I am planning to apply to the International MBA of Instituto de Empresa but 
I don't speak Spanish, is it a big deal ?

I was interested in your paper about the crisis in Latin America.
Could you please provide me further details?

I was interested in your paper about Project Finance, here is my project shall you finance it?

I was interested in your paper about your 1997 job on US Import Requirements for Food and Spirits.
I am involved in the Food and Spirits business, could you please advise me?

Index

Strengths :

Well, this is a question I was asked many, many times !!  According to me it worths the money you will spend on it. I would say that the quality - price ratio is the best when you compare it to the other European business schools. 

IE is ranked among other top European business schools which usually cost between 2 to 3 times more. Moreover, Instituto de Empresa is located in the center of Madrid, a really enjoyable place to live with excellent museums, a strong cultural identity and a "democratic" gastronomy and nightlife. The other European business schools are located in expensive cities like Barcelona, London and Paris - Fontainebleau or in expensive AND sad non-cultural locations like Manchester and Lausanne. 

Weaknesses :

Your Spanish colleagues won't always have a lot of very relevant experience and some of them, none. It can be explained by the difficulties of the young Spanish graduates to find their first job in Spain and the fact that if IE was to reject all the people without experience they would probably reject potentially excellent people. 

A second weakness of IE would consist in the computer room. The hardware is relatively outdated, still some sloooow oldtimers !, and since our friend Bill is MBA Honoris Causa of IE from the time he was not (in)famous i.e. 1992 the software is only "kindly" provided by Microsoft Corporation. Lotus Note, Netscape Messenger and this kind of stuffs are not on the menu and I think it must be forbidden to even pronounce those names. 

Opportunities :

Instituto de Empresa is definitely international. You will learn business with a predominantly hispanic faculty usually holding top US PhD.s or MBAs. Besides that, the Spanish and international (70 %) students will allow you to create a network of relations within Latin America and Europe that might, one day, be valuable in terms of business. Another positive element of IE is the possibility (remote since it will depend on your ranking among your peers) to spend 3 months in an associated MBA program like UCLA in the US, ITAM in Mexico, etc... 

If you are a foreigner and are able to find, BY YOURSELF, a good contract in Spain during the summer period you will really understand how things work in Spain and Latin America.

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Threats :

The carreer department of IE is only reflecting the Spanish job market where a third cycle (post-grad) is very common and where a foreigner will have real difficulties to find a rewarding position. I would say that the best way to recoup your investment is to start to work outside Spain and later come back with an expatriate package. 

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You should better learn quickly. IE provides lessons for the foreigners but even if the 5 first months of your MBA are taught in English you will have to work in teams with hispanic people and will have to attend some classes in Spanish after those 5 first months. Besides that, to find an interesting contract during the summer and a great job after you graduate it is critical to be fluent in Spanish otherwise ... forget it !!

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Thank you for your interest. Nevertheless I am not a provider of information about Latin America and I can not spend too much time in constantly actualizing the data already on Eurolibor.com. Therefore, unless we reach a personalized agreement, I suggest that you visit my list of favorite financial links.

Index

Sorry but I am neither a venture capitalist nor linked with any existing venture capital firm and I can not do anything for your idea.

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I am currently active in the financial industry, therefore I am afraid that my database would not exactly be up to date in order to assist you personnaly. Nevertheless I still can recommend good law firms in Europe and in the US.