ISB gets EQUIS accreditation; re-accreditation from AACSB

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has received accreditation by the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and re-accredited by the Association for Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

With this, ISB joins the league of just about a hundred select business schools worldwide that have both AACSB and EQUIS accreditations.

AACSB and EFMD are internationally accepted accreditation institutions focused on raising the standards of management education worldwide. ISB was the first B school in South Asia to get the AACSB accreditation in 2011.

Making the announcement, Professor Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB, said, “It is a proud moment for all of us at ISB to be in the select group of schools accredited by EQUIS and AACSB. Over the past 15 years, ISB has focused on building a high-quality teaching and research environment, delivering education that is responsive to the needs of businesses, government and the larger society and I am happy that our efforts are being recognised the world over.

“The accreditations are an endorsement of the calibre of our outstanding faculty, alumni, students and staff who have demonstrated high standards of excellence,” he added.

“The accreditations are an endorsement of the calibre of our outstanding faculty, alumni, students and staff who have demonstrated high standards of excellence,”

Both EQUIS and AACSB accredit an institution as a whole after evaluating whether its quality controls meet rigorous international standards. They especially evaluate the institution’s focus on internationalisation and ethics, its connections with the corporate world, and how it balances between academic and managerial relevance.

The key areas of focus for EQUIS are: Environment; Institutional Status; Governance; Mission, Vision, and Values; Strategic Positioning; Strategic Direction and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Quality Assurance; Internationalisation; Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability and Corporate Connections.

The AACSB accreditation requires evidence of continuous quality improvement in three vital areas: engagement, innovation, and impact.

ISB, since it received the first international accreditation (AACSB) in 2011, has increased its programs to offer: PGPMAX, a global executive MBA equivalent Post Graduate Program in Management for Senior Executives; PGPMFAB, PGPM Family Business Management program and PGPpro, Post Graduate Programme in Management for Working Professionals.

In addition, it has started five certificate programmes in Business Analytics, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Public Policy and Healthcare Management.

ISB resident faculty, now numbering 50 plus, has published more than 200 research papers in international, peer-reviewed journals. Ranked 61 in research by Financial Times, London, it is the only Indian B-school to figure in UT Dallas Top 100 world research rankings.

The first graduates of the doctoral programme (FPM) have taken up faculty positions at the London School of Economics and Political Science, IÉSEG Paris, and the International College of Economics and Finance, Moscow.

The school’s Research and Academic associates program led to around 90 RAs and AAs getting admission into top global institutions such as Kellogg School of Management, University of California- Los Angeles, London Business School, University of Texas -Austin, Pennsylvania State University, University of Illinois- Chicago, among others.

Today, ISB has a very strong alumni base of approximately 7,600 represented in upper echelons of corporate management with over 450 holding CXO titles, and over 400 co-founders of start-ups.

This base is increasing at over 1,000 per year, which will make it the strongest management network across the country, the school claimed.