Dr Chris Kennett is Dean of the recently renamed Barcelona Business Engineering School, one of the four schools that make up the La Salle – Universitat Ramon Llull campus. He holds a PhD from Loughborough University and is an expert in Sports Management. Dr Kennett has worked as a lecturer, researcher and Academic Director of Business & Management before being appointed Dean in 2022, succeeding Dr Francesc Miralles, a key figure in the creation of the school.
Today, the Barcelona Business Engineering School La Salle – Universitat Ramon Llull (BBESLS) has more than 1,000 undergraduate students and more than 600 students enrolled in master’s and postgraduate programmes, and conducts all its research and knowledge transfer activities within the Smart Society research group.
· In a constantly evolving environment, with companies becoming increasingly digitalised and demanding, what should be the purpose and mission of the Barcelona Business Engineering School? And what are the pillars that underpin its future development?
The school exists in the interface between technology, business and societal impact. Our purpose is to understand how technology is transforming businesses and how to ensure our students lead positive social change in their communities. Businesses are faced with continuous volatility and disruption, high speed change powered by new technologies that combine to create a complexity that we have never lived before. This complexity requires a new skillset based on knowledge, but in combination with analytical abilities, agility, resilience and a mindset or attitude that embraces these challenges, designs solutions and implements them – we need to engineer the future of business to create a better, more sustainable society.
We need to engineer the future of business to create a better, more sustainable society"
· La Salle-URL’s Business & Management studies were established more than 25 years ago within the School of Engineering. How has this origin influenced the school’s value proposition and the development of its undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes?
The origins of the school have defined its evolution. Our technology-driven campus creates an ecosystem for innovation and our interdisciplinary approach enables us to tackle complex problems from multiple, complementary perspectives. Our close relationship with our Digital Engineering School is an essential part of our identity. Through shared degree programmes and projects at undergraduate, masters and even doctoral level, we provide a rich learning environment that prepares students for the interconnected, fast moving world of business.
· The Barcelona Business Engineering School has grown significantly in terms of students, programmes and activity in recent years. What do you consider to be the key factors behind this growth?
For me the key has always been the strength of our eductional community based on the proximity and personalised approach we’ve adopted. Our students are at the centre of everything we do and our educators strive to know our students, understand their needs and accompany them through their learning journey with us and beyond. We have a strong pedagoical model behind everything we do, with clear values and a very humanistic approach.
We have a strong pedagoical model behind everything we do, with clear values and a very humanistic approach.
Our interdisciplinary approach enables us to tackle complex problems from multiple perspectives"
· The new academic year begins with many new developments, including the evolution of the brand identity and the new name of the Faculty of International Commerce and Digital Economy, which is now the Barcelona Business Engineering School. How are you experiencing these changes from within the school? What do you want to project with the new name?
The changes are ambitious and necessary as we start a new chapter on campus. Our ability to innovate and evolve form part of our DNA, which is reflected in our brand identity. For me, we’re communicating a dynamic, forward looking attitude. We’re asking the critical question ‘What if?’ to provoke critical thought and a call to action to imagine a new reality, a better and more sustainable world.
With BBES, we bring the engineering mindset to the business context. We go beyond what traditional business studies (‘ADE’) with a more ambitious approach. We don’t see business as a collection of functions (marketing, accounting, operations…), rather it is a living system shaped by technology, data, people, markets and society. Our students as business leaders need to go further than managing change – they need to design it. We develp professionals who embrace complexity to create opportunities. Who then turn those opportunities into transformation, and transformation into impact. We do not simply study the future of business, we engineer it.
Our students, as future business leaders, need to go beyond managing change: they need to design it"
· Historically, La Salle-URL has maintained a very close relationship with businesses, exemplified by the 25 years of its innovation park, La Salle Technova Barcelona, and the Corporate Board Council, the campus’s business council, among others. Likewise, Professional and Executive Education works with companies to design programmes that respond to their needs, offering a lifelong learning journey to students and the entire alumni community. How does this relationship with businesses impact Business & Management studies?
This is at the centre of our student experience. We provide students with real life business experiences whilst they study. They need to be ready for the next step and that involves much more than a traditional degree. Students need to develop their teamwork, leadership, communication skills, problem solving, innovation and creativity, technology know how through practical projects with real companies and our CBC is a fantastic source of industrial engagement that help our graduates to be more competitive.
Our lifelong learning approach focuses on the growing need for upskilling and reskilling through micro credentials. The portfolio of profesional and executive programmes is delivered by industry experts at the cutting edge of highly relevant topics that enable business leaders to stay ahead of the curve, particularly connected to technology management.
Being ready for the next step involves much more than a traditional university degree"
· In recent years, the school’s growth has been closely linked to its internationalisation. What does internationalising the school mean to you, and why is it important to continue along this path? What role do international accreditations such as ACEEU and EFMD play in this process?
The internationalization of our school is a key strategic objective. We are proud of our progress so far but we are ambitious to grow and diversify, in terms of students and faculty. International accreditations such a EFMD, which we achieved for the Management of Business and Technology programme in 2025 or the PMI accreditation for our Masters in Project Management are important achievements that help in this process.
We now have a dual degree with Tilburg University in the Netherlands and we are about to announce more. We’re proud to be part of alliances such as ENGAGE.EU with some of the leading business, management and economics faculties in Europe.
In terms of the Lasallian global network, we created the La Salle Business School Alliance in 2022 that currently has 42 business schools worldwide, more than 35k students and 250k alumni. These networks provide huge international opportunities for growth and to achieve our mission.
We develop professionals who embrace complexity to create oportunities, which they then turn into transformation, and transformation into impact"
· Finally, what are the school’s future prospects, and how do they align with La Salle-URL’s 2025–29 Strategic Plan?
It’s crucial that we are fully aligned with our campus-level strategic pl an. Our focus for the next 3 academic years is to ensure we are creating value for our students and with our students. This involves high impact learning experiences in our classrooms, laboratories, international immersive study trips.
Internationalizing through alliances, dual degrees, developing high impact, immersive study trip experiences is also a priority. Increasing the transfer of our research activity and focusing on the interface between technology, business and societal impact is necessary in developing the quality and relevance of our programmes.
We’ll also see increased engagement with our ecosystem – more involvement of our corporate and social boards in our classrooms, projects with community impact, more strategic partnerships with leading universities, and most importantly, contributing to our campus mission to educate professionals with value to develop a fairer and more sustainable society.
Our focus is to ensure that we create value for our students and with our students"