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About us ESCI-UPF

We are a community of professionals ready to move the world in a better direction by promoting values such as respect, sustainability and multiculturalism. We are also keen to become a centre of excellence for applied research into processes of interest to international companies and institutions. We strive to be global competitors and trailblazers for change.

To achieve our mission, we are proud to have world-class professionals from outstanding companies on our teaching staff and research teams. We deliver high-quality educational programmes with an international scope, including the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Marketing (BDIBM), the Bachelor’s Degree in Bioinformatics, our master’s degrees and our Executive Education courses.

We equip ESCI-UPF students with the skills to help bring about social, intellectual and economic growth in disadvantaged countries and social sectors.

ESCI-UPF’s goals

  • Train professionals who can work effectively in any private or public organisation with an international outlook.
  • Create experts who can manage and consolidate companies expanding into international markets.
  • Nurture entrepreneurs able to set up their own company.
  • Equip students with the professional tools to work in the fields of research, development and innovation.
  • Be a centre of excellence for exploring cutting-edge international issues.
  • Create lines of research and consultancy to forge ties with companies and institutions in our own environment.

Our history

In 1993 the Catalan Government and Universitat Pompeu Fabra resolved to take steps to help companies set up overseas and to equip them with technically and culturally qualified human resources. The result was ESCI-UPF School of International Studies. Its mission: to train professionals and experts in international business.

These two founders were soon joined by a number of institutions and organisations who shared the same philosophy and objectives, including the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the Catalan Association of Chambers of Commerce and the Catalan Association of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (PIMEC), as well as many other companies.

ESCI-UPF started out by offering a Bachelor’s Degree in International Trade, followed in 2002 by a graduate course in Market Research and Techniques.

In 1999 it launched the Master’s in International Trade, followed by the Master’s in International Management, the Master’s in International Retail, the postgraduate course in Women’s Leadership and the advanced course in International Trade.

In 2009, it adapted its Bachelor’s Degree in International Trade to meet the new requirements of the European Higher Education Area. The result was its first Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Marketing. We currently offer two options for the same degree: the Bachelor's Degree in International Business and Marketing, 50% Catalan/Spanish / 50% English, and the Bachelor's Degree in International Business and Marketing, taught 100% in English.

Alongside its master’s programmes, research groups, MANGO CSR, and UNESCO Chairs, this new degree has made ESCI-UPF a benchmark school for training professionals who excel in international business.