— Audeo Foundation is an initiative created by academics of renowned international prestige who have joined forces with businessmen and financial experts.
— The foundation seeks to promote higher education projects in Spain in the fields of economics, business, and finance — comparable to those already offered by the best universities in the world.
— Initially, it will focus on supporting young talents, promoting equal opportunities, reflecting on the future of university education, and disseminating academic programs that integrate data science into their contents.
— Its first activity will be a seminar held on October 28 and 29 of 2021 that will bring together various international experts to reflect on the accelerated transformation that university education has undergone after a year of the pandemic.
Madrid, july 20, 2021. With the aim of contributing to a future of greater prosperity and social development for Spain, a group of internationally renowned Spanish academics has joined forces with business leaders to create Audeo Foundation, a private, non-profit organization aimed at promoting excellence in higher education and research in the fields of economics, business, and finance.
The foundation will carry out various projects focused on developing new academic and business talents, promoting the exchange of knowledge between the sciences and humanities, and promoting equal opportunities in access to university training and research.
“Audeo Foundation arises from a concern that has been shared for some time by many Spanish academics and professionals: how to establish new foundations for Spain to reach a level of competitiveness similar to that of the more advanced countries”,explains Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and coordinator of the Audeo Foundation’s Academic Council. “In order to accomplish that, we consider it urgent for the country to radically improve the level of its university education and academic research, which is currently very far from that of the leading countries with which we compete.”
To achieve this goal, Fernández-Villaverde, who has also taught at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, and Cambridge, has brought together a group of renowned academics including Antonio Cabrales, Professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid; Maia Güell, Professor at the University of Edinburgh; Isabel Fernández-Mateo, Professor at the London Business School; Tano Santos, Professor at Columbia University; and Luis Garicano, a member of the European Parliament and former Professor at LSE and the University of Chicago. All of them make up the Audeo Foundation’s Academic Council and will be in charge of designing its educational and informational activities, defining contents, and proposing initiatives.
Business and financial support
“One of the main challenges facing the study plans and textbooks of the degrees in Economics, Business Management, and Finance is that, on the one hand, they should add the latest scientific advances and, on the other, they should encourage active learning, guided by these scientific advances,” explains Antonio Cabrales, Professor at the Carlos III University and recent recipient of the 2021 Rei Jaume I Award in the Economics category. “We need students who have a solid foundation of knowledge and are able to face both business and public policy challenges from the undergraduate degree level with the tools provided. Only in this way can we train a generation that is going to find itself in a very different world, a world with changes stemming from automation, the data revolution, and the climate emergency. We at Audeo Foundation seek to encourage university education so that it is a key instrument for Spain to face the future with real possibilities for economic growth and social progress”.
In the pursuit of this aim, the academics have the support of leading professionals in the business and financial sphere who will contribute experience and economic resources to the foundation. Among them are Jaime García-Legaz, former Secretary of State for Trade and currently a director in various companies; Cristina Alba, expert in financial services and FinTech companies; José Cerdán, CEO of Telefónica Tech, Telefónica Business Solutions, and Acens Technologies; Víctor Martí, CEO of GMA and Atom Hoteles SOCIMI; and Roberto Centeno and Aritza Rodero, Founding Partners of Atitlan. All of them make up the Audeo Foundation Business Council, which is in charge of defining activities and projects that strengthen the links between academia and the world of work.
Extensive program of activities
The Audeo Foundation is beginning its journey with an extensive program of activities. Its projects focus on supporting young talents, promoting equal opportunities in terms of accessing education, reflecting on the future of university education, and disseminating academic programs that integrate data science into their contents.
The first of these projects will bethe Audeo Foundation Annual Seminar to be held on October 28 and 29 of 2021. Entitled “New Approaches and Challenges for University Education,” the seminar will bring together renowned professors from prestigious American, British, and Spanish universities to discuss the accelerated transformation that university education has undergone after a year of the pandemic. In this context, education in economics and finance, STEM disciplines, active learning, the creation of inclusive educational environments, and the keys to achieving equity and student success will be addressed.
Other activities that the foundation has planned include an annual award for the best postgraduate program,, a financial support program for outstanding students, and a workgroup to define a university model that positions Spain amongst the main players in higher education.
For more information about the Audeo Foundation and its activities, visit www.fundacionaudeo.org
CONTACT US
Joaquín Fernández
+34 91 524 74 88
joaquin.fernandez@marlowinsight.com
Luis Marañón
+34 91 524 74 88
