A Global Experience with Global Exchange
It is outside of the classroom where we sometimes find the inspiration for the future we want to create, the career path we want to follow. This is why we always encourage our students to join in on Schiller field trips, like our recent visit to the Global Exchange Headquarters in Salamanca.
This ancient Spanish city certainly has the university vibe every student can appreciate. Salamanca is where the very first university in Spain was established, and still continues to run to date. Our students not only had the chance to visit the historic hallways of the renowned University of Salmanca, but they also had the opportunity to meet one of the companies that is present almost everywhere we go.
Most everyone has been to an airport at some point in their life. When traveling to another country, upon arrival, one typical stop before exiting the airport is the Currency Exchange kiosk. For our international students, it was truly an unforgettable experience to be able to visit the office where the Global Exchange develops its strategy.
The visit was coordinated by one of our favorite Professors here at Schiller Madrid, Joan Fulton, along with our very own Registrar/Professor/Alumni, Alexandra Aaron. International Business students from our Entrepreneurship & New Venture class, along with our Microeconomics students, were able to visit the Global Exchange offices and stop by their incredible IT department, one of their greatest successes due to their partnership with Amazon to create its internet infrastructure. The students were hosted by Global Exchange’s CEO, Isidoro J. Alanis, who also took the time to inspire our students to develop a global strategy for their future.
As the cherry on top of this already fantastic day-trip, the students had the opportunity to enjoy typical Salamancan cuisine, mostly known for its world-famous “jamón.” We sincerely hope our vegetarian students had the opportunity to enjoy it as well. We’ll try and make sure that the next trip is more vegan-centered!
Bionic Architecture: Ignoring Tradition
One of our priorities has always been to empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This sometimes comes in unexpected forms. As a Business School, the majority of our workshops center around economics, marketing, sales and human resources, but from time to time we like to explore ideas outside of the traditional business bubble. And this week Professor Javier Pioz did just that when he spoke to our students about the Bionic Architecture movement and breaking free of the norms of tradition.
Professor Pioz is a renowned architect and professor at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Among other achievements, he is one of the leading pioneers in Bionic Architecture, designing a vertical city which he referred to as “Torre Bionica.”
The concept of Bionic Architecture is to design structures based on nature. Pioz was inspired by reading a book of biology that highlighted the inner structure and make up of different animal and vegetal species and began applying these biological structures, while merging them with technology to create buildings such as The Westin & The V Twin Towers.
The students enjoyed the speech because it gave them the opportunity to see the world through a different set of eyes. They were able to see the beauty and wonder of how nature has developed its own designs and how we now can look to our surroundings to create something that will not only make heads turn, but most importantly, will be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
As we have discussed in some of our other posts, university is the place where ideas are gathered, where dreams take form and where knowledge turns into power and this workshop was a reminder of that same vision.
Many thanks to Professor Pioz for enlightening us through this wonderful chat, and to our beloved Professor Jose Pinto for making it happen.
If you want to know more about Javier Pioz and his visit check this news article from El Confidencial
Blockchain: The Future Of Logistics
Blockchain is the technology everyone is talking about today and according to Iñigo Gastón it has a lot in store for the logistics sector.
A student’s dissertation is the final step towards their degree. It is the moment of truth, when the years of studying, training and exploring the opportunities their university offers are up for display.
Quite often we see students choose their dissertation topic on something they truly love, such as the case with Ana Caballero on our last post. However, choosing the topic becomes a lot easier when you not only love the topic, but you have the opportunity to involve your internship or your current job into it, like Iñigo Gaston.
Iñigo defended his dissertation on “Blockchain: The Future of Logistics,” the first dissertation ever presented about this new pivotal technology that, according to him, will revolutionize logistics.
Since completing his International Business degree, Iñigo has been working for Everis, a consulting group tapping into this new technology. This has given him the opportunity to develop new applications of Blockchain for different companies, driving him to talk more about current experiences during his dissertation. His most recent project at Everis investigates how to diminish needless effort in certain tasks, and even solves situations that seemed impossible to get out of before this technology arrived.
As he explains, Blockchain is the technology that allows companies to be more eco-friendly by reducing the amount of paper used in logistics, thus cutting the costs associated with paper supply. It provides an immediate response to a problem associated with the tracing, delivery or misplacement of products that many companies work hard to create.
The dissertation motivated the audience to discover more about the applications of Blockchain, exemplifying perfectly what a dissertation should do: Not only inform those who are listening, but inspire them for greater opportunities that lie ahead.
Baking For Change – Education Nepal
University is not only the place where students develop knowledge and skill, but more importantly, character. One of the experiences that will help build their character more so than anything else, is helping their neighbor, especially if they are less fortunate or in a difficult situation.
This is the reason why here at SIU we give room for students to come up with innovative and creative ideas that aid those who are in need. This week some of our students decided to show their support to Nepali communities by hosting a bake sale to help raise funds for Nepal here at SIU’s Madrid Campus.
The event was created in partnership with Education Nepal, an organization that helps small communities in the country get the education they need to develop skills for the next generation. In collaboration with Build Nepal, they specifically teach local communities how to build houses that withstand earthquakes and create a school with resources from the local community.
Through this simple and modest bake sale, SIU Madrid has been able to finance one window for the new school, giving more opportunities to those who most need it. We take this opportunity to thank all students, faculty, and staff who baked the goods and those who showed support and bought each of these delicious pastries.
From Education Nepal, Build Nepal and the entire SIU Community, thank you for being a part of the change.
How To Create An Excellent Dissertation
You will never regret working on what you love
In order to complete their studies, every SIU student has to write a final dissertation on a topic of their interest. At times, it is about the company where they completed their internship, other times it is about the impact of an event, a person, or a social movement in the international economic environment.
To select a specific case in the vast sea of opportunities available is definitely one of the toughest decisions a student will have to make here at Schiller, indifferently of the Bachelor Degree they are studying. Nonetheless, the best advice we can offer is to choose a topic that will drive you through the process. As Ana Caballero, our recently graduated student would say, “There are a good number of topics that will give you the opportunity to bring to light all that you have studied during these years. However, few of those will drive you with an unrelenting passion that will get you that perfect grade you are striving for.”
The topic Ana chose was something all students know her for, the 60’s and music. She presented “The Socio-Political Influence of Music in the Decade of 1960’s in America.” She represented our main goal as a university, to develop the skills to ensure students not only are able to quote and memorize concepts, but also apply them to analyze past, current, and future events.
Our dissertation or thesis is something we will always remember, the hours of effort spent to create a piece of work we can always say we are proud of. Let this be an encouragement for all current students choosing their dissertation topics this year. Thrive for excellence, follow your passion.