ISB becomes first B-school in South Asia to get AACSB accreditation

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has received the accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), making it the first business school in South Asia to be recognised by the premier global body. The accreditation by AACSB coincides with the 10th anniversary of the b-school.

The AACSB accreditation has been earned by less than five per cent of the world’s business schools. AACSB, founded in 1916, is an association of more than 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organisations in 78 countries.

“The AACSB is unique because of its mission-driven approach, evaluating the applying schools against peer schools with similar missions. Given our commitment to creating research-based knowledge, and developing leaders through innovative world-class programmes, we are delighted to have this robust and independent reaffirmation of our adherence to our mission,” ISB dean Ajit Rangnekar said in a release on Friday.

“We are confident that this recognition will translate into increased interest by the international community comprising faculty, students and recruiters, and help us chart Asia’s and India’s growth as the global management education hub.”

With ISB being the first Indian management education institution to earn the AACSB accreditation, it aims to put India firmly on the world management education map, the B-school said.

The ISB, established in 2001, has became the youngest institution to be ranked among the Top 20, in the Global B-school Rankings by Financial Times, London, In 2008. The school has over 3,500 postgraduate programme in management (PGP) alumni and 13,000 executive education alumni.

The b-school is in the process of setting up its second campus in Mohali, Punjab, which in addition to the current programmes, will also have specialist institutes for promoting research and education in areas critical to India’s development. The Mohali campus is slated to be operational from April 2012, the release said.

“The AACSB Accreditation is yet another feather in the cap of ISB, adding to its spectacular track record of success and growth. The achievement further strengthens ISB's mission to put India on the world map of top quality management education by consolidating our global position,” said Adi Godrej, chairman of the ISB.