Born and raised in Madrid, Ignacio is a Business and Law Dual Degree student in his second year. Learn more about his university experience and what he has learned in our interview.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I like to be busy, so I try to do various activities. Of course, I spend a lot of time studying, but I also do a lot of sports. Taking a break to meet your friends or read a good book is something necessary as well.
Why did you choose IE University?
Because I thought it had something fresh, something different to offer compared with other universities. IE has a great reputation mainly because of their MBAs, and I felt that the university would give me a professional, practical approach.
What do you want to do after graduation?
I don´t know yet. I’m a second year student, and graduation seems so distant. However, I think that I would like to work in the law sector.
What’s the most valuable aspect of IEU for you?
Many people would answer this question talking about the heterogeneity of the university- the diversity of the students is unique, and it’s almost impossible to find anywhere else in Spain. Of course this is great but, for me, the best of IE is the work methodology: instead of offering theoretical content to memorize, from the start they give you two or three lessons for you to learn the basics, and then you do practical cases and papers, where you learn how things actually work on your own. For me, this is the most effective way to teach something, in the short- and long-term.
What is the most valuable thing you have learned from a professor about your future career path?
The first law class we had when we arrived at IE was Constitutional Law. Our teacher came to the first session and told us to buy a huge book of almost a thousand pages. Of course, it was much bigger than anything I had ever faced before, and I was sure that it was impossible that, in the first year, the teacher could ask us to learn all that content. After the midterm I realized that he actually did. I learnt something from that teacher that I will never forget: in life, challenges are big, big things that are hard to overcome, and you must not underestimate them. However, you should not underestimate yourself either, because with hard work and effort nothing is impossible.
Have you participated in a Lab at IEU? What was it about, and what was your role? What did you learn?
I participated in the Legal Clinic last summer. It was one of the best experiences at IE. I wasn’t sure that after just one year of studying law I would be able to work with professional lawyers or help them with their jobs. In the Legal Clinic we learnt practical skills directly from people who use them in their everyday jobs.
