LEINN Next is launched to unlock the potential of more than 1,500 everLEINNers and transform its community into a collective infrastructure for innovation, learning and impact
LEINN Next is launched to unlock the potential of more than 1,500 everLEINNers and transform its community into a collective infrastructure for innovation, learning and impact
LEINN Next is launched to unlock the potential of more than 1,500 everLEINNers and transform its community into a collective infrastructure for innovation, learning and impact
The Mondragon Team Academy-LEINN Bilbao laboratory and BBF-Dock (Bilbao Berrikuntza Faktoria) hosted the official presentation of LEINN Next, the new non-profit association promoted by LEINN graduates and the international MTA network. More than an alumni association, LEINN Next has been created with the ambition of becoming the infrastructure that enables more than 1,500 everLEINNers to continue learning, entrepreneuring, collaborating and creating impact together throughout their professional careers
The event brought together a large number of graduates from different generations, team coaches, representatives of the MTA-LEINN network, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, partner companies and the entire Basque innovation ecosystem, symbolising a new stage in the evolution of the MTA-LEINN ecosystem.
During the opening session, Jon Ander Merodio, member of the LEINN Next Board of Directors, Director of the BerriUp accelerator and a 2022 graduate of MTA-LEINN International with Travelling U, explained: "We do not want to create a conventional alumni community. That community has existed for many years. What we want is to provide it with a structure that allows us to create much greater value together."
Merodio presented the four main strategic areas on which the association will focus over the coming years.
We Work will promote a digital platform to connect the entire community, a professional directory of everLEINNers and a mentoring programme that facilitates new career opportunities, collaborations and intergenerational support.
We Create will provide access to workspaces across the MTA-LEINN network laboratories, acceleration programmes and connections with investment funds to foster new startups emerging from the community.
We Learn will strengthen lifelong learning through continuous education, micro-credentials, sessions with national and international experts, learning journeys and the reinforcement of the mentoring programme launched in 2021 to support new generations of LEINNers.
Finally, We Impact will seek to strengthen the sense of community through joint participation in major innovation and entrepreneurship events, the organisation of events, festivals, trips and retreats, as well as new initiatives designed to multiply the business and social impact generated by the network.
"The community already existed; now we are making it visible"
One of the most emotional moments of the event came with the speech by Gloria Gubianas, member of the Board of Directors, founder of Sheedo and Hemper, and a 2015 graduate of MTA-LEINN Madrid with TeamLabs.
Gubianas recalled how the community that is now being formally established has existed for years thanks to the bonds created through the LEINN experience. As an example, she referred to the well-known apartment on San Bernardo Street in Madrid, where graduates from different cohorts and MTA network laboratories lived together for more than five years.
"That house was much more than a coliving space. We worked together, built businesses together, learned together and supported one another. Without even realising it, we were already living what LEINN Next represents today. We want every graduate to have the opportunity to experience something similar."
Three LEINN Next Talks to inspire new generations
The second part of the event was hosted by Antonio Pipaón, a graduate from the first MTA-LEINN Bilbao cohort (2017) and Open Innovation Manager at Teknei. He introduced the first LEINN Next Talks, three conversations featuring graduates from different generations.
The first session, "Leading Innovative Companies through Artificial Intelligence," brought together Amaia Perea (from the first MTA-LEINN Bilbao cohort in 2015) and Jon Ander Fidalgo (MTA-LEINN Oñati, Class of 2016). They shared their work at HUAWEI and the startup Mairu, explaining how their AI-driven projects are leading the transformation of the technology business sector and ecosystem, as well as the trends they expect to shape the coming years.
The second session, "Women Leading Innovation," was moderated by Gloria Gubianas and featured:
- Amaia Giralt, graduate of MTA-LEINN Irún (2013), a leading figure in digital innovation within the Spanish sports industry and currently Chief Digital Officer of a strategic project at LA LIGA.
- Eva Sarasola, graduate of MTA-LEINN Irún (2013) and Board Member at LAST TOUR, where she has led major innovation projects in the music industry and the European creative industries over the past few years.
