★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
IESE Business School - Barcelona Campus Sur
1958 — that's when this quiet corner of Les Corts district became the birthplace of European business education as we know it. Standing before IESE Business School's Campus Sur on Avenida de Pearson, you're looking at the institution that dared to bring American MBA methods to a continent that had never heard the word "master's degree". This modern facade you see today rises where José María Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei, envisioned something revolutionary — a Catholic business school that would challenge Harvard's dominance. When Antonio Valero Vicente became the first dean, he traveled to France to study their methods, then returned here to launch what became Europe's first two-year MBA program in 1964. The classrooms inside these walls witnessed history being made in 1980, when IESE became the first school anywhere in the world to offer a bilingual MBA program. Walk through those entrance doors, and you're entering halls where future CEOs from 55 different nationalities now study, ranked third globally by the Financial Times. This Les Corts location represents more than education — it's where European business leadership learned to speak the language of global commerce, one revolutionary case study at a time.
Did You Know?
- Fact 1: IESE Business School’s Barcelona Campus Sur, inaugurated in 2007 during the school’s 50th anniversary, was officially opened by the King and Queen of Spain, marking a unique royal endorsement rarely seen for business school campuses and highlighting its national importance in Spanish higher education.
- Fact 2: The campus architecture blends modern design with Mediterranean influences, featuring open courtyards, natural light-filled spaces, and gardens that encourage informal interaction among students and faculty—a deliberate nod to Barcelona’s tradition of innovative and human-centered urban design.
- Fact 3: IESE’s Barcelona campus is home to over a dozen specialized research centers, including the International Center for Financial Research, and hosts a vibrant community of international students (85% of the MBA class), making it a microcosm of global business culture right in the heart of Barcelona.