First of all, thank you for taking your time to browse through this document. We hope that this document will introduce you to us and answer any questions you might have about why we wish to represent you and what we are interested in pursuing should we be voted into the student government.
About Us
IE prides itself as a culturally diverse environment and our team, is nothing short of that. Among our 8 members, we hail from Scotland, Austria, Brazil, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Uruguay and Italy. Team 1 brings together varied interests, demographics, degrees and most of all, talents to create a diverse student government that is representative of our student body. The members of team 1 consist of four students from the Madrid campus and four students from the Segovia campus, ensuring a balanced representation of both campuses. We hope to be an open student government that listens to and addresses the concerns of the student body. We aim to be the mediator between the administration and the student body to ensure goal congruence in all aspects of student life.
Want something dONE, vote team ONE.
Our Mission
1. Implement our 5 Point Plan to improve every aspect of IE
2. Allow all students to be informed and participate fully in the IE Community
For us, it’s not about just ideas, it’s about getting things done.
Committees and Leadership Structure
Its 2017 and its time to make some improvements to the current student government structure. Inspired by some of the best university student governments around the world, we have come up with a structure that we hope will prevent conflict between the administration and the students and thereby, voice and address as many of your concerns as possible.
We have recognised 5 main pillars in student life at IE and have delegated the members of the team accordingly. Each of the officials will act as the directors of their area and explore opportunities for their set committee. They will be the point of reference for the student body should they require information, have an issue that needs addressing or have an initiative they would like to pursue within a specific committee. The committee's are as follows:
- Academics
- Extracurricular Activities
- Community Development
- Event Management
- Public Relations
Meet our Team
Madrid Campus
Calum Hedigan, LLB LPC, 3rd year, President
Calum “Ranga” Hedigan, also fondly know as Naranjito, is fighting to be our President. He is known for his honesty and friendly nature, and seems to get along with everyone, always looking for the best in people. Whether it is working hard behind the scenes to ensure the success of events such as the Spring Ball and Entrepreneurship Evenings, giving it his all on the rugby field, or sharing a beer or fourteen with friends, he is sure to have his eye on the ball.
Three words to describe Calum: Genuine, easy-going, optimistic
As part of his role as President, Calum hopes to build upon his past 2 years as Treasurer in Student Government, and aims to focus on support for IEU’s young entrepreneurs by expanding upon the current success of the Entrepreneurship Evenings, by building towards a Startup Fair, inviting investors and representatives of incubators and business accelerators, and allowing our homegrown IE startups to get a real chance to attract investment.
Also, after having experienced the real IE Community in Segovia, he is looking to make this a reality in Madrid. The problem? People think that Maria de Molina 31 is too small to really offer any community. Calum sees it differently. Madrid is our campus, and we need to embrace it.
Angela Selzer, LLB BIR, 2nd year, Community Development Officer
Angie is a friendly face roaming about the corridors of Madrid campus. She is known for her interest in community outreach, green initiatives and in general, selfless deeds. Her friends describe Angie as a warm, open-minded and bubbly person. You can be sure to find Angie organising and taking part in all sorts of activities like bake sales, refugee talks, handing out care packages to homeless people or on the rare occasion, watching videos to learn the rules of rugby.
Three words to describe Angie: Generous, compassionate, and committed.
As part of her role as Community Development Officer, she will focus on mental health issues and community outreach events. She hopes to contribute to bringing the IE Community closer together by organising charity projects in order help the less privileged in this world together, to make our university more environmentally friendly and sustainable, and to raise awareness for mental health issues. In doing so, she is always going to have an open ear for ideas and initiatives from our students and will give them a platform to realise their projects as well as listen to their problems and concerns.
Guzman Noya, BBA, 2nd year, Academics Officer and VP
Guz is an IE freak: Mentor, Ambassador, Exchange Amigo, Class Delegate, Club Leader... He is always planning some crazy idea and is down to help others make theirs happen. Guz is a bit of a nerd and suspiciously manages to have a strong social life. He has somehow gained sponsorship to attend international student conferences and Case Study competitions in Buenos Aires, New York, Cologne and Prague where he has met alternative takes on education. Leading the Debate Club in Sego, he is now organizing the upcoming trip to the UN Headquarters and just finished co-organizing the Prof. Sam Potolicchio leadership talks. He is very fond of food and his country’s cow headcount.
Three words to describe Guz: Open-minded, resourceful, critical.
