Spain
“Extraordinary, fulfilling, enriching, memorable” – IE Business School students give their verdicts on their Splash Projects
IE Business School | Three charities
Our first projects of 2023 involved 450 IE Business School students, plus a further 50 members of staff.
The teams experienced “purposeful team building” and learnt about the importance of social impact, while benefitting three charities supporting vulnerable people across Madrid.
Over four days we worked with a 200 IMBA students who built a multi-purpose obstacle walkway for the ONCE Foundation which supports blind people to live independently. The ‘jungle’ is a 40-metre educational urban walkway for visually impaired and fully sighted people to learn about how to successfully negotiate the everyday challenges faced by visually impaired or blind people.
Concurrently, we worked with 250 MIM students who built an ‘around the world’ themed play area at area at Colegio Público Sagunto, Calle de Paterna, for children with autism, to encourage imaginative play in South Africa, America’s ‘wild west’, Mexico and the Himalayas…
The photo collage here shows before, during and after shots of their project, highlighting the transformation which takes place during a Splash Project.
Following these incredibly successful projects, we worked with 50 members of staff who, in one day, built a rest area with seated shading, outdoor benches with tables, raised planters and potting tables, and a feature bench around a tree for Hogar Don Orione Residential Centre, Madrid, which cares for adults with physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities.
Rachel Hartley, IE MIM Associate Director, said: “We are teaching future business leaders that business is about many things, one of which is social impact.”
Tommaso, IE MIM student, said: “Giving back to the community is really really really important.
“The project has changed the environment for the children; where there was a grey wall, it is now painted with added artwork. So, it’s going to make their educational environment more stimulating.”
Matteo, IE MIM student, added: “Small things make a big difference.”
José María Suárez Maya, the school’s headteacher, said: “The children have been able to watch something that’s being done for them – this is fantastic for them!”
“Extraordinary, fulfilling, enriching, memorable, teamwork, hard work and happy”, are some of the words other students used to sum-up their Splash Project experience.
