When we celebrate a major anniversary or birthday we often personally take the time to reflect back on what we’ve done and take stock of how we’re doing and what the future will bring – and it’s no different for an organisation.

This year sees the University of Strathclyde mark its Diamond Jubilee and there have been various events and activities since the start of the year to celebrate the 60 years since Strathclyde was granted its Royal Charter.  Executive Dean of Strathclyde Business School (SBS), Professor David Hillier, is always happy to reflect on the successes of the business school over the years and its pioneering ways in the world of business education – in the UK, SBS was the first to offer a full time one year MBA back in 1966, the first to offer a part time MBA and first to offer a distance learning MBA.

SBS took its prestigious MBA programme overseas, opening international centres to offer the Strathclyde MBA to people in their own country and winning a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement as a result back in 1993 following its first centre opening in 1988. This year, Professor Hillier is equally happy to look at what the business school is achieving in the here and now. Accreditation is a key metric for business schools across the world and SBS has been triple-accredited by the three accrediting bodies – AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS – since 2004.

Indeed, it was the first business school in Scotland to gain the triple crown. But that initial accreditation doesn’t mean a school can rest on its laurels – reaccreditation takes place every few years, with each school and its programmes assessed by a group of its peers against stringent criteria with students, staff, alumni and corporate contacts all part of the process. This year has seen SBS assessed by both AMBA and AACSB – with successful outcomes in both cases.

Following the rigorous review process each body undertook, the business school has been reaccredited for the full five year period by both AMBA and AACSB. Together with EQUIS accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), SBS continues to be a triple-accredited school. Professor Hillier says: “We were happy to receive the news from both AMBA and AAACSB that they had judged our programmes to be suitable for accreditation again.

“It’s hugely important to us that we continue to be ranked by these bodies as it lets our students, alumni and applicants know that we are a recognised business school offering programmes of the highest standard.

“Just because a school has been accredited before doesn’t mean reaccreditation follows – we work hard to ensure our programmes meet established quality standards and offer an excellent learning quality. rankings also play a part in the reputation of a school. This year SBS has featured in the top programmes globally as ranked by the Financial Times for its Masters programmes in Finance and its Executive MBA programme which is offered at Strathclyde in Glasgow and at its international centres.

External recognition has also come for SBS’s knowledge exchange and for its overall performance. Prof Hillier says: “We have two dates in the diary for November where we’re hoping for some more good news.”

He adds: “We’ve been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education ‘Business School of the Year’ for 2024 and we have two Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects that have made the final of the 2024 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership ‘Best of the Best’ Awards. We find out next month if we’ve won in both these awards. Hopefully it’s positive news but we’re delighted just to have been shortlisted for both the THE and Innovate UK awards – and we’re not getting too hung up on whether we win. The awards would be a lovely bonus but we know simply by being shortlisted we’re being recognised for the good work we do here at Strathclyde; good work that impacts positively on our community and the business world and feeds back in to our excellent teaching and learning done by our staff and students here.”

The THE awards attract hundreds of entries each year from all corners of the UK and Ireland and showcase all aspects of university life. The Business School of the Year award goes to the business school that demonstrates the most outstanding overall performance. Two Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects from SBS have made the final of the 2024 Innovate UK ‘Best of the Best’ awards with hundreds of stand-out projects are considered for the awards and only highly ranked projects invited to apply. SBS has made the shortlist for the Best Management KTP Award and the Best Impact and Transformation award.

“Our fingers are crossed for the KTP awards as it will be special for our staff and business partners to be recognised for the quality of the work our staff have engaged in with local businesses – in this case, JWF Process Solutions Ltd and Fishers Services Ltd,” says Prof Hillier,” but we’re a business school that engages with business at all levels involving our staff and our students with positive outcomes for all. Gaining an award for doing that will just be the cherry on top of what we already do.”

Strathclyde Business School is an institution that looks to the future too and continues to innovate in business education. Its links to business are strong and its reputation as an innovative, entrepreneurial business school is well deserved, with the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation – in honour of alumnus Sir Tom Hunter who endowed the centre – one of its key departments.

Prof Hillier says: “Throughout the business school, our staff look to ensure each programme reflects the changing business environment we all face just now. As an example, in 2022, we introduced Global Practitioners to our Masters programmes which was recognised by AMBA for its annual awards – we were shortlisted for the Best Innovation Strategy Award 2024.

“Sadly, we didn’t win but we’re incredibly proud of this innovative project which aims to place practical expertise and content relevance alongside academic knowledge at the heart of our student experience.

“Our Global Practitioners play a crucial role in stimulating and facilitating learning for students. They come from a range of industries and backgrounds, reflecting the broad nature of subjects addressed in our general management programmes and the variety of students in our learning environment and it’s had a really positive impact on our students and their learning environment in Glasgow and at our international centres.”

The business school has also added to its set-up with the Stephen Young Institute for International Business founded as a result of funding from Marketing and MBA alumnus and global business leader Dr Charles Huang in memory of Dr Huang’s PhD mentor, Professor Stephen Young.

New research is being undertaken there with the aim of building collaborations between the Institute and leading academic partners, businesses, government departments and third sector organisations across the world and investing in and supporting the development of future leaders in international business through the Stephen Young Global Leaders (SYGL) Scholarships, including MBA and MSc students and doctoral researchers.

As Strathclyde Business School continues to grow and innovate, there’s no doubt it will be a steadfast yet exciting fixture of the future business education scene. 

www.strath.ac.uk/business