Álvaro de la Rica (Deusto): "Young people are no longer willing to accept any job"

For the dean of Deusto Business School, Álvaro de la Rica Aspiunza (Bilbao, 1970), 2021 was a very important year, as the institution he leads ranked among the best in the world by receiving two of the international accreditations that are within the so-called triple crown: that of the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), which only 6% of the world's business schools hold and where Deusto is the sixth Spanish to receive it, and that of AMBA (Association of MBAs ), which only have 2% of the world centers.

“The third is EQUIS, which is also on our roadmap;

it would be the next step”, according to De la Rica.

Some international seals that recognize the level of its teachers, its publications, internationalization and relations with the business fabric, he says.

And that also outline areas for improvement for the oldest management training school in Spain, founded in 1916 and known as La Comercial de Deusto.

One is to strengthen its network of alumni, which has just turned 100 years old and has 7,000 members around the world.

"They invite us to take advantage of it much more," says the dean.

Also to renew the advisory council of the institution.

De la Rica maintains that they have already been launched to accelerate the change of this council, incorporating women and younger members, and to improve the governance dynamics with the creation of several work commissions: academic excellence, future trends and positioning. international.

Since taking office in July 2018, this doctor in Economics and Business Sciences and a master's degree in Advanced Management from the University of Deusto began to draw up a roadmap that will lead the institution to launch a new undergraduate study plan " probably the 2023-2024 academic year″, since it has been delayed by the pandemic and after the decree of the Ministry of Universities in September “we will have to adjust it”.

Its programs will include international mobility and mandatory internships, and there will be a group that will be taught entirely in English on each campus with the idea of ​​attracting more foreign students.

The institution intends to change its strategy, "until now focused on the degree and little ambitious in the master's degrees", with the intention of accompanying its students throughout their professional career, internationalizing and strengthening their connection with companies.

“Training needs are evolving and we believe that we have a very large niche in

”, indicates the dean.

The strategic plan designed for 2025 entails a review of the postgraduate portfolio, in which two reforms have been made with a focus on internationalization [Deusto currently receives some 50 foreign postgraduate students out of the 380 who take these courses, but its goal is to reach 35% of the total].

And in the

area they have decided to focus on

or tailored to companies and specializing in closed programs, especially in the field of health, which will also premiere new content, such as a master's degree in Social Services Management.

courses

are the most profitable for Deusto Business School, according to De la Rica.

Growth

The business school, a non-profit institution with offices in Bilbao, San Sebastián and Madrid, has continued to grow despite the pandemic.

This course will touch the 20 million euros of turnover.

Perhaps the quarry of bankers who graduated from La Comercial, such as José Ángel Sánchez Asiaín, Emilio Ybarra, Pedro Luis Uriarte, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri... will no longer come out of their classrooms, but De la Rica assures that Deusto has not lost his pedigree, "he has changed the type of companies that students join, which is much more diverse;

there are also more students and much greater competition among business schools than before”, he justifies.

“It is not a concern that there may be more anonymity among those who leave our classrooms because the companies may have less notoriety than the big banks,” he appreciates.

In addition, the dean observes that “students themselves today are not as determined as before to accept anything and any sector in which to work.

There is a terrible threat of career opportunities in the auditing sector, for example, where they can't last even a year.

They prefer to work in sectors with a greater social focus.”

Young people are also increasingly in favor of training outside the official circuit.

Through shorter, practical and often online courses.

Far from universities and business schools.

“This expanded training offer is also necessary.

The models that are emerging can be healthy for the University, they have to make us think", observes De la Rica, who anticipates that hybrid formats will be implemented in Deusto, where soon there will be online master's degrees "because society demands them" .

The dean believes that the arrival of the big technology companies in the business could cause the university sector to lose some ground by playing at a disadvantage due to the strong regulation to which it is subjected.

But with the beastly training needs out there, there's room for everyone, he says.

At the end,

"The market will put everyone in their place."

“The formation that you finish with 20 years cannot be the one with which you retire.

You have to learn throughout your professional career.”

The head of Deusto Business School is aware of the changes facing the training sector, to which the large investment funds are turning to take positions, "something that is very positive because it means that they see future prospects in education" .

Of course, he also thinks that these investors can distort the objectives of the institutions they acquire, by conceiving them as a business.

“It is important to keep the mission.

At Deusto it would be very difficult for us to open investment funds because we are a social project.

I don't think we need it,” he states.

Nor is he interested in entering the price war that the sector is experiencing: "In the degrees, we are one of the cheapest private universities," he defends [their prices range between 5,500 and 15,000 euros per year for Medicine].

“And we never compete solely on price.

We want whoever chooses Deusto to do so with their sights set on the medium and long term.

And if we have to adjust prices to achieve future stability, we do it.

Because it is guaranteed future profitability”.

“But we are not looking for volume.

We prefer to prioritize a smaller dimension that makes us sustainable over time.

The 2 × 1 strategy is a huge mistake.

Just like throwing out the prices of

programs .

It is necessary to dignify the formation with the price”.

Exclusive content for subscribers

read without limits

subscribe

I'm already a subscriber