https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Triple-crown accreditation for SA business school

WALTER BAETS
This recognition is a stamp of quality and proof that African business schools can be taken seriously

WALTER BAETS This recognition is a stamp of quality and proof that African business schools can be taken seriously

12th September 2014

By: Bruce Montiea

Creamer Media Reporter

  

Font size: - +

The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) is one of only three African business schools to have received triple-crown accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).

“This recognition is a stamp of quality and proof that African business schools can be taken seriously alongside the big players on the global stage,” says UCT GSB director Professor Walter Baets.

Baets, who is also at the helm of the South African Business Schools Association, tells Engineering News that UCT GSB was reaccredited for the EFMD in 2013. Improving Quality “The official purpose of accreditations is to improve the quality of business school education and the research we deliver; these accreditations are an important investment in the quality of a business school,” he notes. He adds that accreditations also highlight the areas in which a business school can improve.

The triple-crown accreditation by EFMD is made up of the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, based in the US; the Association of MBAs, based in the UK; and the European Quality Improvement System, based in Belgium.

Baets says it is important for business schools on the African continent not to merely import ideas and teaching methods from the US and Europe but also to adapt them to the needs of developing countries. “Thought leadership, as well as the need to provide local and international students with the skills they need to take on the challenges of this decade’s emerging markets, is important.

Challenges

“We do not want to recreate Harvard in Africa. We need something that goes beyond that to address the specific challenges of Africa. If we use the accreditations as a quality-improvement exercise and keep our focus on our own context, I believe we are on the right path,” he explains.

It is the responsibility of all business schools on the continent to change negative perceptions of Africa by ensuring that African business schools realise their potential; therefore, the accreditations can go a long way towards helping them achieve this goal, says Baets.

He adds that, despite many people dismissing accreditations as mere marketing collateral, they remain “extremely valuable” for a business school.

Baets tells Engineering News that, in recent years, UCT GSB has noted that accreditations and international rankings are increasingly important factors when prospective students consider enrolment, especially foreign students, whose numbers are growing at the business school.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

Comments

Latest News

An image of Maltento CEO Dean Smorenburg, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Cape Town premier Alan Winde
Maltento aiming to bolster sustainability efforts
18th March 2024 By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Showroom

Alco-Safe
Alco-Safe

An unmanned breathalyser that is made to be tough and simple to use. Can be used in any environment for operator-free breathalyser testing.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/03/2024)
15th March 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
15th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.211 0.269s - 269pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now