The keys for the success in business in 'Science in the Classroom'

The 2^nd edition of “Science in the Classroom” returned to the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch in London on the 17^th October with the first session of this academic year. Dr José Luis Ruizalba, Senior Lecturer in Marketing in The Claude Littner Business School of the University of West London, visited 14-18 years-old students to tell them about his career, his research projects in business marketing and, specially, about the keys to be successful in your job.

Building trust as key for the success

In his talks, José Luis aimed to deliver a simple message to all students: “the importance of building trust at the time of seeking a job”. José Luis told them that trust is built upon being competent, both at the personal and professional level, and honest. “Trust is something that is highly time-consuming and it requires many interactions to build it right, but at the same time it can be fully undermined in just a matter of seconds”. To better illustrate the importance of building trust, José Luis mentioned some personal experiences and known examples from multinationals. 

Students actively participated trying to recognize those personal and professional skills more demanded by companies. José Luis summed them up in “initiative, flexibility, adaptability, creativity, resilience and team-work”. 

All these concepts enabled the Senior Lecturer of the University of West London to stress out the importance of self-confidence in entrepreneurial activities. José Luis said “I think that some students showed some entrepreneurial interest and I believe this is something very important to encourage and canalise. I think that students clearly understood not only the importance of reading a lot, having a good education and differentiating oneself from the rest, but also the vocation to serve society”. To strengthen these messages, he told about the first steps of some entrepreneurs from Spain and other countries that now lead big companies. 

An inspiring session, according to the guests 

The organiser of “Science in the Classroom” and Science Coordinator of FECYT in the Spanish Embassy in London, Lorenzo Melchor, participated in all sessions and described the experience as “very interactive and inspiring, because José Luis soon caught the attention and curiosity of students, involving them in the debate and encouraging them to trust in themselves”. Lorenzo also wanted to highlight that “we are glad to have brought José Luis for the restart of ‘Science in the Classroom’. In doing so, we address one of the petitions from the students after the first edition of this programme, as we did not have the time to cover the field of Economics and Business”. 

Precisely, César Andrés Aucejo, Teacher in Economics and Economics of the Company in the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch, attended two of the talks. César told that “José Luis leaked very important concepts in Economics whilst telling his personal experience. He underlined the keys to be successful in a company from the perspectives of both the worker and the business owner. More importantly, with his original talk, José Luis was able to fill students with excitement, even those who do not want to study Economics”. 

When asked about his experience in “Science in the Classroom”, José Luis reckoned that he learnt from “the eagerness transmitted by students, as this is something that we sometimes forget” and he described the programme as “an excellent initiative that is worth spreading across Spain and introducing in many educational centres”. 

About “Science in the Classroom”

“Science in the Classroom” is a programme organised by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain in London, by which a scientist or an engineer per month visits 14-18 years-old students in the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch in London until the end of the term. This programme began in the year 2015-2016 and continues with its second edition during 2016-2017. It is also supported by the Spanish Education Office in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch, and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU). “Science in the Classroom” is embedded in the FECYT line of action related to the promotion of scientific culture and dissemination, and support for internationalization of Spanish science. 

About José Luis Ruizalba Robledo

José Luis is Senior Lecturer in Marketing in The Claude Littner Business School of the University of West London since 2014, and he is the Director of the MSc in International Marketing. He has a PhD in Business Administration by the Universidad de Málaga and a Law Degree by the Universidad de Granada. He also has a MSc in Business Administration by the IIST Business School, a Management Programme by IESE Business School, and a Postgraduate in Executive Coaching by the IESE Business School. José Luis is the author of over 50 publications considering his scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and communications in International conferences. In 2016, he was given the “Best Paper Award” in the Servitization Spring Conference organised by the Aston Business School.