1988 : The Madrid Campus opened

1988, the year when The Madrid Campus opened

The Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry negotiated backing from Escuela de Marketing y Negocios (ESIC Madrid) and the school was initially based in a villa of under 200 square metres in Madrid’s Viso district. There was only one course: the Master’s in Management (MIM). The first class who came to study in Madrid was made up of just over 40 students, mainly French, German and Spanish.

The Memories of Ramón Aragón

Ramón Aragón, Director of Student Services and Careers at the Madrid Campus remembers: "They were extremely well-prepared people with great versatility. They were becoming the drivers of change. The course was very similar to the one taught today, combining academic immersion with work experience in the corporate world thanks to internships. Regarding the class of 1992, there are now 2 international chairmen of large corporations, 4 chairmen at international subsidiaries and a long list of marketing managers, financiers and consultants".

In 1992

In 1992, an important step was made when the campus moved to its current location in Arroyofresno Street, in the Puerta de Hierro District. At that time, there was just 1,100 m2 available and only 2 courses: the MIM and the Executive MBA, launched in Madrid in 1990.

The expension of the Madrid Campus

The Madrid Campus then continued to expand. In 1994, the "Formación Continua" Department was created. At the outset, the customers were French companies coming to the Madrid Campus to train their executives, but in 1995, collaboration agreements with regional chambers of commerce made it possible to launch training programmes for international firms (Repsol, Altadis, Arcelor, Capsa, and Schroeders, etc.).

Creation of the Meb in 1996

1996 was also an important year for the Campus, with the creation of one of the school’s most dynamic courses: the MEB (today, International Management MBA) which takes place over one year in 2 countries and in 2 languages. The course was then extended to the other schools.

The progression

The progression of the Madrid Campus has been exceptional in the last few years. It has gone from only two employees in 1987 to a nearly fifty-strong team in 2018 and the school’s diplomas are now approved by Carlos III University, one of the most prestigious teaching establishments in Spain.

Furthermore, since 2014, the Campus has been a hub of digital excellence for the whole school: new on-line and face-to-face courses, development of digital content, teacher training for distance learning, including the 100% online Executive Master’s in International Business (EMIB) in Spanish, which is now provided in French and English. The campus has invested in technical resources to sustain digital training, for both undergraduate and professional training.

The plus

The Madrid Campus is not dedicated only to teaching inter-company courses, it also focuses its efforts on executive training in both public administrations and large national corporations, such as: INDRA, REPSOL, Red Electrica or IBERIA. These companies develop innovation and global programmes which have an impact on the development of Spanish industry.

Such has been its growth that a new campus will be opened soon in Madrid, but that is another story.