Singapore, 3 January 2017 (Tuesday) – The Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) has been awarded worldwide recognition again.  It earned a five-year re-accreditation by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) through its European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).  The prestigious EQUIS accreditation, which involves a rigorous self-assessment and a peer review visit from international academics and business professionals, covers all programmes offered by the School from undergraduate degree up to the Ph.D. level.

LKCSB was first accredited by EQUIS in 2011.  In May 2016, LKCSB also earned re-accreditation by the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools – AACSB International.

In its report, the EQUIS Peer Review Committee pointed out the School’s success in building a core faculty that includes highly international and successful researchers, teachers and practitioners in a short span of 16 years since its inception in 2000.  The Committee was impressed by LKCSB’s commitment towards a balanced research portfolio which includes both high quality research articles in the leading journals of different fields and high quality case studies that focus on Asia.  In particular, it noted that all LKCSB faculty in research, teaching and practice tracks are expected to make intellectual contributions in academic, pedagogical or applied research.

The Committee also commented that a key differentiator for the School was the global attractiveness of its programmes, which have been designed effectively to blend rigorous academic content with practical professionally-relevant material by utilising the curriculum, study trips, internships and project opportunities. 

Professor Gerard George, Dean of SMU LKCSB, said, “I am extremely proud that our School has received re-accreditation from the EQUIS and AACSB accreditation – both highly regarded in the business school world.  It demonstrates the accreditation bodies’ strong vote of confidence in the high international standards and excellent quality of our School’s faculty, programmes and research, as well as the strong network and deep engagement that we have with the business and academic fraternity.”

“The re-accreditation reaffirms the strong value proposition that we offer to all our students.  It also firmly positions us in the ranks of leading business schools around the world, such as the London Business School and Judge Business School, Cambridge, in the United Kingdom; INSEAD in France; IE Business School in Spain; and IMD in Switzerland,” he added.

Professor Martin Schader, EQUIS Director, said, “I would like to congratulate Lee Kong Chian School of Business at the Singapore Management University for a successful EQUIS re-accreditation. EQUIS accreditation ensures a rigorous quality improvement process, benchmarking the School against international standards in terms of governance, programmes, students, faculty, research, and foremost, internationalisation, ethics, responsibility and sustainability, as well as corporate engagement.  There are currently no substitutes for such an in-depth assessment of quality and LKCSB should be commended for its commitment to excellence since its initial accreditation in 2011.”

To attain EQUIS accreditation, institutions must demonstrate not only high general quality in all dimensions of their activities, but also a high degree of internationalisation.  An accredited institution also exemplifies a good balance between high academic quality and the professional relevance provided by close interaction with the corporate world.  Additionally, the EQUIS accreditation attach particular importance to the development of managerial and entrepreneurial skills, together with a student’s sense of global responsibility.  As of December 2016, 167 business schools in 41 countries have been awarded the EQUIS accreditation.

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About SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB)

SMU commenced its curriculum in 2000 with the School of Business, which welcomed its pioneer cohort of students in August 2000. In 2004, the Lee Foundation contributed S$50 million to SMU in honour of the late Dr Lee Kong Chian, a well-known Southeast Asian businessman, philanthropist and community leader. In recognition of the Lee Foundation's generosity, SMU named in perpetuity the School of Business, the building and the university-wide scholars programme after Dr Lee Kong Chian.

Today, LKCSB is a dynamic Asian business school with about 3,500 students and over a hundred full-time faculty members with postgraduate degrees from renowned universities such as Cornell, Harvard, INSEAD, Oxford, Stanford and Yale. The school offers undergraduate, master's and doctoral programmes and is affiliated with a number of research centres, such as the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, the Centre for Marketing Excellence and the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

In 2016, LKCSB earned re-accreditation by AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) for another five years, after it first achieved accreditation in 2011.  In June 2012, LKCSB also joined the ranks of other internationally renowned business schools by becoming a member of the EMBA Council.

SMU LKCSB emerged 3^rd in the world and 1^st in Asia in the Financial Times (FT) Masters in Finance Post-experience Ranking 2016 for its Master of Science in Wealth Management (MWM) programme. LKCSB also ranked 4^th among Asian business schools and 42^nd in the world in the FT Masters in Finance Pre-experience Ranking 2016 for its Master of Science in Applied Finance (MAF) programme. It is the only Singaporean institution to be ranked. FT’s Executive MBA (EMBA) Ranking 2016 also placed the School 32^nd globally and 9^th among Asian business schools for its EMBA programme. www.business.smu.edu.sg

About EQUIS

EQUIS is now the leading international system for quality improvement and accreditation of business and management schools. EQUIS requires an international dimension, a strong interface with the corporate world, and an ethos of promoting responsible management. Its approach to quality assessment is rooted in respect for diversity of institutional and cultural contexts.

About EFMD

EFMD management development network includes nearly 900 institutional members from academia, business, public service and consultancy across 86 countries worldwide. EFMD offers a range of services, including conferences and seminars around the world, surveys and the dissemination of knowledge, quality improvement and accreditation via EQUIS, EPAS, EOCCS and CLIP, as well as the EDAF mentoring programme and BSIS impact assessment system. Learn more at: www.efmd.org

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Huang Peiling (Ms)

Senior Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, SMU

Tel: (65) 6828 0964 / Email:    plhuang [at] smu.edu.sg