Gastronomy Project Underlines Importance of Wellbeing: MBA News

IE Business School’s appetite for a project that aims to show business students and alumni the value of eating well continues to grow.   

IE Gastronomy was launched last fall with the purpose of providing educational resources that outline the personal and professional benefits that can come with a fuller appreciation for the culture of good food.

Program modules, intended to complement IE Business School’s academic degrees, have all been designed to emphasize the importance of nutrition – not just in terms of the health benefits, but also the economic impact of people’s eating habits and gastronomy’s place in the digital age.

“We need to show future managers to invest time in their wellbeing,” said Rafael Ansón, the project’s leader and director of the Center for Management, Nutrition and Welfare at IE Business School. “Gastronomy also plays a key role in economy and in sustainability. It is proven that bad nutrition generates huge costs in national health.”

How does IE Business School rank in gastronomic terms?

As for the quality of food available at IE Business School…well, The Financial Times’ latest executive education rankings covers food as one of 10 indicators rated by course participants. For what it’s worth, the Spanish school places just inside the top 30 here, behind its compatriots IESE and ESADE, at a table headed by Stanford and UV Darden in the US and Switzerland’s IMD. Regardless, supporting a culture of good food, and its underlying economic effects, makes sense for the Madrid-based school, because of Spain’s renown in international cuisine.

 “At IE we are very aware that the Spanish gastronomy sector enjoys a leading position worldwide, and how gastronomy has become a strategic sector for showcasing countries on the world stage,” the school’s dean, Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, said at the time of project’s launch, adding that, “Spain is listed among world leaders in a sector that is increasingly important from a management and economic perspective.”

The project, formed in collaboration with corporate partners, Banco Popular and the Telefónica Foundation, extends to activities and an online network in addition to its educational modules – all of which are designed to spark IE Business School students’ interest in pursuing healthy lifestyles. For example, new additions include snack-sized podcasts that take on a different topic in just two minutes and a series of interviews that showcase the views of experts in particular areas of gastronomy.

“Little by little, people in management are learning that they also have to think about personal needs, not just work requirements. It also brings improved bottom-line results, because a person who feels good is more efficient,” concludes Ansón.