The ESADE project was conceived in the spring of 1954 by a group of Spanish professionals and entrepreneurs during the period of isolation or autarchy initiated by the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Linked from the beginning to the Society of Jesus, they saw the need to professionalize the training of businessmen.[3]
The school signed an agreement with the Jesuits (Societas Iesu) in October 1958 and started offering its first academic programs in a small building in the district of Sant Gervasi, Barcelona.[4] In 1958, ESADE was ultimately founded. Two years later, in 1960, executive education programmes were introduced as the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. In 1964 the college's MBA programme was established. A year later, in 1965, ESADE's Barcelona campus (Av. Pedralbes) opened (Building I). In 2001, the school inaugurated its campus in Madrid (Chamartín), and two years later its campus in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both are primarily used for Executive Education. In 2009 ESADE opened a new campus in Sant Cugat (Barcelona) as well as ESADE Creapolis, a technology park based on open innovation and situated on the new Sant Cugat campus.[4] In 2014, it ranked fourth in the international business school ranking compiled by the Financial Times.[5]
The ESADE Business School offers an accelerated, customizable full-time MBA programme. Students can choose among a 12, 15 and 18-month track.[6] The 12-month program is completed with classes from September to September, while the 15- and 18-month programs allow for either summer internships, exchanges with other MBA programmes worldwide, or both. In the first eight months students are divided into three sections, with whom they complete a significant portion of their studies in a team format. In the remaining terms, classes are completed on an elective basis. The student body is highly international, with 95% international students who represent 48 nationalities.[7]
