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As graduations near, we seek to honor the most extraordinary students with the Blue Torch Awards. Which makes this the perfect moment to explain IE Business School‘s most prestigious honor. 

Let’s dive in. 

The Blue Torch Awards recognize students from IE Business School who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and outstanding community engagement during their program. Recipients exemplify the pursuit of becoming their own Next Best You, displaying outstanding leadership, commitment and academic excellence. 

The award aims to foster a positive culture across campus. By recognizing students who best represent our core values, others can learn and emulate those behaviors in broader society.

The Blue Torch earned its name through two concise metaphors. The torch is a symbol of success, representing light, warmth and energy. Blue is the most powerful part of the flame—and our school color. 

Blue Torch awardees must meet two criteria. The first lies in academic achievement, whereby we consider students whose cumulative GPA places them in the top 10% of their programs during the first two terms. This recognizes students’ hard work and consistent excellence in their studies. 

The second criterion is outstanding citizenship. This focuses on students’ dedication to the success and well-being of their peers. Peer nominations guide this decision.

We evaluate outstanding citizenship through four behavioral categories: giving academic support to classmates, fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment, offering encouragement to others, and promoting a lively atmosphere that makes IE University as a whole a more engaging place to learn.

Each program team at IE Business School is tasked with identifying top academic performers and distributing peer nomination surveys. This ensures a fair, transparent and inclusive process for all students in the community. 

While awardees can be recognized for either of the aforementioned criteria, those excelling in both receive the Double Blue Torch Award. 

This year’s awardees include:

Recipients of the Double Blue Torch Award embody a drive for academic, personal and societal impact, making it the highest honor that IE Business School gives to graduating students.

Collection of nominations typically takes place in April. Following nominations, we announce recipients during the week before the awards ceremony, which typically takes place in May. However, January intake master’s students and third-year bachelor students receive their awards in November, while master’s students from the September intake receive theirs in May. 

The Blue Torch Honors Ceremony is held in a private ceremony. Here, we formally recognize students for their accomplishments, alongside a networking cocktail reception for recipients to connect with their peers, academic leadership, faculty and staff.

Awardees also have the chance to become members of the Beta Gamma Sigma exclusive honor society.

Founded in 1913, Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society for the top 5% of AACSB-accredited business schools worldwide. Its members, who include leaders across corporate, government, non-profit, and academic sectors—such as Nobel laureates, Olympians, CEOs, and university deans—reside in over 190 countries. As a member of the ACHS, Beta Gamma Sigma recognizes excellence in business leadership and impact. 

Studying at IE Business School is more than just acquiring business knowledge, it’s a transformative journey to help you become the next best version of yourself. We offer a purpose-driven education designed to make a meaningful impact in today’s complex world. Our graduates go on to explore diverse opportunities that drive sustainable and social change. 

Do you have the qualities and ambition to be on our next honors list? Find out everything we have to offer at IE Business School and discover the Next Best You.