Awarded by: European Foundation for Management Development
The School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School) received re-accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) again this year. EFMD is the leading management organization in Europe that promotes best practices in management development.
The HKUST Business School is the first Asian school accredited by EFMD since the Foundation introduced its accrediting mechanism the European Quality Improvement Systems (EQUIS) in 1997. To date, a total of 30 plus management education institutions have been accredited, mostly European schools such as Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), INSEAD (France), IMD-International Institute for Management Development (Switzerland), Cranfield School of Management and London Business School (both in UK).
There are currently two major accreditation processes in the world, one organized by EFMD and the other by the AACSB-The International Association for Management Education in the US, which the School obtained an accreditation from in April 1999. Globally, only a handful of business schools have so far achieved dual recognition from both the EFMD and AACSB.
The scope of the EFMD's EQUIS accreditation covers all activities conducted by a business school, including all of its degree programs, executive education offerings and research projects. The EQUIS process entails three main stages. The initial stage requires a candidate school to submit basic information and the EQUIS director to conduct a one-day visit on site to verify eligibility of the school. The second stage involves the compilation of a self-evaluation report by the school and a site visit by a peer review team from EFMD. At the final stage, the EFMD Accreditation Awarding Body reviews the case and makes the final decision, taking into considerations the recommendations made by the peer review team.
Background of EFMD
The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), based in Brussels, is Europe's forum for information, research, networking and dialogue on innovation and best practice in management development. It has 390 member organizations in over 40 countries. Among the members are leading business schools and executive development centers, companies, public services and training agencies, management centers and institutions, consultancies, and individual members. It is the spokesman of management development in Europe.