Business Bridge Program in Spain Profile:
What disciplines and qualifications do we offer?
The Bridge program is a certificated summer program offered by the Tuck school of Business and IE Business School. Bridge provides students with an in-depth background to business fundamentals, including accounting, managerial economics, marketing, strategy, corporate finance, and organizational behaviour. The program is specifically designed for students from non business disciplines and attracts participants from diverse academic backgrounds including arts and humanities, sciences and engineering.
The program is full-time and lasts four weeks long during the summer. Upon completion of the program, students posses a greater business sense and most importantly, the confidence and tools to succeed in the workplace.
What will change for students after taking Bridge?
Jamie Thetford, a student of Modern History at the University of Oxford talks about his time on the Bridge program.
“A year ago I wanted to be a historian. However I also wanted to have an experience in business to see what it was like. I was looking for a program or internship to give me this experience when I came across the Bridge program. The other business courses I saw were either very specifically centered around economics or some other more narrow topic. I had heard fantastic things about both Tuck and Dartmouth generally and, looking at the focus of the curriculum on granting those without a real grounding in quantitative study or business a chance to develop those skills, it seemed the right course for me.”
Jamie confirmed that Bridge has certainly given him a drive to build his business knowledge, and further explore career opportunities related to business. After taking Bridge, he discussed how he felt he his career options had been limited because of his academic background, but now, “having been on Bridge, however, this has completely changed. I now feel both capable and willing to enter into business, which I had not felt before, and, more than this, I think I feel a real drive to learn more about the areas that I started to touch on over the summer. Both the intensity of the course (a real contrast to an arts degree) and the project work in particular sparked this change in direction, as both the team-ethic and the valuation work itself convinced me that was what I wanted to be doing.”
One problem students from non business backgrounds can face when trying to break into a business career is a lack of relevant experience. Jamie expanded on this drawback saying, “I applied to 6-7 internships last year and had no interviews, which led me to believe that I had to radically improve what I could offer companies. Having now spoken to recruitment officers at several leading research, banking and consultancy firms, they have all cited my time at Bridge as a major plus and something which puts me on the map both in terms of my experience and my willingness to improve what I can offer.” Because of the quality of the students and professors and intense focus of the program, Bridge has developed a highly reputable brand that gives students the edge needed when entering the workforce.
How does Bridge help students think about their careers?
Not only does Bridge educate students on business principals, but it allows them to explore different career options that they may not have considered. Many Bridge students, before entering the program, have intentions of following their discipline and pursuing a career in it. Some students don’t exactly know how to transform their existing career track into a business track. After taking Bridge, students not only develop an extensive set of skills, useful in any career they chose to pursue, but a deeper understanding of the type of career they might want to pursue.
To support this process the program incorporates a careers track, which gives students the opportunity to work with careers advisers and professionals to understand the options open to them and prepare themselves for the application processes. With time dedicated to developing an excellent CV and leaning about interviews and assessment centres, students also have the opportunity to network with professionals from various firms and identify industries and even companies that match their career objectives.
What are the costs of the course?
Tuition – 6,500 Euros, which includes materials, accommodation, and meals.
Why should a graduate / intern use you?
The Tuck IE Business Bridge Program in Spain is a joint program offered by two of the most highly ranked business schools in the world; The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and IE Business School, Madrid.
Business Bridge in Spain is held at IE’s campus in Segovia, Spain, which offers a unique combination of high tech work spaces set in historically significant buildings. Bridge faculty members are comprised of both IE and Tuck’s MBA professors, some of the top teachers in the world. These professors have a knack for uncovering seemingly complex business and management concepts and presenting them to students in a practical, refined context.
Bridge has a long standing tradition of success at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in the U.S. as it has set the benchmark for accelerated business learning for university-aged students. Students have been attracted from top liberal arts colleges and Ivy League universities from the U.S. in addition to top ranked U.K. institutions. Graduates of the Bridge program have gone onto work in highly diverse careers, but regular recruiters of Bridge grads include……..