We are pleased to announce that SDA Bocconi School of Management has successfully completed the EFMD Business School Impact System (BSIS) assessment process and has been awarded a BSIS label renewal for positive impact. 

The BSIS evaluation team highlighted several key strengths, including the School’s sustained contribution to economic and societal development through high-quality education, applied knowledge, and close engagement with organisations and institutions at the regional and international level.

Addressing the school’s achievement, EFMD BSIS Director François Bonvalet remarked:

“The first renewal of the BSIS Label of SDA Bocconi recognises an institution that combines high academic excellence with a clear sense of responsibility to its environment. SDA Bocconi demonstrates how a business school can maintain at the higher international level, strong scholarly foundations while delivering tangible value for organisations, individuals, and the wider community. This achievement reflects consistent leadership, an engaged faculty, and a coherent strategy that translates ambition into measurable results, capable of being communicated.”

SDA Bocconi School of Management

Founded in 1971, EQUIS-accredited SDA Bocconi School of Management is the post-experience school of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and ranks among Europe’s leading business schools. The School offers an MBA, specialised and executive master’s programmes, extensive executive education, and applied research that supports professional and organisational development internationally. Its urban campus in Milan, with an additional presence in Rome and Mumbai, supports a diverse community of participants and faculty. Consistently high rankings reflect academic rigour, practical relevance, and sustained engagement with business and policy.

Educational model and the student experience

The BSIS review team cited SDA Bocconi as a mature, high-performing institution whose impact is both deep in its home region and broad in international reach. The School is characterised by a distinctive and widely recognised brand associated with rigorous research, strong rankings, high-quality facilities, and a close academic community.

This combination contributes to a positive image among stakeholders and reinforces credibility with students, partners, and employers. Sustained performance in major international rankings, including a leading global position for MBA return on investment, further strengthens this reputation and signals enduring quality and value.

In educational terms, the experts highlight an elite and carefully managed academic model built on selectivity, high standards, and a strong culture of student support. The student experience is described as central to the School’s identity, with close pastoral care, continuous mentoring, and personalised guidance contributing to strong outcomes.

Graduates benefit from substantial career opportunities supported by close cooperation with organisations and an influential alumni network. Employment data show significant placement both within the region and internationally, with evidence of talent retention in Italy. The School’s portfolio covers the principal domains of contemporary management, informed by input from internal and external stakeholders, ensuring relevance to practice while remaining grounded in high-quality research. The facilities in Milan further reinforce educational quality and institutional identity.

Executive education, research and alumni impact

Executive education represents a major channel of impact. In a single year, many thousands of professionals took part in open and customised programmes, with a large share drawn from middle management, senior leaders, and entrepreneurs. The client base spans a wide range of sectors and organisation types, indicating trust from both major corporations and smaller enterprises.

Programme content has been updated in key areas, including artificial intelligence, sustainability, governance, and responsible management, demonstrating responsiveness to current managerial priorities. This activity extends the School’s influence directly into organisations and supports professional development at scale within the region and beyond.

The alumni dimension is another clear strength. SDA Bocconi benefits from a large and engaged alumni community, with a significant presence in the regional economy and in senior roles across major organisations. Alumni pride and active participation in a structured programme of events reinforce the School’s standing and amplify its educational and reputational impact. The presence of graduates in leadership positions across industry, finance, public institutions, and global firms illustrates the School’s long-term influence on managerial practice and organisational life.

Research and knowledge activities are presented as a core pillar of the institution. Faculty work is organised through platforms, laboratories, and observatories that address managerial and societal questions, often in collaboration with partner organisations. This supports the application of research to practice and policy, while public events, publications, and digital channels extend dissemination. The School’s thematic reports, open research events, newsletters, and strong online presence contribute to visibility and to the circulation of ideas beyond the campus.

Regional engagement and stakeholder perceptions

SDA Bocconi plays a recognised role in workforce development, entrepreneurship, and innovation throughout the region. A substantial share of alumni work in Lombardy, and the School contributes to Milan’s attractiveness as a centre for business and talent. Initiatives supporting start-up creation, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation projects demonstrate engagement with enterprise development. Activities in healthcare management, public management, retail, fashion, and design indicate sectoral relevance, while work on social responsibility and sustainability reflects attention to broader societal priorities.

Stakeholder perceptions reinforce this picture. Feedback gathered during the review emphasises themes of community, commitment, innovation, research, partnership, and impact. These descriptors, drawn from students, faculty, external stakeholders, and researchers, suggest a shared understanding of the School as a dynamic and intellectually active institution with a strong collective ethos. The experts also note clear progress since the previous BSIS assessment and commend the School for maintaining momentum in its development.

Taken together, these elements portray SDA Bocconi as an institution with demonstrable educational quality, strong career outcomes, influential research, extensive executive education activity, an active alumni base, and a well-established regional and international reputation. The coherence between its academic model, stakeholder engagement, and visible results across multiple dimensions of impact underpins the experts’ positive judgment and supports the decision to renew its BSIS label.

Professor Stefano Caselli, Dean of SDA Bocconi School of Management, commented:

“Completing the renewal of the BSIS assessment has provided SDA Bocconi with a rigorous, evidence-based opportunity to reflect on our institutional impact and refine our long-term strategic directions. Since 2021 the BSIS process has deepen our understanding of how the school generate societal and economic value – through research that inspire progress, the development of responsible leaders, and connections that highlight our community at both the regional and global level.

The insights gained now inform resource allocation, reinforce coherence across research, education and engagement, and strengthen our ability to translate knowledge into meaningful impact. As a committed member of the BSIS community, we proceed with renewed ambition to advance sustainable business practices and to help shape policies, leadership development and business innovation worldwide.”

About BSIS

The Business School Impact System (BSIS) is the first comprehensive impact assessment tool for business schools, covering more than 130 indicators across seven dimensions of impact. It provides a tailor-made data collection system for monitoring, assessing, and developing the impact of business schools.

The BSIS process involves the definition of the impact zone and institutional scope, data collection, impact assessment, and the report with recommendations for future development. Demonstrating the school’s impact on internal and external stakeholders, the system serves as a communication and negotiation tool externally and fosters an impact culture within the school. Schools that undergo BSIS are awarded the BSIS Label for a three-year period.

• There are currently more than 90 schools across 25 countries that have received the BSIS label.
• To learn more about the impact assessment system, please visit the BSIS website or contact Julie Comte.

What is it like for schools to undergo the BSIS process? Discover the compelling journey of Blanka Cimcioch, International Accreditations Coordinator at Poznań University of Economics and Business, as she shares her insights on navigating the BSIS process, highlighting the challenges, seizing the opportunities, and reaping the rewarding results it has yielded. Read more.

For additional insights, announcements and perspectives, please visit the conversation on the EFMD Business School Impact System (BSIS).