As part of his role as VP and Academics Officer, he hopes to impact IE’s feedback and change-making mechanisms by giving more power to the people. As part of the Open Government plan he aims at a more effective and inclusive Student Government that redefines uniqueness very significantly. Teaching assessment review and the introduction of Teaching Awards, the improvement of Labs, the empowerment of Professional Interests Clubs and the organization of company sponsored related competitions are among his practical and doable priorities.
Disclaimer: Guz is currently in the Segovia Campus and will be joining the Madrid campus in September, 2017.
Astrid Sabrina Bifulco, BBA BIR, 2nd year, Extra-curricular Officer
Sabrina, the pasta & pizza-lover, can always either be found in the library, studying hard for her ambitious goals, having a good time with her friends, organising activities together for the IE community or showing everyone her favourite Italian restaurants in the city. Sabrina is very friendly, outgoing and approachable, and loves to meet new people. That’s why it is to no one’s surprise to find her chatting for hours with the security guards or taking lots of pictures with different people around the university.
Three words to describe Sabrina: friendly, optimistic, and ambitious.
As part of her role as extra-curricular officer, she hopes to create a more connected network for the clubs at IE. She will focus on establishing a deep coordination among club leaders in order to develop a sense of community at IE where students have a wide range of possible activities to join, from sports to arts or conferences.. Moreover, in a big capital as Madrid she would like to expand the campus activities outside the university and discover the amazing city we live in as a community.
Segovia Campus
Paula Gonzalez, BBA LLB, 2nd year, Event Management Officer
Paula, the minion, is a burst of energy and exploration. She is known for her smile and her wavy curls roaming campus in search of new projects and adventures. She practices a wide range of sports such as kitesurfing, sailing and football and loves to bring art to everything she does, whether it's painting, photography, film or music. Her uplifting personality brings the best out of people and has enabled her to undertake many academic and extracurricular challenges. You will most likely find her organising events such as beer fests, watching sports games, helping other students bring their ideas to life or simply enjoying her favorite “caña en copa congelada” with her friends.
Three words to describe Paula: Enthusiastic, creative and diligent
As part of her role as Events Management Coordinator, she hopes to be able to benefit from the Open Community initiative in order to organize events such as the Spring Ball, football and rugby matches, as well as freshers week to suit the needs and wants of the students within the community to the best of her abilities.
Ntokozo Yende, BBA BIR, 2nd year, Extra-curricular Officer
Tots, the girl who’s name is too difficult to say, is the bubbly approachable and easy-going black girl on campus. She is known for wearing bright colours, her ever-smiling face and constantly organising various IE-related events from open days and lunchtime concerts, to the Casa de la Moneda (Creativity Centre) opening, as well as creating ‘alternative’’ methods of raising funds such as the rugby calendar and the valentine's day roses and serenades. If she is not in the library until late trying to meet deadlines or at llaollao, she is probably playing a game of beer pong, stack cup or lighting up the dance floor at Irish.
Three words to describe Tots: zestful, decisive and goal-oriented
As part of her role as Extra-curricular officer in the Segovia campus, she hopes to focus on the extra-curricular culture at IE where co-curricular activities ranging from sports and philanthropic events to arts, music and dance etc. are given special attention. She hopes to involve the student body in her pursuit to create a sense of community among the IE students. This could be through increased support for our sport teams and more involvement in competitions between different degrees, campuses, universities and countries. She hopes that, during the next year, through collaboration with Team 1, the student body will have a sense of pride in IE and feel as though they are represented and, most importantly, that they belong.
Giulia Camargo, Communications, 1st year, Public Relations Officer
Giulia, the ginger, is a creative genius with a clear focus of where she stands in life about many issues. She is known for her great voice, willingness to always lend a hand and artistic and relaxed nature. She is open-minded, calm and views life with a critical eye. If she is not exploring old cities and coffee shops, she is probably playing guitar or working at the Chief Communication Officer for a new start up called Team XI.
Three words to describe Giu: motivated, friendly and persuasive.
As part of her role as Public relations, she hopes to focus on creating a clear and open stream of communication and information between the student body and the student government. However, in relation to her musical side, she also hopes to increase support for musicians and all types of artists in the IE community. She hopes to achieve this by obtaining more equipment and supplies for the artists and improving Casa de la Moneda. Also, by increasing the quantity of art and music events in order to encourage creative expression and sharing. I believe this could also be achieved by bringing more artists and music experts to host more frequent creative workshops and classes that all students would be able to attend.
