‘Racial (in)Justice’ is the elective subject in the Esade MBA recognized as the ‘Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative’ during the 2024 Excellence Awards presented last week by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Business Graduates Association (BGA). This subject, in which Esade has been a pioneer around the globe, employs virtual reality to enable its students to experience different racial discrimination scenarios and gain experiential knowledge and hands-on opportunities to develop action plans to combat it.

Joan Rodon, dean of Esade Business School, believes that “incorporating the debate about racial justice into the MBA curriculum is not merely a question of social responsibility, it’s also an essential part of preparing future leaders for an interconnected, diverse and socially aware business setting.”

Awards for academic excellence in MBAs

The 2024 Excellence Awards took place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London and were attended by more than two hundred leaders from business schools, finalists, award-winners and journalists. The other award-winning institutions included Birmingham Business School (Best Partnership Initiative), EGADE Business School, Technologic de Monterrey (Best Social Impact and Sustainability Initiative), UCL School of Management, University College (Best Life-long Learning Initiative) and Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (Best Innovation Strategy Initiative).

The award-winners, and also the runner-up establishments and students in each award, were chosen by a panel of judges consisting of AMBA and BGA board members, business experts, deans and business leaders.