Singapore, 27 April 2018 (Friday) – The Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) has been conferred the prestigious Association of MBAs (AMBA) accreditation, reinforcing its global stature as a leading business school. With this achievement, LKCSB is now one of the youngest business schools in the world, at the tender age of 18 years, and the only Singaporean business school, to hold the honour of being triple accredited by theAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), AMBA and European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).
Only the top one per cent of business schools worldwide hold the coveted ‘triple crown’ accreditation. This achievement brings SMU LKCSB to the ranks of a very select group of business schools around the world, such as the London Business School in the United Kingdom, IE Business School in Spain and IMD in Switzerland.
Said Professor Gerard George, Dean of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship: “We are delighted to be accredited by AMBA, in addition to the AACSB and EQUIS accreditation which we had attained earlier. The journey towards accreditation involves rigorous reviews and evaluation processes. Credit for achieving this ‘triple crown’ accreditation within a short span of the school’s 18 year history, goes to our faculty and staff. I thank them for their dedication towards delivering the highest standards of education and research excellence.
Achieving triple accreditation by the international and independent committees of AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS is testimony to the high quality and holistic nature of our programmes. We remain fully committed towards exploring different learning environments and continuous improvement in research. By exposing our students to innovative approaches of business education, multicultural perspectives, mentorship and networking opportunities with corporate leaders, we aim to create an immersive learning environment that inspires their intellect and sense of global responsibility.”
In 2011, LKCSB received both the AACSB accreditation and a five-year EQUIS accreditation. For both accreditations, the School has the distinction of being one of the youngest schools in the world to be accredited.
In April 2016, LKCSB earned re-accreditation from AACSB for another five years. Under a new set of standards implemented by AACSB in 2013, an accredited institution not only exemplifies innovation in various aspects of its operations including curriculum design and pedagogy; it also focuses its efforts on the impact and relevance of its programmes and research; and actively engages the academic community, the business community, and the larger community in which it operates.
In December 2016, LKCSB 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.
About the AMBA accreditation
According to the Association of MBAs (AMBA), an institution is granted the AMBA accreditation for a period of five years. There are presently 50 business schools in Asia which have attained the AMBA accreditation, with SMU LKCSB being the 51st.
AMBA accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement in postgraduate business education and is earned only by the best post graduate management programmes. AMBA accredits the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Business Management (MBM), and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) courses in only the top 2% of the world's Business Schools.