Dorian Ranger, BBA, 1st year
Dorian, is the charming and charismatic lad on sego campus. He is known for his easy-going and approachable nature, hardworking attitude and passion to get involved in the community. He equally enjoys discussing current events and political trends over tapas and cañas at El Sitio on a Tuesday night, as he does with slightly less intellectual topics on Thursdays at Irish. If he is not off changing degrees or incurring another injury during rugby practise, he will probably be seen catching up and sharing a laugh with both old friends and new over a café con leche outside the cafeteria.
Three words to describe Dorian: Ambitious, approachable, trustworthy
As part of his role as Academic officer for Segovia campus, he hopes to focus on primarily increasing the communication between and amongst the administrative and student bodies. He aims to provide students of all degrees with an easy and accessible manner in which to stay continually informed of all the information, opportunities and potential changes of their individual bachelor. Most crucially, he intends to push the student body forward in terms of academic rigour and a seamless flow of information between all parties involved.
Our Initiatives
As part of our team, we have chosen these initiatives as some of the most important we would like to pursue during our term in governance. As an open government, we are not limited to these and are open to feasible suggestions from the student body. Here is our 5 point plan to clearly show out areas of focus for the next term in office.
Our 5 Point Plan:
1. Open Government
We aim to be a completely Open Government, one in which every willing student may participate and make a difference. This will be done in three ways:
- Committees with regular meetings on the different areas of University Life
- Bimonthly meetings with Delegates and Club Leaders
- Office hours every week
Firstly, the Committees will be separated according to the different areas of University Life: Academics, Extra-Curricular, Community Development. These Committees will hold regular meetings in which anyone will be allowed to participate. This will allow all students with an interest in making a change to be able to do so through the official channels provided by the University. Team 1 pledges to help all students that come to us with good, reasonable proposals and work with them in order to bring about positive change in the IE Community.
Secondly, the bimonthly meetings with Delegates and Club leaders will ensure that the Student Government remains in close contact with all clubs and classes, and is never too far away from what is going on at a grassroots level. This will greatly help with communication between the administration and the student body.
Thirdly, in order to be a truly Open Government, we will hold open Office Hours in each campus every week in the Student Hub, where anyone will be able to come to chat to us to suggest changes, make complaints, or just catch up on what the Student Government is doing.
And that, in a nutshell, is our plan for an Open Government!
2. Entrepreneurship Support
Given that IE prides itself on its entrepreneurial spirit and its willingness to be Driving Innovation, we must make sure that actually happens on every level. In order to provide more support to our young entrepreneurs, we wish to focus on three activities:
- Continue and expand upon the Entrepreneurship Evenings started this year
- Create an annual Startup Fair in September
- Improve links with Area 31
Firstly, the Entrepreneurship Evenings Series is a very young initiative which has been developed by the previous Student Government, in collaboration with Isabel Sanchez, Leticia Ponce and the Entrepreneurship Club. They give our IE Entrepreneurs the chance to gain valuable insights from Special Guest Entrepreneurs, who are always highly ranked in their respective fields, among other things. We would look to expand upon this Series, and work towards an annual Startup Fair.
Nicely leading onto our second point, the Annual IEU Startup Fair has the potential to be a huge hit, not just in the local community, but across Europe. We would allow our IE Entrepreneurs to have stands across the Fair, giving great publicity to their brands. We would look to invite investors, business accelerators and incubators to the Fair, along with Special Guest Speakers, in order to provide an incredibly enriching experience for our IE Entrepreneurs, as well as offering them a real chance of investment.
Thirdly, we would look to enhance the bond between the University’s Entrepreneurial Community and Area 31. This link is full of potential, allowing University students to expand their professional network, learn from their more experienced peers, potentially create a mentorship program, and take part in the various activities organised by IE’s own incubator.
IE is at its heart, and quite literally, an Institute of Business. Let’s make it happen for our students.
3. Community Development
Enhancing the IE Community is of vital importance to the University, as well as to the student body. Without a real sense of IE Community, we would be lacking an essential part of the University Experience. In order to fill this whole, we would look to do the following:
- Organise charity events outside of University on a monthly basis
- Implement more Green Initiatives around Campus
- Continue and expand upon the Mental Health campaign started last year
Firstly, we not only want to strengthen the IE Community itself but also organise projects to give back together to the community that we live in. Therefore, we are planning to organise monthly events available to all students, such as fundraisers, helping out in soup kitchens or helping out in local animal shelters.
Secondly, IE has started to take important steps in order make our campus more sustainable and to decrease its ecological footprint. However, there are still many things that should be improved, such as the labelling of the recycling bins, the excessive use of plastic cutlery and water bottles and the overuse of air conditioning in parts of our campus. As Team 1, we make these issues one of our priorities and we will be actively working towards making our university more environmentally friendly.
