Life in all its forms teems across the landscapes that make up the Colombian geography. And perched up in the Eastern Andes—halfway between the Amazon Forest and the Caribbean Coast—lies the Universidad de los Andes School of Management (UASM). Over the last 50 years, the School has trained generations of young professionals, enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and mature executives aware of the challenges of their context and committed to be responsible business leaders in society. “Leadership for life” constitutes our purpose, one that reflects our enduring commitment to our diverse stakeholders to foster learning along their lives and to using knowledge for the betterment of society and for the blossoming of life. To accomplish that purpose, our school develops academic activities in different fronts that keep it relevant in addressing the most pressing issues managers face in Latin-American firms. As hosts of the upcoming “GBSN Beyond 2024” Conference, we would like to highlight what makes UASM especially unique in its commitment to the conference’s theme: Empowering People, Embracing Planet, Imagining Possibilities.
Entrepreneurship is a core component of UASM’s strategy and one of its main vehicles to empower people. The School’s Entrepreneurship Center supports start-ups and accelerates new enterprises under a relational approach, joining entrepreneurs to key actors of the country’s business ecosystem. Fostering social enterprises and base-of-the- pyramid businesses is one of the main goals of the center and we have run programs to this end: With the support of the JP Morgan Foundation, the center carries out the “Moving Forward Together” program for low-income women who are heads of households and who work in the vicinity of the University. Through Executive Education, and in association with the city government, art and culture entrepreneurs have also received training in how to run their businesses more effectively. The School offers formal training to degree seeking students, in the form of courses and certificates, such as the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Emerging Markets to international students participating in the GLOCAL master’s program. The entrepreneurship center serves as a laboratory for faculty to conduct research on what works and what does not when supporting vulnerable populations such as subsistence entrepreneurship, former combatants, and refugees.
Sustainable development is at the core of UASM’s mission and integral part of our strategic plan, as we strive to teach business leaders to act in harmony with the planet. Our program portfolio includes three master’s programs on sustainability: Master in Environmental Management, Master in Development Practice, and Online Master in Regeneration and Sustainable Development. In addition, environmental and social sustainability have been embedded across all Uniandes training degree-granting programs. We are perhaps the first, if not the only, school of management in the world to offer a mandatory course in ecosystem services for all undergraduate students. This course is unique in its nature, since it trains students on the dependencies businesses have on nature, and raises awareness about the importance of making managerial decisions that include planetary boundaries and long-term ecosystem considerations. Action-research projects on social and environmental sustainability have been developed along with organizations and communities—such as Afro-descendant community councils and women coffee growers’ associations—, in topics such as environmental protection and human rights, sustainable consumption, payments for ecosystem services, circular economy, and deforestation. As an example, the School has worked with a network of over 200 companies, linked to the RedES project, to promote the adoption of industrial ecology principles across anchor companies and their small- and medium-sized suppliers, through partnering universities that our school trains.
It would be difficult to imagine possibilities and a more sustainable and inclusive future without technology. UASM has embraced new technologies to explore new educational formats including podcasts, online courses, and issuing micro credentials. Virtual reality is used in the Executive MBA program to simulate board meetings. This technology is also used in the Master’s program in Development Practice to illustrate the different futures that can be reached based on the decisions made in the present. We have started training CEOs and board members of top companies in Latin America on using artificial intelligence in their decision-making processes. Finally, faculty research has also addressed issues such as the performance of hybrid teams, the impact of virtuality on students’ on-campus teams, the use of augmented reality in ecotourism services, and the institutional challenges brought by artificial intelligence to Latin American organizations.
Management education, research, and community outreach play a vital role in preparing leaders and helping organizations improve their performance for a sustainability transition. This is a global challenge for all business schools, but one that is especially pressing for those that operate in rich yet challenging environments such as Colombia. In UASM, we have taken on the “leadership for life” purpose by co-developing our activities with, and for, communities and organizations keeping in mind how interconnected businesses are with nature. GBSN brings the conference to Colombia and gives our School the opportunity to share our work with representatives of business schools around the world and learn from their reflections and experiences in shaping leadership beyond C-level executives. We look forward to seeing you all in November in Bogota.