We are pleased to announce that Bologna Business School, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), NUCB Business School, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University and SGH Warsaw School of Economics have received their initial EQUIS accreditation. Warm congratulations to these schools!

Alfons Sauquet, Quality Services & EQUIS Director, commented, ‘Congratulations to all the institutions. We are happy to welcome such a diverse group of schools to the EQUIS community and pleased to see how the community continues to grow. It is a privilege to assist our accredited institutions in their journey to excellence in business education.’

Bologna Business School (BBS), Italy

BBS was created by the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world, to shape a new generation of business leaders and is focusing on international growth, digital transformation and sustainability. The school has a strong reputation in executive education. BBS is remarkably engaged and rooted in the community of Emilia Romagna and has successfully developed a supportive relationship with its parent institution.

Dean, Prof. Massimo Bergami said, ‘The whole EQUIS process has been a great learning opportunity for our School and an exceptional time to improve our teamwork. We see this award not as a decoration but as the beginning of a new challenge to continue to serve our students and our community.’

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), India

Established by the Government of India, IIMK is dedicated to nurturing future business leaders in teaching, learning, consulting, research, and innovation. It is currently celebrating the Silver Jubilee Year of its founding. IIMK is known for its solid reputation and the outstanding quality of its students. It has an impressive alumni association with a willingness to support the school.

‘IIM Kozhikode is delighted to receive EQUIS Accreditation, which promises rigorous quality control and international benchmarking. The comprehensive evaluation process of EQUIS Accreditation has also helped the Institute to improve its national rankings of India and has also helped us in our mission of ‘Globalizing Indian Thought’. Being the sixth institute in India to receive EQUIS Accreditation, we are committed to offering world-class, affordable education to the deserving students,’ stated Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIMK.

NUCB Business School, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, Japan

NUCB Business School was founded in 1953 with a mission to educate innovative and ethical leaders. The school focuses on practical application, and all courses are taught through the Case Method. The school has a strong and unique culture and is known for its connections to the world of practice. It has a dedicated and loyal faculty who excel in applied research.

‘We are very excited and honored to receive this positive news from EFMD. Our EQUIS Accreditation tells the world that our curriculum meets the highest standards, our students learn from world-leading knowledge, and our graduates are equipped with the skills and experience in demand by today’s global employers.

As much as we are proud of this achievement, we are also humbled and cognizant of our responsibility to continue leveraging our strengths toward further contribution to the field of management education and society as a whole.

As we celebrate this achievement, we look forward to continuing our pursuit of excellence in partnership with the EFMD community,’ said Dean Yasutomi Kitahara.

School of Economics and Business Administration (SEBA), Chongqing University

Established in 1937, SEBA is located in one of the fastest-growing regions in China. It is one of 35 schools of Chongqing University. Its MBA programme has almost 4,000 graduates and has significantly impacted Western China’s economic and social development. The school is known for its solid reputation and the outstanding quality of its students, who easily find excellent job opportunities following graduation.

Dean Jun Yang commented, ‘In September 2021, School of Economics and Business Administration (SEBA) achieved an important historical milestone when it was awarded EQUIS accreditation. From the very beginning of being part of EFMD community and embarking on the journey of EQUIS accreditation, SEBA has been motivated and guided by EFMD’s highest international educational standards for management education to reach our mission and vision.

Today, with this new honor, I am keenly aware that SEBA cannot reach this milestone without the full commitment and dedication of all our faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners and long-lasting support and help of stakeholders. The professional staff from EFMD, the advisors, and the peer review team all benefited SEBA quite a lot during all the accreditation process. Definitely, it is the whole SEBA community team effort to reach our goal of EQUIS accreditation.

The EQUIS accreditation will be a watershed moment for SEBA, which means not just a great honor, but also be a new start point for SEBA to enter the fast-developing track. To successfully address the challenges the peer review team identified during their review is the essential next step in SEBA ongoing efforts, and I believe that faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners, stakeholders and all the community would work shoulder to shoulder to further advance SEBA to build upon the next monumental success.’

SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland

SGH Warsaw School of Economics is the oldest university of economics in Poland, founded in 1906. The school is remarkable for the quality of its connections to the world of practice through strong partnerships with companies. It offers an extensive portfolio of graduate and undergraduate programmes with a very competent and professional staff.

 ‘We are glad that after many years of profound analyzes, both on the part of EFMD and SGH, we could join the prestigious group of universities with EQUIS accreditation,’ says Rector of SGH, Professor Piotr Wachowiak. The accreditation is a great honor but at the same time a commitment to further improve the quality of education, research and university management.’

During the same Accreditation Board meeting, the following institutions were also granted EQUIS re-accreditation:

• Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
• School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University
• School of Management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)
• School of Business, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
• College of Business, Abu Dhabi University

EQUIS – EFMD Quality Improvement System

EQUIS is a rigorous tool for business schools to assess, accredit and improve their quality in ten key areas, benchmarking them against international standards in terms of governance, programmes, students, faculty, research, and foremost, internationalisation, ethics, responsibility and sustainability, as well as corporate engagement.

It offers not only a quality assessment but also a quality improvement process, very much rooted in the mission of EFMD. True quality is about continuing to strive to do better, even when you are already excellent, and this focus on continuous improvement is thus at the heart of the EQUIS mission.

EQUIS attaches particular importance to the creation of effective learning environments which foster students’ managerial and entrepreneurial skills alongside their personal development and sense of global responsibility.

There are currently 202 EQUIS accredited schools across 45 countries globally. More information is available on efmdglobal.org/equis.

Learn more about the process for receiving EQUIS accreditation.