By José Ángel de la Paz

As the leading business school in Latin America recognized worldwide for its commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey constantly strives to build extraordinary experiences for its community, in any circumstance.

In March, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and in compliance with institutional provisions to safeguard the health and safety of its community, EGADE Business School announced its migration of all the face-to-face classes to an online format.

Another implication of this transformation was the transfer of the School’s diverse activities and events to a virtual format through platforms such as Zoom and Webex, also in compliance with the social distancing recommendations of the health authorities.

Using VirBELA immersive technology, EGADE Business School has innovated the way in which it holds meetings, conferences, bootcamps, and briefings, enabling hundreds of students, alumni, and prospects to interact through avatars in virtual 3D spaces.

This platform has hosted: the Dean’s Welcome, a student welcome event at the start of the Abril-June 2020 trimester, led by Ignacio de la Vega, dean of EGADE Business School; the conference “Disrupt the Disruption” for students and alumni; the Virtual UX Bootcamp for EGADE MBA students; the MBM Student Chat, a panel with Master in Business Management alumni for the program’s candidates, among other events.

¡Desde la bienvenida virtual con nuestro decano, @Ignaveg! Estamos seguros de que este periodo académico estará lleno de retos y aprendizaje que los ayudarán a desarrollar más habilidades y competencias para un mundo global en los negocios. #EGADELiFE pic.twitter.com/c7vN6bYBpF

— EGADEBusinessSchool (@egade) May 4, 2020

Moreover, some of the Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Master in Business Management sessions have been held on the VirBELA virtual campus.

“We needed an improved virtual experience where, instead of being passive listeners, our students could be active players and game-changers. With VirBELA, they can now create their avatars, explore our virtual campus and even dance Zumba, all while receiving a cutting-edge education. This gamification educational approach has driven the EGADE virtual experience in every sense,” commented Julien Depauw, director of Academic Innovation at EGADE Business School.

During the contingency, and to continue to consolidate digital competencies, EGADE Business School has also encouraged students and alumni to participate in activities such as EXATEC EGADE Virtual Talks, EFMD Virtual Career Fair Series by Highered, Peeptrade Tradier Challenge, Speed Networking Week and virtual mentoring programs.

In addition, EGADE Business School graduation candidates have enjoyed the virtual celebrations Celebrate the Class of 2020 and Tec Forever, two unique experiences prior to their face-to-face graduation ceremony, which will be held as soon as health circumstances permit.

For the business community, EGADE Business School has launched, during the contingency, two webinar series: A la altura del desafío: liderazgo en el contexto de COVID-19, which has already finished, and the new EGADE Future Forum, presenting faculty and academic and business leaders who will contribute knowledge to address the challenges and capitalize the opportunities of the “new normal”.

As a precedent to the fresh impetus EGADE Business School has given to virtual and immersive experiences, last year the School inaugurated a virtual reality room to allow its community to explore its trends and applications in business and research.