Two leading professional associations in the field of education, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd), have joined forces to showcase the industry’s best practices at the first annual Conference of World-Class Practices in Management Education, to be held from 19 to 21 October 2003.

Hosted by the Singapore Management University (SMU), the World-Class Practices in Management Education Conference not only marks the inaugural collaboration between the two accreditation bodies; it is also the first time it has ever been held in Asia.

The conference will feature Strategic International Alliances in Practice, Innovative Strategies in Management Education; and Accreditation: Value-added Services for Continuous Improvement. Leading business schools throughout the world will also showcase their innovative practices in management education, international alliances, and continuous improvement strategies.
Panellists for the plenary sessions include, among others, Robert L. Taylor, professor and former dean, College of Business and Public Administration, University of Louisville; Hellmut Schütte, dean, INSEAD, Asia Campus; John J. Fernandes, president and CEO, AACSB International; and Tan Chin Tiong, provost and professor, Singapore Management University.
Outlining Singapore as a special place for higher education and its commitment to deliver quality education, Prof Ronald Frank, SMU President said, “This is a country which not only gives lip service to higher education but backs that lip service by its own commitments and perseverance in those commitments to ensure that institutions such as SMU, and the other two public-funded universities in this country (NUS & NTU), are able to continue to develop and flourish even in what has proven to be difficult economic times.”

The Conference attracted the participation of about 65 professional educators from 22 countries worldwide.

Opening Address Address by Professor Ronald Frank, President of SMU at the Opening Ceremony on Monday, 20 October 2003 at SMU

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