8:30
Welcome coffee at the conference venue
8:30
Walk from the hotels to ESSCA School of Management
9:00 – 9:45
Shifting ground: What’s next for business education?
Business education is changing fast. From shifting student interests and geographic flows to fading programme formats and new expectations around value, business schools face a complex and evolving landscape.
This session offers a global overview of key developments across the education sector and explores what they mean for Marcom professionals. How can we adapt our messaging, outreach, and relationship-building to meet today’s challenges—and tomorrow’s demand?
- Elena Liquete, Consultant, lecturer and researcher in higher education, CarringtonCrisp, UK & ES
Moderated by Dan Maggs, Director, Partnerships & External Engagement, King’s Business School, King’s College London, UK
9:45 – 10:30
PACO: AI Assistance at the University of Cologne
In this session, we would like to explore how to capture the attention of digital-native students and build their trust at the earliest stages of their journey. We’ll examine leveraging AI tools and gamified touchpoints to create personalised, dynamic engagement while referring to Gen Z and Gen Alpha expectations.
- Peter Krauss, Project Manager for Process Management and Automation, University of Cologne, DE
Moderated by Dan Maggs, Director, Partnerships & External Engagement, King’s Business School, King’s College London, UK
10:30 – 11:15
Coffee and conversations
Before we dive into the rest of the day, take a moment to connect with your peers and your coffee. This interactive session invites participants to join small, mixed discussion groups to reflect on the morning plenaries.
What resonated with you?
How are you navigating similar challenges in your role?
Share practical experiences, compare notes, and gather new ideas to bring back to your institution. Whether in Marketing, Communications, Alumni, or External Relations, this is your space to dive deeper with colleagues who have been in your shoes.
11:15 – 11:30
Comfort break
11:30 – 13:00
Time to update on tech and AI: Smart strategies from Málaga
This session connects global innovation to local context, bringing Málaga’s tech momentum into conversation with the real-world challenges of Marcom teams today.
What does it take to drive innovation without the budget of a tech giant—and how does that differ when you do have it? Málaga-based tech experts share how they’ve built impactful, forward-thinking organisations with agility, creativity, and strategic focus in this locally rooted panel.
- Gopolang Ngale-Lekgetha, Senior Global Strategic Propositions Lead, Vodafone Innovation Hub, ES
- Carlos Cantu, Partner & Marketing Advisor, CH1EF, ES
Moderated by Sébastien Delasnerie, ESSCA Adjunct Faculty, expert in strategic and cross-cultural communications, ESSCA School of Management, ES
13:00 – 14:15
Lunch on campus
14:15 – 15:15
Fishbowl session
This interactive fishbowl session offers a unique opportunity for participants to bring their current challenges to the table and tap into the collective experience of their peers. Structured around four function-specific fishbowls, this format creates space for open, honest conversation within your area of expertise—whether it’s marketing, communications, international relations, or alumni engagement.
Step into the circle to share a hurdle you’re facing, listen in on others’ experiences, or offer advice from your practice. It’s a chance to crowdsource solutions, feel less alone in your challenges, and walk away with fresh ideas grounded in reality.
- Introduced by Dan Maggs, Director, Partnerships & External Engagement, King’s Business School, King’s College London, UK
15:15 – 15:45
Coffee break
15:45 – 17:00
Working group – Collaborative solutions for specific function challenges
In this session, participants will be divided into groups based on their functions and led by an expert through a case study that addresses their current challenges in light of future trends. Participants will be able to share best practices and tips with other professionals.
Building an ‘Alum from Day One’ Strategy and Programme
As students navigate their business school journey, often the end is in mind: graduation and especially life after graduation.
This is part of an unspoken and essential pact: support students and alumni, and it comes back to business schools with lifelong advocates, recruiters, mentors, and supporters.
To effectively achieve this, especially for business schools with small alumni teams, a ‘Alum from Day One’ mindset, strategy, and programme are required.
This mini-workshop introduces the ‘Alum from Day One’ concept. It offers practical actions leveraging internal and external partnerships to enable students to see the lifelong value of staying connected with their business school. Participants are encouraged to bring their examples of successful initiatives, their challenges, and their questions to set a foundation for an alumni mindset the moment students arrive on campus.
- Alumni expert: Maria Gallo, Office of the Dean, Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, alumni strategist and author of The Alumni Way: Building Lifelong Value from Your University Investment, IRL
Beyond the mic: Strategic podcasting for communication impact
Podcasts have become a powerful medium for universities, but how do you create one that truly makes an impact?
In this hands-on workshop, Paul Turner from Lancaster University shares behind-the-scenes insights from two successful podcast series: Transforming Tomorrow, a research-led show targeting external academic and business audiences, and Making Marketing Matter, a tool supporting student recruitment.
From the seeds of planning a show’s format and ambitions, to logistics, developing content strategy, promotion, KPIs (beyond just listener numbers), and long-term value, Paul will address the key questions Marcom professionals face. After the presentation, participants will be invited to share their experiences (or aspirations!) and explore what works, what’s scalable, and how to launch with purpose.
- Communication expert: Paul Turner, Research & Engagement Content Manager, Lancaster University, UK
From content to conversion: The Marcom approach to brand brilliance
How do you cut through the noise and make your business school stand out? This hands-on workshop explores what brand brilliance means in today’s competitive higher education landscape, from strong messaging to student-centric campaigns.
Through inspiring marketing examples and interactive group exercises, participants will explore aligning brand messaging with audience expectations, using real-world insights from the GMAC Prospective Students Survey. The session will also spotlight tested strategies that move from awareness to action, helping teams craft campaigns that resonate and convert.
With the contribution of SMRS, a consultancy experienced in business school brand positioning, this session blends data, creativity, and strategy to equip you for your next big marketing push.
- Marketing experts: Amy Rogers, Senior Marketing Manager, Europe, GMAC® – Graduate Management Admission Council, UK, and Vicky Conroy, Consultancy and Insight Lead & Aimee Kleinman, Marketing Consultants, SMRS, UK
External engagement under pressure: Designing for impact and resilience by 2036
Business schools have developed increasingly sophisticated international strategies, but how resilient are they when conditions change?
This session moves beyond sharing practices and focuses on decision-making under constraint. Through a structured discussion, participants will examine how their current external engagement models would respond to disruption—whether financial, geopolitical, technological, or environmental.
Working in small groups, participants will explore:
- What parts of their current model are most exposed
- What “impact” means when it has to be demonstrated, not assumed
- What needs to be built now—across people, partnerships, and practices—to remain credible over time
The discussion will be guided by a small set of questions:
- What in your current model would not survive a major disruption?
- If you had to prove international impact without relying on mobility, what would you point to?
- External Relations experts: Dan Maggs, Director, Partnerships & External Engagement, King’s Business School, King’s College London, UK, and Joan Vicens Sard, Associate Director for Internationalisation, ESSCA School of Management, FR
17:00
Walk from ESSCA School of Management to the hotels
17:50
Walk from the hotels to the walking tour meeting point, Tourist Office in Plaza de la Marina
18:00 – 19:30
Optional walking tour in Malaga’s historical centre
19:30
Bus transfer to the dinner venue from the Tourist Office in Plaza de la Marina
20:00 – 22:30
Drinks and dinner at El Balneario restaurant, C/Bolivia, 26, Málaga-Este, 29018 Málaga
22:30 – 22:45
Bus transfer to the Tourist Office in Plaza de la Marina
