CEMS institution is awarded the only EQUIS accreditation in the Czech Republic

The University of Economics, Prague’s (VSE) Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) has just made history.

It is the only institute in the Czech Republic to have successfully acquired EQUIS accreditation, which rewards only those faculties with the highest teaching standards, outstanding academics, high quality scientific activities and strong links with business practice.
The University of Economics, Prague’s (VSE) Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)The University of Economics, Prague’s (VSE) Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) has just made history. It is the only institute in the Czech Republic to have successfully acquired EQUIS accreditation, which rewards only those faculties with the highest teaching standards, outstanding academics, high quality scientific activities and strong links with business practice.

The VSE FBA is only the fourth faculty in Central and Eastern Europe to have received this accreditation, including another CEMS partner institution, the Russian Graduate School of Management (St. Petersburg University). The Accreditation Commission of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) awarded the EQUIS accreditation; which is conferred upon the best management oriented faculties. Worldwide, only 168 faculties, out of a total of 15,000 business faculties, have received the EQUIS accreditation.

"We are very proud of VSE on their accreditation. This is a testament to the high quality of CEMS Academic Member schools within the alliance worldwide," says Roland Siegers, CEMS Executive Director.

The accreditation process takes two years. The commission assessed the faculty on the basis of information provided in a self-report, as well as the subsequent auditing processes which took place within the faculty itself. The commission also verified the findings from in-depth interviews with faculty and university staff, as well as with students, alumni and corporate partners.

“I am happy that the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Economics, Prague, is now, officially, a member of the world elite,“ said the Dean of the FBA, Prof. Ing. Ivan Nový, CSc. The Dean added: “The faculty’s quality is further attested to by the fact that two of our study branches are regularly placed in the prestigious Financial Times Rankings, in addition to the excellent assessments given by employers to our graduates.“

The main objective of the EQUIS accreditation, which itself arises from the mission of the EFMD, is the global increase in quality in the area of management education. EQUIS endeavours to strike a balance between high academic quality on the one hand, and the professional relevance provided by close cooperation with business practice, on the other. Institutions which have received the EQUIS accreditation must demonstrate not only the highest standards in all their activities, but also a high degree of internationalization. Among other factors which are assessed are the control processes of the faculty, as well as the quality of the study programs and the learning processes. The quality of the academic staff, research, executive education, financial management, international reach and the quality of the level of consistency of contacts with the corporate sector are also assessed.

Prof. Machková, the Rector of the University of Economics, Prague, was among first congratulators. “Faculty of Business Administration has obtained an institutional accreditation, which shifts the management education at VSE towards the international elite. I know how much effort the faculty had to expend to obtain this accreditation, and how the changes that faculty has undergone in the past three years were hard. But thanks to them the faculty managed to meet the demanding criteria and today's success is really well-deserved.”