Due to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its Economic and Business Studies, three professors in the field of Finance from the institute perform an analysis of the evolution of the financial function and a projection of future scenarios in order to identify challenges and opportunities. Joan Llobet introduces the topic based on an academic vision that has adapted to the substantial changes that have occurred and which takes on the challenge of facing the changes still to come. On the other hand is the article by Jorge M. Uribe, a compilation of the most important events of the past 25 years in order to understand how the financial field is currently structured. Through his experience, we will see how concrete aspects evolve (valuation of assets, quantitative risk management, etc.) in order to profile what they are like today. Finally, Àngels Fitó describes the current context of the financial field, establishing its conditioning factors and future direction.
Coinciding with the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the UOC, the following article aims to review the main transformations that the basic areas of business have undergone over the past two and a half decades. For this, we have enjoyed the participation of five female and five male professors in the studies of economy and business, who have given us some broad strokes on some of the main changes during this period and the challenges still to come. These topics are: leadership, decision-making, internationalization, digitalization, strategy, adaptation to change, ethics, corporate social responsibility, diversity, inclusion, business modal innovation, and finance.
The foundations of traditional financial business are being shaken by the emergence of new actors who are introducing new business models based on the opportunities offered by recent technological advances. Fintechs are technology-based companies that offer financial services digitally through technological solutions and which focus on the needs and preferences of the consumer. Faced with the threat posed by this disruption in the financial market, banks and fintechs are developing collaboration strategies that take advantage of the innovative potential of fintechs in order to bring it to the general public through traditional banking structures and portfolios. This integration process is not free from obstacles and challenges, one of the main ones being the change in the business culture of traditional financial institutions.
This paper is part of the study on the validity, after a decade, of the transversal competences included in the design of the new degrees of the EHEA. It is based on a survey conducted among students, graduates and employers and on depth interviews with four CEOs of head hunters companies involved in the area of administration and management. The main resulting views are: there is a general consensus in considering the evaluation of all transversal competences as the axis of selection processes. Experts agree with considering both the teamwork and the development of international skills as predominant. They also show skepticism about the role of universities in the development of these abilities. Finally, they were particularly receptive to the importance of online learning, not only because of its advantages in terms of accessibility and compatibility with the profession, but also because it includes the development of skills, such as autonomy, the ability to critically analyze information, to organize work and for time management