline “Ideas worth spreading.” This got me thinking about the power behind the concept of sharing: it isn’t just about giving and taking, it’s about coming together to weave our ideas collectively to make them better.
Much like our MBA experience – being in one of the most diverse programs, we’ve learnt a lot of new skills, encountered many different ways to look at a situation, and discovered infinitely more things. TEDxIESEBarcelona 2018 echoes this diversity, discovery, and collaboration. We were fortunate to find support from the entire IESE Community: the MBA Class of 2018 and 2019 and their partners, alumni, career services, faculty, marketing, and the other support units.
Weaving the Path, TEDxIESEBarcelona 2018 videos are available online here. Videos from the 2016 and 2017 editions can be found here. As the Chinese proverb “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”[1] reminds us, collaboration is an important part of learning. So, in the spirit of TEDx, we invite you to share and discuss these and your own ideas worth spreading.
[1] Derived from Book 8 (entitled Ruxiao or “The Teachings of Ru”) of the Xunzi, a collection of works of the Chinese Confucian philosopher, Xun Kuang
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