Schools urged to integrate well-being in curriculum

MADRID, Spain – Academic institutions with entrepreneurship programs are encouraged to integrate well-being in the curriculum to enable business owners and executives to build resilience and create greater impact.

This is the recommendation of Lisa Bevill, academic director for the Center of Health, Well-Being and Happiness at Spain’s IE University, which rolled out an introductory course on well-being for its master’s programs students this year as part of its move to innovate its approach on education by providing skills to enable students not just to survive, but to thrive amid challenges.

Bevill told reporters on the sidelines of the South Summit 2022 that well-being, which has become a hot topic especially during the pandemic, is relevant in entrepreneurship.

“If you think about entrepreneurs, you  have to work hard, you have to push through, you have to have determination,” she said.

While hard work and determination are important, she said taking care of one’s well-being is also essential to succeed in entrepreneurship.

“Through cultivating well-being, we can cultivate greater resilience,” she said.

At IE University, she said they have defined well-being around the core principles of balance, appreciation and perspective.

“It’s a general state of contentment in life recognizing there is challenge,” she said, adding it involves creating a balance in mental, emotional and physical health.

She said appreciation is about recognizing one’s strength and potential impact on the ecosystem, while perspective is being able to manage day-to-day challenges and at the same time, thinking beyond oneself and looking at the long term.

IE University’s well-being and practice course focuses on creating awareness on the concept of well-being and cultivating practices on body or physical health, the mind, and the soul or sense of purpose.

Bevill recommends having well-being as a component of entrepreneurship programs given the many challenges businesses will face.

“Entrepreneurship is not a straight line path. You are curving. There are many challenges,” she said.

By cultivating well-being and having an abundance of positive emotions, she said entrepreneurs would  have better interactions and connections, which will pave the way for greater creativity.

She said it would  allow one to overcome disappointments and come back after a challenge, which are both critical in entrepreneurship.

In contrast, poor health diminishes one’s cognitive ability to connect with other people, to think long term, and build resilience.

“Often times in society, especially for entrepreneurs, they know they are important but they just run themselves to the ground without thinking I need to be well for others and people are looking to me,” she said.

Co-organized by IE University, the South Summit brings together key players in the innovation ecosystem such as startups, corporations, investors and institutions, with the aim of generating connections and business opportunities.