The University launches an innovative Master's Degree in the field of design and management of hospitality services

ISSA School of Applied Management presented last Wednesday, January 29th its Master's Degree in Hospitality Services design and management , which will begin classes in September 2025.which will start classes in September 2025. The event started at 7:30 pm and was attended by about 110 guests. The lectures took place in the Magna classroom at the University of Navarra's headquarters in Madrid. Before giving way to the speakers, Mila Laquidáin, director of development at ISSA School of Applied Management, thanked the audience for their presence and support for the program, and Fernanda de Parias, representing the board of directors of the Madrid Campus , gave the institutional welcome. She highlighted the multidisciplinary nature of the Master's Degree and its objectives: research, training and curating.

After his presentation, the first speaker of the afternoon was Carlos Escario, professor at IESE Business School. His talk, under the degree scroll "Your customers can't be happier than your employees," was a reflection on these two figures as essential cogs in any business. You have to know your customers well, he said, and also your employees, making sure that they have personal goals, illusions, and that we can help them achieve them. "This achievement can unlock enormous business value," he said. He repeated several times the importance of having a well-cared-for team: "Both for affection and for economic benefit, it is very good business to invest in people".

This, he said, more than being at the cutting edge of technology, is what really keeps you going, "knowing how to play the people game well. Escario concluded his speech by revealing to those present what he considers to be two of the most common fears: "Thinking that one is not up to the task and feeling that one is not worthy of being loved". In the face of these fears, which, he said, to a greater or lesser extent, we all have, there are two antidotes: "Gratitude and compassion. Caring, protecting, teaching... this is not being weak, but very good business.

After 8:00 p.m., the roundtable began. Moderated by journalist Alfredo Urdaci, the speakers took the stage: Inmaculada Benito, director of Tourism, Culture and Sport at CEOE; Matilde Pelegrí, founder and CEO of group Senda; Ana Sánchez Ostiz, PhD in Architecture and professor of the Master's Degree in design and management of Hospitality Services; Pedro Villarino, director of Operations at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Madrid. Professionals from different sectors represented the fields targeted by the program. Before launching his first questions, Urdaci wanted to highlight the concept of 'hospitality' which, for him, is nothing more than putting people at the center. "If you don't try to love the person with whom you communicate, understanding will be difficult," he commented.

The conversation among the professionals gave rise to many interpretations of the field of care. Matilde Pelegrí, for example, with regard to nursing homes, emphasized the importance of caring for the family as well, which accompanies and "also suffers". Pedro Villarino added: "Why is it that in the CUN patients are called patients and not clients? To call them anything else would be to miss the point.

Ana Sánchez Ostiz, for her part, offered a vision of care closely linked to her field of architecture: "Architecture always involves, so we must think about those who will inhabit the Structures, and not so much about economic performance". Inmaculada Benito proposed applying modern tools and the facilities of these times to teaching: "We have never had greater access to information and training. We must take advantage of this status and try to connect the purposes of the giver with those of the receiver". These and other interventions served as a call to the businessman so that, as Villarino pointed out, "we keep an eye on the soul of the companies". Urdaci Closed the event with a quotation from Teresa of Calcutta: "He who does not live to serve, does not serve to live". The guests left the Magna classroom and went to the cocktail party, where the event was concluded.

A Master's Degree for training in care

The University of Navarra launches this Master's Degree in design and management of Hospitality Services, aligned with the 2025 strategy that focuses on sustainability and care for people and the environment. With the goal of training leaders who are committed to the humanization of care and continue to professionalize hospitality services, this program is based on a model of care for people.

Students will be trained in: the design of hospitality experiences, the management of services and, depending on the sector in which they will specialize, they will choose a specialization between short and long stay. The program, which is approved by the National Agency for Assessment of Quality and Accreditation assessment National Agency for Assessment of Quality and Accreditation accreditation, will start in September in executive format (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning).