The Association of MBAs awards GBSN member school, the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, the AMBA accreditation valid for five years.
“The AMBA accreditation is vital to us as a business school,” says UCT GSB Director Associate Professor Mills Soko. “It is one of the highest standards of achievement in postgraduate business education and only the best business schools around the world are honored with it.”
Associate Professor Soko adds that accreditations like AMBA are important for the school’s international reputation. Not only do they allow the school to market itself more effectively in a crowded and competitive marketplace, but also to benchmark itself against the finest institutions in the world, continuously improving on its academic offering.
“We are able to highlight our context as an emerging market business school in Africa that is among the best in the world and demonstrate the relevance that we have in shaping the business and thought leaders on the continent and beyond,” he says.
UCT Graduate School of Business also has earned accreditations from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and EQUIS, from the EFMD Quality Improvement System, making it a triple crown accredited business school. UCT Graduate School of Business is only one of three schools in Africa to be triple crown accredited. In 2016, only 76 business schools worldwide earned all three accreditations.
Dr. Kutlwano Ramaboa, Director of International Relations at the UCT GSB, says accreditations are an endorsement of the quality education that the business school strives to provide while increasing the school’s visibility internationally.
“This means we are able to attract more international students and faculty. The world is increasingly globalised and it is imperative that we expose all students to diverse perspectives and cultures in order to enrich the learning experience by avoiding the assimilation trap and prepare them to operate successfully in any environment.”
She says accreditations also help with attracting and arranging international exchange partnership with good schools in different regions as they are often used as one of several criteria giving a guarantee in the quality of education.
“Our students can select full semester exchanges, shorter summer/winter schools, and one-week immersion options from 45 partner schools with whom we have bilateral exchange agreements, as well as 29 schools from the Global Network of Advanced Management (GNAM Ð a Yale School of Management Initiative),” Dr Ramaboa says.
In addition to pursuing accreditations, the UCT GSB also works on improving its international profile through membership of international associations and networks, offering students and faculty international opportunities that further enhance the impact of the school. Affiliations such as the Global Business School Network (GBSN), the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME Ð a United Nations supported initiative), and the Academy of Business in Society (ABIS), afford additional opportunities for UCT GSB faculty and students to collaborate internationally on teaching and research.
“Through research, the school is committed to participating in leading international scholarly conversations,” says Dr Ramaboa.
Ultimately, she adds, the school wants to demonstrate to working professionals, both local and international why this school should be considered when they are building their careers. “It also shows stakeholders that we are committed to delivering the quality of education that we promise.”