A recent lifelong learning programme held for alumni of Egade Business School centred on  ‘moonshot thinking’.

The moonshot mental model was showcased as a useful approach to thriving in disruption and implementing organisational transformation. It is about trying to make what seems impossible possible, most commonly by attacking big problems with radical thinking (ie thinking that reaches for the moon) with the use of disruptive technology. Speaking ahead of the programme, Alfonso Ávila, innovation and entrepreneurship professor at Egade said: “Viewing disruption as an opportunity rather than a threat will be the mindset after this journey.”

The journey Ávila describes is a week-long lifelong learning initiative at the school, known as Egade U Week, of which he is also academic director. Specifically targeting its alumni community, it is designed to provide intensive learning that updates graduates’ knowledge and skills through conferences, workshops and panels, as well as by providing spaces for dialogue and the sharing of opinions and ideas.

Speakers during Egade U Week included Esade Business School’s chief innovation officer Iván Bofarull, who is the author of the 2020 book Moonshot thinking, and Fernando González Olivieri, an alumnus of Egade and the CEO of Mexican multinational CEMEX. Also featured were Egade dean Horacio Arredondo and Inés Sáenz, vice-president of inclusion, social impact and sustainability at the wider Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Director of alumni relations at Egade María Livas said that moonshot thinking “can serve as a tool to help companies avoid disruption and emerge with enhanced strength”.

Offered exclusively to its alumni community, or ‘Exatec Egade’ as the school terms its graduates, Egade U Week is now in its fourth year. Last year’s programme focused on digital transformation with headline speakers from TikTok and Amazon Web Services.