- Nora Kortaberria, graduate of MTA-LEINN Oñati (2017) and co-founder of FeelMyWay, an innovative travel agency for Generation Z that has already supported more than 20,000 young travellers.
The third conversation focused on social impact startups and brought together Pablo Jaime, graduate of MTA-LEINN Irún (2016) and co-founder of MusicLab; Nerea Elosegui, graduate of MTA-LEINN Irún (2018) and co-founder of Fundación Emplea; and Agus Lombana, graduate of MTA-LEINN Bilbao (2021) and co-founder of Carpintería Lombana.
First LEINN Next Awards
The event continued with the presentation of the first LEINN Next Awards, hosted by Xabi Murua, one of the people who has led the creation of the association since its inception.
In this first edition, Iberia, Fundación Emplea, and Valhalla were recognised as three organisations that exemplify different ways of generating innovation and impact through the LEINN community.
On behalf of Iberia, the award was received by Martín Beitia, a 2013 graduate of MTA-LEINN Irún and Digital Innovation Lead at the airline. He explained how, for more than seven years, a large group of LEINN graduates has been driving Iberia’s digital transformation.
Fundación Emplea was also recognised for its commitment to employability and regional development, serving as a living example of the original community commitment inspired by Don José María Arizmendiarrieta, the alma mater of the cooperative experience that today is the MONDRAGON Corporation. Valhalla was likewise recognised for its trajectory as a national benchmark in social innovation, supporting transformative projects.
A Board of Directors representing the entire network
In addition to Jon Ander Merodio, Gloria Gubianas, Xabi Murua and Antonio Pipaón, the founding Board of Directors of LEINN Next also includes César Camps, a 2020 graduate of MTA-LEINN Madrid and current TeamLabs Málaga Lead, where the MTA-LEINN degree has been offered since 2022, and Joan Damià, a 2021 graduate of MTA-LEINN Valencia with Florida Universitària.
An intergenerational community
Among the attendees was a broad representation of the everLEINNer community from the Basque Country, together with numerous team coaches who accompanied these cohorts throughout their university years and who continue today to drive the different university campuses and laboratories of Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
The event also welcomed the 25 new team coaches from the various MTA-LEINN and TeamLabs laboratories, who were taking part in a Learning Expedition in the Basque Country to explore the roots of the cooperative movement and MTA-LEINN as part of the TEAMINN Mastery programme.
Also in attendance were the TeamLabs leadership team, including its director, Ibai Martínez (a graduate of the historic first MTA-LEINN cohort in Irún), Siham Bennani (Lead Team Coach of LEINN Madrid) and Javier Bernad (Lead Team Coach of LEINN Barcelona), as well as Aitor Lizartza and Siv Bermesolo, coordinators of the Entrepreneurship Area at the Business Faculty in Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
Jose Mari Luzarraga, co-founder and driving force behind the creation of MTA-LEINN, as well as promoter of LEINN Next, also attended the event.
This project would not have been possible without the strong commitment of the Business Faculty at Mondragon Unibertsitatea and the support of its Dean, Lander Beloki, whose commitment to strengthening the MTA-LEINN ecosystem and its graduate community has been instrumental in making LEINN Next a reality.
A new chapter for the Mondragon Team Academy-LEINN ecosystem
With the BBF-Dock auditorium filled to capacity, the event concluded with a group photograph symbolising the official launch of LEINN Next.
From five o'clock in the afternoon, the celebration continued at the Dock, where different generations of everLEINNers shared conversations, new ideas, projects and collaborations in a festive atmosphere that lasted well into the night.
More than the launch of an association, the event marked a new milestone in the evolution of the MTA-LEINN ecosystem: moving from educating entrepreneurs for four years to accompanying a community of innovators throughout their entire professional lives.
Because LEINN does not end with a degree. Once a LEINNer, always an everLEINNer.
Here you will find more photos from the event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/enpresagintza/albums/72177720334438170/with/55364559363