SPAIN — Esade Business School is experiencing an increase in students and academics arriving from the United States. Daniel Traça, the school's director general, said students and academics are forgoing the United States for Madrid and Barcelona.

"We're seeing a lot of interest from students from Latin America, who are going to Madrid and Barcelona because America has become more closed off and less accepting," Traça said. Esade Business School is positioning itself to attract students who previously would have chosen North American institutions. The school has campuses in Barcelona, Sant Cugat, and Madrid. International students constitute between 60 and 70 percent of Esade Business School's approximately 15,700 students.

"Everything is messy, uncertain and becoming toxic," Traça said. He described the cities with a quote: "[Barcelona and Madrid] are large, growing cities with amazing lifestyles, with a sense of freedom and social conscience." Spain launched the EduBridge to Spain initiative in September to offer students at all academic levels a pathway to transfer from U.S. institutions to Spanish ones. This initiative targets students affected by U.S. visa restrictions.

Traça has served as director general of Esade Business School for nearly two years. He stated, "We need to build up in Madrid, which is becoming a European megahub." Regarding the industry, he said, "Business schools are really at a fundamental transformation point." He added, "We need to change a lot of the presumptions we've had about where we're going, what our role is and what our relevance is." He noted the school's strategy requires a reassessment of traditional focuses, stating, "We're trying to reassess this idea that business schools are just marketing, finance and so on." He outlined the necessary skills: "In terms of skills we need to provide three layers. One is the business and law side, the core of what we're doing, and then touching on the tech side and on the geopolitical and social side, to understand where we're going and how we can fix it. And also focusing on humanities."

Esade Business School recently launched a bachelor's degree in business and AI, as well as a degree in global governance. "We are rethinking everything," Traça said.