The first few weeks at IESE have been incredible. You want to do everything: the clubs, the socials, the after-class presentations, while the case discussions and team setup means you want to pull your weight in class.

They have stacked a great deal of work on us from the very start. I think it’s a statement of intent, in case you thought the late-night charms of Barcelona might distract you from the main aim of being here.

But the best thing is the selection policy. Obviously I have no comparison to measure against, but it seems that every IESE class of 2011 intake has a quirk about their prior experience that brings something unique. Everyone seems very extrovert, charismatic and in tune with the Catalan philosophy of Work Hard, Play Hard.

The case discussion method dominates most of the classes, and after a mellow start, the discussions have started to heat up in recent weeks. This is a healthy sign, and makes for entertaining and educating classes.

In terms of national diversity, the Spanish are only just the dominant nationality with about 15%, but after that it is pretty much a mixed bag. Amazingly, I am one of only 3 Brits in a class of 220.

On the downside, I have been surviving on five and a half hours sleep consistently, and may soon have to restrict the social life to the latter half of the week.

But the social side (aka networking) is a crucial part of the MBA experience, and it is clear already that I will have life-long friends by the end of the process. To be fair to IESE, they recognize this, and the early workshops gave a balanced view of attaining goals and working out a blueprint for a successful happy life.

Opus Dei originally set up the school and their values were briefly introduced to us in the first class. It seems to have no influence on the day-to-day functioning of the school.

Perhaps a positive impact of the Opus Dei connection, however, is the grounding in ethical business values that has characterized the IESE MBA since its inception in the 1950s.

Rather than jumping on the bandwagon of recent years, this branding for the MBA seems to have attracted a particularly high percentage of socially responsible people. The Responsible Business club is bursting at the seams.

Barcelona itself needs little talking up. The city is awesome. We’ve been inundated with visitors to sleep on our couch, including some distant relatives who seemed less inclined to renew family ties when we lived in southwest London.

Barcelona boasts an array of restaurants, parks, beaches, architecture, and of course thousands of bars. For sports lovers, you’ll find kindred spirits in Barcelona, and you can break through the sometimes-frosty reception of the Catalans, by dropping one mention of FC Barca.

The city does seem to have a bad reputation for pick pocketing and mugging. I woke up one morning to find my brand new Vespa was missing its storage box, and with it, my new helmet and gloves. The thieves clearly respected a beautiful piece of engineering, and removed the screws without so much as a scratch.

Phil Westcott, IESE MBA Class of 2011, is a Sainsbury Management Fellow. The Fellowship covers first-year tuition for UK engineers studying for MBAs in Europe and North America. The object is to develop “UK leaders of industry”, supplementing technical & engineering experience withbusiness skills and applicants must have attained or be pursuing Chartered Engineer status.