28 May MCXIted to make an Impact!: Meet IE’s MCXI

Written by S’bu Msimango, student of Master in Customer Experience and Innovation at IE University

Most people who come across the letters ‘MCXI’, are likely to interpret them as a Roman numeral representation of the figure 1111, i.e. M (1000) + C (100) + X (10) + I (1) = 1111.

At IE’s School of Human Sciences and Technology this acronym has been given new life… It is used in reference to the Master in Customer Experience and Innovation (MCXI) programme.

The ambiguity in this naming convention and the creativity applied in conceptualising it, are both entirely characteristic of this cutting-edge human-centred design (HCD) degree, which has taken me and every one of my classmates out of our comfort zones. More on that in part two of this short series… Let me first give you an idea of who we are.

Our cohort, the class of 2019, is made up of 40 very diverse individuals from five different continents. Our background and experience is even more varied, with some of us coming from traditional business backgrounds and others bringing engineering, performing arts and design into the mix! I needn’t mention the personal, academic and professional value that such a flavourful melting pot has afforded every last one of us.

About the Client (Impact Hub)

Impact Hub is one of the foremost providers of co-working space and entrepreneurial networks, with spaces in over 50 countries worldwide.  Impact Hub Madrid is undoubtedly among the larger and thriving hubs globally, boasting four co-working spaces across the capital city of Spain.  You can imagine, then, the excitement my team and I had when we were assigned Impact Hub Madrid as a client for our Term 2 Social Impact Project!

Our second of three academic terms ran from January to April. For this period, I worked with a multi-disciplinary project team of six fellow classmates. Our INNOLAB consulting project for this term was focused on social impact.  It was purely incidental that our assigned client’s name was Impact Hub… The meta pun here, was certainly not lost on us!

The common thread which weaves through all the hubs in this global network, is the sense of purpose and community which brings together the entrepreneurs, hosts and managers of the hubs.  It is this very ethos which was at the core of the challenge given to us by Impact Hub’s leadership team.  The challenge was for us to design a fresh incubator programme for Madrid’s community of budding entrepreneurs, to enable the hub to have greater impact in the development and success of entrepreneurial ventures… Where does one even begin?

About the author: S’bu Msimango is Business Strategy and Design professional from Johannesburg, South Africa.  He is currently based in Madrid, where he is studying towards a Master in Customer Experience and Innovation through IE University. 

LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/SbusisoMsimangoLinkedIn