Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
GSB still making a mark
Retains spot among world’s top 100 business institutions
UCT’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) has maintained its position in the world’s top 100 business schools for the seventh consecutive year.
The institution also retained its position as the fastest-growing business school globally, based on revenue growth from customised programmes over the past three years.
GSB, one of five African universities to make the list, was ranked 70th in the 2017 Financial Times (FT) ranking of the world’s top customised programmes. It is now globally recognised as a pre-eminent benchmark for business schools.
The institution runs customised business courses designed to help organisations meet their challenges and generate positive business outcomes, which range from short interventions to full academic diplomas and qualifications.
Kumeshnee West, GSB director of executive education, said the ranking had important implications for the school’s customers, students and companies which needed to be assured they had undergone good business training which was globally recognised.
“We believe we’re growing so fast because we understand that training interventions need to make a significant impact on people’s performance and the organisations’ bottom line, and we know how to achieve this,” West said.
“Our approach is about being a partner to our clients to help them think through the problems and challenges that they face and then design and implement a learning solution to deliver powerful results that permeate throughout the organisation.”
The top global business school in this year’s ranking is the IESE in Spain, which has held the No 1 spot for several years, while IMD, Duke and INSEAD retained their positions in the top 10. Harvard climbed from 14th to fifth position this year.
Universities are ranked on a variety of factors, including programme preparation, teaching methods, materials, design, new skills and learning, diversity of faculty and “future use”, which indicates strong, long-term relationships with clients.
In addition to being rated No 1 for growth, GSB achieved high scores in the quality of programme design, teaching methods and materials, facilities and value for money, as well as the crucial area of future use, while diversity of faculty was also a plus. The scores were assembled using three years’ worth of data.
GSB director Mills Soko said it was significant to see African campuses gaining ground in an environment where training for future global business leaders has become increasingly competitive.
Soko said the improvement was indicative of a commitment to excellence on local territory and an increased recognition from the global community that African business schools were serious contenders in the international space.
“The result represents a continued victory for the GSB in challenging political and economic times. It also underlines the ongoing, if not increased need for continued top-class business education in an unpredictable environment,” Soko said.
West said the GSB would continue to expand its footprint. “Providing a high standard of education to executives is a core part of equipping businesses to remain relevant and resilient in challenging times.”
GSB is one of only three business schools in Africa to be triple-crowned, meaning it is accredited by the three most influential accreditation associations – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs, and European Quality Improvement System.