Welcome!

It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2012 Annual Conference for the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC). This year's conference will be held in Spain:

Tuesday July 3 and Wednesday July 4: Madrid (hosted by IE Business School)
 

Thursday July 5 and Friday July 6: Barcelona (hosted by IESE and ESADE)

We would be honored to have you join us for what promises to be an incredibly informative and engaging event!

Our theme for the conference this year is Going Global and offers attendees the opportunity to learn more about schools from across the globe, a chance to share best practices with each other and an opportunity to continue AIGAC's knowledge sharing with graduate programs.

We are particularly excited to be holding our first conference outside of the United States and look forward to participation by many global business schools.  We have initial confirmation of participation from the following schools:

• IE Business School
• IESE Business School
• ESADE Business School
• Judge Business School (University of Cambridge)
• HEC Paris MBA
• SDA Bocconi School of Management
• INSEAD
• IMD
• London Business School
• SAID (Oxford)
• MIT Sloan School of Management
• Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth)
• University of North Carolina
  

Registration

Conference registration is open to AIGAC members only.  If you are not currently a member, you must apply for membership no later than May 30th in order for your membership request to be processed in time for the conference.

Schedule

While scheduling is subject to change, we wanted to provide a preliminary schedule for you to facilitate travel planning.

Tuesday July 3rd, MADRID (Spain) hosted by IE Business School

• Breakfast and registration
• Welcome from IE Business School
• Panel presentations by US and EU business schools
• Tour of IE Business School
• Tapas dinner in Madrid

Wednesday July 4th, SEGOVIA (Spain) hosted by IE Business School

• Bus to IE University campus in SEGOVIA
• IE Business School presentations: International MBA and Finance Programs
• Lunch at Meson Candido
• Walking tour of Segovia (Roman Aqueduct, Gothic Cathedral, Fairytale Castle)
• Flamenco Dinner Show in Madrid
• Note: transportation to and from Segovia is provided by IE for all registered conference participants.

Thursday July 5th, BARCELONA (Spain)

• AVE (fast train) to Barcelona.  NOTE: See below for details on train booking (must be done independently by conference attendees)
• IESE tour, presentations and lunch with School Representatives
• AIGAC-only panels
• Paella Dinner on the Beach in Barcelona

Friday July 6th, BARCELONA (Spain)

• Breakfast at ESADE
• ESADE tour, presentations and lunch with AdCom
• AIGAC-only panels
• Additional panels currently being confirmed
• Note: for travel planning purposes, please expect a full day of programming on this final day of the conference.

Sponsors

Hotel suggestions for Madrid and Barcelona

Madrid: July 3 and 4
 
Note: IE Business School is located in about 10 minutes driving from downtown Madrid (Puerta del Sol). The school is about 15 minute cab ride from the airport (Barajas), about 40 minutes if you take public transport (Metro).
 
NH Balboa is our preferred AIGAC Hotel in Madrid and is the location where we will meet as a group for our Segovia trip and other events. NOTE: deadline to reserve with group rate has passed.
 
Address: Núñez de Balboa, 112 - Madrid (Spain)
 
Description: 3-star situated in a highly esteemed location downtown.
 
Distance to IE Business Conference Location (C/Maria de Molina, 27): 5 minutes walking
 

 
Additional Hotels in Madrid Close to IE Business School:
Hesperia Emperatriz 
Address: López de Hoyos, 4 - Madrid (Spain)
Distance to IE Business (C/Maria de Molina, 27): 7 minutes walking
Avg Rates: 95 €
 
More recommended options:
Hotel Las Meninas
Address:C/Campomanes, 7
Distance to IE Business (C/Maria de Molina, 27):12 minutes in taxi, 30 minutes in public transport.
Avg Rates:85 €

AC Palacio Retiro
Address: C/Alfonso XII, 14
Distance to IE Business (C/Maria de Molina, 27):8 minutes in taxi, 30 minutes in public transport.
Avg Rates: 200 €
  
Barcelona: July 5 and 6
 
Note: IESE and ESADE are located in the Pedralbes neighborhood of Barcelona, about 30 minutes by public transport and 15 minutes by Taxi from downtown Barcelona (Las Ramblas). We arrive by train in Barcelona’s Sants Station on July 5th and the schools are about 15 minutes in taxi/40 minutes in public transport from Sants. We will begin our day at IESE and the school has requested that we go directly to the campus from the train station; they will hold our luggage. Spouses and guests can proceed directly to the hotel.
 
AC Victoria Suites is our preferred AIGAC Hotel in Barcelona.  NOTE: deadline to reserve with group rate has passed.
 
Address: Av. Pedralbes, 16 - Barcelona (Spain)
Description: 4-star; all suite hotel, with luxurious design, swimming pool, spa and more. Accepts Marriot Rewards Card.
Distance to Schools: 11 minutes walking to ESADE; 14 minutes walking to IESE
 

Additional Hotel in Barcelona close to IESE/ESADE:
Hotel Sansi
Address: Av Pearson 1-3 - Barcelona (Spain)
Description: 4-star; 65 modern wood and marble rooms; hotel has a luxurious spa.
Distance: 5 minutes walking to ESADE; 4 minutes walking to IESE.
Avg. Rates: 135 € individual, 150 € double
 
More recommended options:
Note, these options are in Barcelona’s city center and between 30 and 50 minutes from IESE and ESADE by public transport, 15-25 minutes by taxi.
 
Banys Orientals
Address: Carrer del’Argenteria 37- Barcelona (Spain)
Avg. Rates: 100 € individual, 105 € double

Hotel Neri
Address: Carrer Sant Sever 5 - Barcelona (Spain)
Avg. Rates: 200 € individual, 250 € double

Final note on hotels
Note: we have made an effort to arrange for group rates for area hotels that would be appropriate for our group. Given the number of online booking sites, you may find lower rates elsewhere.

Updates

We will post updates to the conference schedule here, so please bookmark this page.  Questions?  Please email Candy Lee LaBalle.

Sponsors

Thanks to our incredible sponsors for supporting this event:

Platinum:

• Veritas Prep
• ETS Global
• SDA Bocconi

Gold:

• MBA Empresarial

Silver:

• Accepted.com
• Barcelona School of Management - Pompeu Fabra University

Bronze:

• Clear Admit
• Maxx Associates

Host Sponsors:

• IE
• IESE
• ESADE