Two EQUIS accredited schools have their programmes EFMD accredited
For over two decades, EFMD has been running EQUIS, the leading quality assessment process for accrediting business schools around the world. EQUIS has become a mark of international recognition for schools which are looking for a rigorous quality improvement process to help them position their courses strategically on the global market. From now on, any EQUIS accredited school which would like to differentiate its programmes with a further assessment can also seek EFMD programme accreditation, in addition to the EQUIS label.
Following the EFMD Board decision in June 2019, Prof. Eric Cornuel, President of EFMD, commented: “The alignment of the systems is very timely for business schools, students and companies. EFMD is a trusted reference point for quality and innovation in management development and education worldwide.”
Two EQUIS accredited schools, ESCP Europe Business School & SKEMA Business School, have successfully gone through a pilot accreditation process and will be the first two institutions to combine the institutional accreditation, EQUIS, and the EFMD programme accreditation for their MBA and EMBA programmes.
“SKEMA is proud to have obtained the EFMD EMBA accreditation for its Global EMBA, as a pilot school. The accreditation process has allowed for a 360° review of the programme, at this early stage of its development. The comprehensive and demanding accreditation standards and criteria, focusing on the strategic relevance of the programme, the soundness of the quality system and the programme’s adequate resourcing, have provided very useful guidelines for further development,” commented Alice Guilhon, Dean of SKEMA Business School.
With its convincing and timely focus on the combined effects of globalisation, digitalisation and innovation, SKEMA’s Global Executive MBA is deeply rooted in values of ethics, responsibility and sustainability, reflecting the school’s ambition to shape the future of society. During the programme, students learn to develop key capabilities such as strategic and operational planning, as well as leadership, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. This innovative and flexible programme combines a clear focus on personal, interpersonal, and intercultural skills and offers its students unique international learning opportunities.
EFMD programme accreditation is a rigorous tool for assessing, certifying and improving the quality of business school programmes. Such accreditation can help bring greater clarity and recognition to all stakeholders regarding what constitutes an internationally recognised and peer-reviewed programme.
With its objective of enabling students with diverse professional experience to accelerate or orient their careers toward international management responsibilities, the other EFMD-accredited programme, ESCP Europe MBA in International Management, offers the right balance between academic, managerial and personal dimensions through its I-LEAP programme for personal development. In addition, two well-managed consulting projects offer students solid practical experience, ensuring a clear Connection with Practice which is one of the cornerstones of the EFMD accreditation systems. Furthermore, the programme integrates ethics, responsibility and sustainability in a number of its courses.
Frank Bournois, Dean of ESCP Europe Business School, commented: “Business schools operate in the same fast-paced contexts that companies experience every day. We owe our stakeholders a full presentation of what we do and how we are getting prepared for tomorrow. Being EFMD accredited for a specific programme is an incredible guarantee that the programme has been thoroughly scrutinised by peers and experts. It is also a way to demonstrate the robustness of our programmes. It can be carried out for different reasons depending on how a business school makes its portfolio of programmes evolve over time. The EFMD programme accreditation is clearly filling a strategic need in the current offering of programme evaluation.”
ESCP Europe was also awarded the EFMD programme accreditation for another of its programmes; their Executive MBA programme offers a truly global learning experience with courses offered in five or more countries on different continents. The programme is designed to help students coming from a diverse range of industries to advance to senior management or executive-level positions in international organisations. It is rich in content and perfectly balances the academic, managerial and personal dimensions of learning while offering considerable flexibility to its participants.
Alfons Sauquet, Director, Quality Services & EQUIS at EFMD, commented: “Congratulations to SKEMA Business School and ESCP Europe Business School for their accomplishments. The programme accreditation of EFMD is one of the most demanding yet effective ways to certify the quality of a programme in the field of business and management. This achievement confirms both schools’ commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.”
