Jesuit Business Schools Meet in World Forum

July 20-22, 2021, ITESO, the Jesuit University of Guadalajara, will host the 26^th World Forum of the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools entitled, "The Future of Business Education: Serving the World with Inspiring Business Education."  It brings together deans from Jesuit universities worldwide, from 52 countries on every continent, with the purpose of promoting a new paradigm of business education.

Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si' inspires the deans' reflective work to propose curricula that encourage students to promote productive enterprises and businesses that build a creative social economy, invest in the common good, and build social trust.

In this context, the rector of ITESO and president of the Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America (AUSJAL), Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, S.J., said that the central challenge for the construction of a new business paradigm both in Mexico and worldwide, "is to jointly support the development of innovative solutions and strategies that allow companies to promote leadership under the construction of a more prosperous, inclusive, and innovative present and future in a complex period where entrepreneurs can meet the technological, social, economic, and sustainability challenges that the world demands."

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its Spanish acronym) estimates, in its 2020 Business Demographics Study, that during the COVID-19 pandemic, of the 4.9 million micro-, small-, and medium-sized establishments (MSMEs) that were in the 2019 Economic Censuses, 3.9 million (79.19%) survived, just over one million (20.81%) closed their doors for good, and 619,443 establishments were opened, representing 12.75% of the country's business population.  What is striking is the gap of 400,000 establishments between those that closed and those that were opened.

In this context, according to ITESO's Business School, companies have the following among their main challenges: to promote businesses that are even more agile in the face of technological changes and the digitalization of operations, to seek sustainability in their processes, to take care of the quality of the work life of their work teams, and to be innovative in developing solutions that adapt to constant changes.

"That is why universities and, in particular, business schools play a crucial role in addressing these challenges and generating opportunities for positive change.  Our responsibility is to help raise students' awareness of their surroundings to help them become creative, competent, conscious, and committed to transformation; to provide them with a framework for reflection on the role they each play in being part of the solution, and to support them alongside professors in the face of challenging issues in a world that demands to be more just and sustainable," commented Arriaga.

The Forum will be inaugurated with an opening message from the Rector of ITESO, the host institution, and Michael Garanzini, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).  Chris Lowney, author of the bestseller Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World, will be one of the speakers.

Participants in the Forum include the deans of the ITESO School of Business, as well as the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University (Washington, DC); the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles); the Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ESADE, Barcelona); Sofia University (Tokyo); the Ibero-American Universities of León, Puebla, Torreón, Tijuana and Mexico City, Mexico, and 65 universities in India.

More information at: https://ite.so/foromundialescuelasjesuitasdenegocios.