Thirdly, mental health is an area which is often taken for granted. As Team One, we strive to to increase awareness for mental health issues in the IE community. We will make an extra push forwards with the #ItsOkayToTalk campaign started last year, and bring back Andy’s Man Club from the UK after their fantastic visit in 2016. We plan to promote a 24/7 hotline where students can always have someone to talk to anonymously on the other side of the line - about personal issues, medical assistance or any pressing issues where you would like to speak to a neutral, third party. Additionally, we aim to have professionals give talks about topics ranging from eating disorders to depression.
4. Academics
Academic prowess is the most fundamental aspect of every educational institution, and despite IE’s fascinating rise in the rankings, there are still may hurdles to overcome. The specific challenges which we will take head on are:
- Retake policy
- Attendance policy
- Professor reviews
- International Mobility TripAdvisor-esque platform
- Employment-oriented workshops
- Improved relations with the Business School
- Add more interesting and practical seminars and workshops
Regarding retakes, we look to change the way in which they are taken. For those that must retake exams from their 2nd semester, this may often come as a shock and would require the changing of flights to any corner of the Earth, from South America to Eastern Asia. Not only is this hugely inconvenient, but it can often be money that students cannot afford to spare. We would look to make these retakes from the 2nd semester be taken in the last week of August before the new Academic Year.
Looking to Attendance, we would look to make it mandatory for all professors to upload Attendance after every session so that students remain fully informed of how many more sessions they may miss before going over the limit.
Thirdly, Professor Reviews must include two things: a part for the review of the professor’s English; and an opportunity to follow up on negative reviews. The former is a straightforward policy to push for, however the latter may be trickier. What we would fight for is that professor’s average ratings are released for all to see, so that professors can remain accountable for their standards of teaching.
Fourthly, any student that has taken part in the Exchange Process is well aware of its flaws. The only information we receive as students is a list of the universities, who can apply to them, and the link to the University’s website - if you’re lucky, there’ll be a factsheet as well. We want to work with International Mobility to create a platform much like TripAdvisor, where students that have previously been on exchange fill in reviews on the platform, telling future students about Student Life, quality of life, and costs of living, among other things. This would greatly enhance the Exchange Experience of IE students.
Fifthly, we look to work with big firms in order to create workshops together, providing practical employment-oriented training to our students, directly from the big names in business and other disciplines. This would not only be a benefit to our students’ skill sets, but also to their professional networks.
Given that IE Business School is one of the most prestigious and well-recognised institutions for MBAs in the world, the current collaboration with them is poor. The Business School is a goldmine of possibilities that we can make use of, which would allow us to learn from our more experienced IE peers and further develop our professional network.
Lastly, regarding the inclusion of more and better workshops and seminars, we believe that this will greatly enhance the holistic nature of our education, and provide us with useful skills we can use in real life. For example, we believe that everyone should know at least the basics of photoshop, which can allow us to market ourselves and improve our brand image without any overheads - a hugely useful skill.
5. Extra-curricular
The Extra-curricular side of University is arguably just as important as the curricular one. This encompasses everything that the IE Community can get up to outside of the classroom, and this is something that must be developed further. We will do so in the following ways:
- Greater support for sports teams and clubs
- Increased focus on arts and culture
- Organised trips to festivals and projects around Spain
Looking to the level of club support in IE, it can still be improved upon. We would put lots of effort into supporting the clubs on a personal basis, and would help them with the organisation and promotion of their events, the supply of necessary equipment, and the presence of a medic at certain sporting activities, if required. We are also looking to implement a type of awards system in order to reward and congratulate the most active club leaders in our Community for their hard work. If our clubs are going to be run effectively by our students, they need an appropriate support network.
On a related note, we are looking to increase the number of events held between campuses, as well as between universities. This would be done by increasing participation and support for inter-university competitions such as ski championships and business competitions, inter-campus multi-tier competitions, lunchtime concerts to support on campus talent, sports days, summer/spring barbecues, hikes, weekend excursions to spanish cities, the observance of various holidays such as St. Patrick’s day and Pancake day and more. We would like to promote university pride and ensure a tight-knit community.
Regarding the focus on arts and culture, with the recent opening on the Art Society, we could not be more excited to explore the endless possibilities in this area at IE University. As Team One, we would like to increase the support for musicians and artists of all forms, create interactive events for expression and sharing and, most of all, ensure that there are sufficient means to promote the arts, whether it be through an additional guitar, art supplies, access to art museums and festivals, or whatever it may be.