On 27 September the official presentation of the first edition of the Master's Degree in Architecture and Business Design Management took place at the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, given by architect Maria Isabel Gabarró. 18 students from 15 different countries started the course and participated during the event in a series of team building activities aimed at making the group more cohesive. The following day, the students went on a tour around Barcelona and discovered some of the most important architectural sites in the city, such as the Barcelona Design Museum, the Pompeu Fabra University Library, Santa Caterina Market, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Antic Teatre and the Ateneu Barcelonès.  

Our Master's Degree in Architecture and Business Design Management is a programme aimed at professionals from the creative sector who want to acquire solid business knowledge so they can manage a business successfully or join companies in the construction and design sectors. The programme has three partners for each of its modules. The first one on creative ideas receives support from the BCD - Barcelona Design Center, the second, linked to a product, is supported by Santa & Cole, a design company, and the third one, focusing on the field of Real Estate, receives support from CBRE, an international real estate company. 

“This master’s degree allows us to ensure our graduates can become polyvalent professionals, who know how to take best advantage of two worlds that necessarily coincide, the technical and the business worlds” said Maria Isabel Gabarró.  

The academic programme included visits to some of the focal points in architecture in Barcelona, such as the Sagrada Família, visits to well-known businesses such as Autodesk and HP, and lectures from prestigious professionals. These included famous designer Gerard Sanmartí, who runs La Granja Design, and Javier Mariscal, the creater of Cobi, the official mascot for the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona.