This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Madrid to research the effects of firm ownership on alliance behavior through Wharton’s World Research Assistantship Program. I was mentored by my Wharton faculty advisor, Professor Louis Thomas in the Management Department, and Professors Marta Elivra and Africa Ariño at IESE Business School.
My research responsibilities first involved data collection for the hundreds of companies that were observed in the dataset. After a few weeks of that, I transitioned to a second project, which involved integrating python programming to quantify qualitative nonfinancial and management disclosures to help develop “cognitive profiles” for businesses. The latter was especially interesting and something new that I learned as I worked on it. At the end of my research assistantship, I was able to present my findings and methods to the professors and the rest of the research team (who phoned in from Barcelona). I had never formally done or presented research, so I found the experience to be both valuable and rewarding!
While IESE’s main campus is in Barcelona, I was asked to work at the Madrid campus, which was a small but beautiful location, just outside of Madrid’s largest park, Casa de Campo. On my first day at campus, I was greeted by my Professor, and Jess, the PhD student whom I had the privilege of working under. I was given a nice spot in the executive MBA building with the other research assistants who worked with other professors. I was a little nervous at first, being in a new country, working with RAs 3-5 years older than me, and speaking broken Spanish at best. However all of those fears were assuaged as I was warmly welcomed by the staff and RAs, who I quickly became friends with. My favorite part of the day was eating lunch and chatting with the other RAs at the university cafe (which served fresh and unique meals/desserts daily). In the process I was able to build genuine connections with people who shared my interests from halfway around the world, while also improving my Spanish.
I also enjoyed grabbing coffee with Professor Elvira, during which we would talk about how my experiences in Spain were going, her teaching experiences, and about her time spent at conferences and with other faculty at Wharton. Her warmth and enthusiasm for me enhanced my experience at IESE a lot and made me feel both excited and grateful to be a part of the IESE community.
I believe that I grew and matured a lot as a result of this transformational experience. I learned to live on my own, have conversations with strangers in a language I had just learned, commute to work and even travel alone. But one thing I loved about Spain in particular was people’s acceptance and warmth towards me. It really helped me get out of my comfort zone, to talk to people, and ultimately make many new friends wherever I went. Especially when I traveled to places alone, while the adventures I planned were fun, it was the people that I met along the way, often spontaneously, that made the trip for me.
Overall, being able to work on a project I found interesting, in a place I grew to love could not have been a more rewarding experience, and I highly recommend it for anyone considering WRAP in the future! I extend a sincere thanks to my professors at IESE for accommodating me, as well as my faculty advisors at Wharton for supporting me and making this summer possible.