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The Bankinter Innovation Foundation proudly highlights the success of its Akademia program alumni, emphasizing the program’s rigorous selection, innovative curriculum, and excellent faculty. This combination fosters students passionate about innovation and equipped to introduce creative solutions in their fields. A featured alumnus, Jiyeon Song, exemplifies this journey. Arriving in Spain from South Korea in 2014 without knowledge of Spanish or local contacts, Jiyeon’s courage and curiosity propelled her to a significant role at IBM Spain as an SAP Associate Consultant. Her experience at the University of Barcelona through Akademia was pivotal, transforming her understanding of innovation from a distant concept to a practical approach rooted in curiosity and asking challenging questions—a mindset she applies daily in the tech industry.
At IBM, Jiyeon’s role involves collaborating with clients to implement SAP solutions that enhance digital transformation and process efficiency. She finds the intersection of functional understanding and technological expertise both challenging and rewarding. Drawing on her Akademia experience of working with diverse peers, she values teamwork and varied perspectives. Jiyeon notes that technological innovations, particularly generative AI, are reshaping consulting by improving automation, decision-making, and user experience personalization. Her advice to aspiring international professionals in technology and consulting is to embrace seemingly impossible challenges as opportunities for growth. Looking ahead, Jiyeon aims to broaden her industry experience and welcomes leadership roles in international projects, embodying the program’s spirit of continual learning and boldness.
How the Akademia Program Has Catalyzed a Career of Determination and Career Success in the Tech World
At the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, we are very proud of the alumni who have been trained in our Akademia programme.
The uniqueness of the program lies in its design and execution: it ranges from a demanding student selection process to a practical and avant-garde approach to the content of the classes, complemented by the excellence of the teachers. This combination results in students who are enthusiastic about innovation, ready to bring new ideas and creative solutions in their respective fields.
On this occasion, we interviewed Jiyeon Song, a former student of Akademia.
Jiyeon Song’s journey is a source of inspiration and an example of how determination, curiosity, and openness to new cultures and languages can forge an outstanding career path. From her arrival in Spain in 2014 with zero knowledge of the Spanish language and no connections, to reaching a relevant position at IBM Spain as an SAP Associate Consultant, Jiyeon has shown that challenges are disguised opportunities for personal and professional growth. Her time in the Akademia program at the University of Barcelona played a crucial role in her development, introducing her to the world of innovation and teaching her the value of curiosity and asking difficult questions, a lesson that she applies in her day-to-day life in the technology sector. In the interview that follows, Jiyeon shares her experiences, learnings, and advice for young professionals who, like her, dream of an international career in technology and consulting, proving that the path to success is a journey of constant learning and courage.
Below is a summary of our interview with Jiyeon Song:
Your story begins in South Korea and you are currently in Spain working for one of the most prestigious companies in the world, IBM. What motivated you to start this adventure in Spain?
Reflecting in retrospect, it was a rather daring decision to come to Spain. I had finished high school in Korea and was in the process of applying to a university in Korea, with the intention of studying Hispanic philology (I already knew English and wanted to explore another foreign language).
There came a day when I was frustrated by the bureaucratic delays in my admissions process. The principal of my school called me and I thought he would encourage me and nothing more. He sat down with me and gave me the recommendation to “think outside the box,” saying, “If you want to study Spanish or learn from that country, what are you doing here? You go to Spain.” It turned on the light bulb, I mentioned the idea to my parents, and they supported my decision 100% (for which I am eternally grateful). A few weeks later, I found myself at Incheon Airport, ready to board my flight to Valencia.
That’s how my adventure in Spain began in February 2014 when I was just 18 years old. I didn’t know Spanish nor did I have contacts or family here, but I was very brave and accepted all the moments that came to me. The difficulty of the language and adapting to a new culture allowed me to grow very quickly. And 10 years later, here I am!
During your time at the University of Barcelona, you participated in the Akademia program. How did this experience contribute to your professional and personal development? Are there any Akademia-specific learnings that you apply in your current job?
The Akademia program was my first contact with the world of innovation. Before starting the program, I was the typical person who thought that innovation was something foreign, or something that only the “geniuses” of the world handled. Thanks to the sessions of the program (in particular thanks to the questions asked by Fernando Alfaro), I learned that innovation could start from something very small. In my case, curiosity is the first step. Curiosity makes you have the motivation to investigate and learn more about that topic. That motivation makes you generate the dedication and effort to achieve the goal you have defined.
And without a doubt, to be curious, it is important to know how to ask questions. To this day, the phrase that I never forget about Fernando continues to serve me, “ask yourself difficult questions”. By asking tough questions, you realize what you don’t know. This allows me to keep learning, which is essential in an ever-evolving tech industry.
At IBM, you hold the position of SAP Associate Consultant. Could you explain what your work consists of and how you contribute to IBM projects? What aspects of your role do you find most challenging and enriching?
My day-to-day is meetings with customers and collaboration with different colleagues in the team to carry out the implementation of SAP products. Our clients seek us out because they have a need to digitally transform or improve the productivity of their internal processes.
So, my role requires having agile communication with my client’s different teams, in addition to understanding their complex work processes very well and knowing how to translate those needs into technological solutions. You have to handle the functional but also the technological well, and it is what I consider most challenging and enriching in my work. This allows me to learn the technology I am implementing to my client faster, but at the same time understand in depth the functional improvements that it can offer them. The combination of the two is crucial.
As you can imagine, the interlocutors (whether my clients or my co-workers) with whom I talk on a daily basis, have different profiles and different knowledge. When I participated in the Akademia program, I had the opportunity to work with other colleagues in the program who came from different backgrounds and cultures. This collaborative experience taught me how to leverage diversity of skills and perspectives to create synergy in a team.
Consulting is a field that is being rapidly transformed by technology. From your experience, how do you see technological innovation changing consulting, especially in areas such as SAP?
I would say that the technological innovation we are focusing on is, above all, generative artificial intelligence. It has a very important impact on the way we address our customers’ problems and in offering different solutions adapted to changes. Especially in SAP consulting, this type of innovation contributes a lot to the improvement of process automation, the optimization of decision-making and the personalization of user experiences.
As an SAP consultant, I constantly strive to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and SAP technologies, as well as gain industry and market knowledge from my clients.
Based on your experience, what advice would you give to young professionals looking to make an international career, especially those interested in technology and consulting?
May you have the courage to accept challenges that seem impossible. I think it’s the only way to grow and learn exponentially. Consulting (whether strategic or technological) is a demanding, dynamic, volatile and highly innovative sector. But if it is also in an international arena, it is much more so. Every day you will find different challenges that are presented to you or that you can choose. It is the decision of each one to accept them or not. And many of these challenges become valuable opportunities both professionally and personally. So, be brave!
How do you envision your professional future in the coming years? Is there a particular project or area of interest that you would like to focus on later?
Right now I am involved in a project in the energy sector, where I am learning a lot about the work processes of the industry and expanding my vision of the market. In the coming years, I would like to explore different projects in other sectors, such as the banking or public sector. And of course, if the opportunity arose to participate or lead an international project, I would accept the challenge without a doubt, making the most of my profile 🙂
Thank you very much, Jiyeon Song!
If you want to know the testimonies of other Akademia alumni, you can see them here.
And if you want to know more about the Akademia program, we invite you to visit the Foundation’s website.
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