03 July 2017
Madrid Headquarters
Deusto Business School held the closing ceremony of the fourth graduating class of its PLPE (Public Leadership Programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation) and PLCE (Corporate Leadership Programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation) on 3 July. These entrepreneurship programmes are taught jointly with ICADE Business School. The event was held at the Rafael del Pino Foundation headquarters, and concluded with a dialogue between the former ministers Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and Alberto Ruiz Gallardón.
Economist Juan Moscoso del Prado moderated the dialogue in which the former ministers devoted special attention to talent and the key role of education in attaining it. They agreed on the importance of education that prioritises cross-cutting knowledge rather than overspecialisation.
Both speakers stated that they felt free to give their opinions as “former” ministers, and joked that "there are no political parties or governments that can remove us from any position". They then analysed the school failure phenomenon and dropout rates.
They stated that education is more relevant than ever in today’s context where half of the people currently employed are expected to lose their jobs within a decade because these jobs will disappear. They added that the university should make an effort to bridge the distance that currently separates it from the business world.
Ruiz Gallardón and Pérez Rubalcaba also addressed political analysis, declaring that the new parties are here to stay and recognising that the attitude of their parties has contributed, together with the effects of the international crisis, to create a bloc of disappointed and even irritated voters. “We haven’t communicated with them properly. We haven’t been able to make the next generations understand that democracy is not always guaranteed” they pointed out. And as self-criticism, they recognized that both PP and PSOE may have sometimes damaged the system while trying to harm the opposition.
In any case, both former ministers were optimistic regarding the future of a society which they believe is better qualified than ever, and whose members hope they will not make the same mistakes as their elders.
The former ministers’ talk marked the end of the closing ceremony of the PLPE and the PLCE fourth graduation ceremony in which the participants - politicians and public sector and corporate executives-, proposed their projects to improve the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem in 200 seconds.
Julio Martínez, Rector of the Pontifical University of Comillas, chaired the jury which was formed by other public figures such as Ruiz Gardón and Perez Rubalcaba. The Project Gas2Move was chosen as the winner among all the participants The jury considered the audience’s opinion in addtion to their own criteria
Gas2Move is led by the students Sergio García (Enagás); Miguel de Arcocha (Ecoembes); Adrián Blanco (ICEX); Carlos Llanos (Red Eléctrica) and José Ramón Bauzá (former president of the Balearic Government and currently a senator). The project aims to boost the use of alternative fuels to promote sustainable mobility.
The PLPE and PLCE programmes are supported by EY, Círculo de Empresarios, the Rafael del Pino Foundation and Steelcase. Participants occupying positions of great public responsibility took part in the PLPE, and have learned how to use the administration to help entrepreneurs create jobs without compromising the system’s sustainability. On the other hand, the PLCE shares objectives with PLPE, and targets executives and professionals linked to business innovation.
Both programmes always end with the elaboration of a real project to support entrepreneurs, with feedback included, and the aim of applying it in the participants’ respective administrations. The next PLPE and PLCE programmes will kick off this autumn.
