On 16th December 2024, the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) voted to grant EQUIS Accreditation to the Faculty of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) for a further period of three years. The SWUFE-UD Institute of Data Science at SWUFE joined the Faculty in 2020, and the Faculty has been formally re-accredited by EQUIS in 2021 and 2024.
EQUIS accreditation was established by the European Foundation for Management Development, which is known for its comprehensive and rigorous review and is one of the three major international authoritative accreditation systems. The School of Business Administration of SWUFE gained EQUIS accreditation for the first time in 2014 and was the first business school in Western China to be awarded. The Faculty of Business Administration was formed in 2016. It received a three-year EQUIS accreditation in 2018 and was re-accredited for another three years in 2021.
In order to ensure the smooth implementation of EQUIS re-accreditation, SWUFE set up the EQUIS re-accreditation leading group in December 2023 and carried out a series of effective preparations for the accreditation. From 24th to 26th September 2024, the EQUIS Accreditation Expert Group, headed by Prof. Frøystein Gjesdal, Former Rector, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Norway Chair of the PRT, came to SWUFE to carry out on-site accreditation of the academic groups, focusing on the optimization of the organizational structure and strategic development of the Faculty, and providing insights into the performance of the teaching programs, faculty and students, scientific research, resource allocation, internationalization, business connections, and social responsibility. Shi Daimin and Li Zhisheng, Vice President and Standing Member, of the University Council, and Wang Xin, former Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Office of SWUFE and current Executive Dean of the International Business School, as representatives of SWUFE, communicated adequately with the Accreditation Expert Group. After three days of overall inspection, the group of experts unanimously recognized the Faculty of disciplines and particularly praised the degree of internationalization, the outstanding quality of the students, the high level of administration, and the close links with the industry, as well as the outstanding social contribution.
Receiving the EQUIS re-accreditation will give new impetus to the future development of the Faculty of Business Administration, SWUFE. Under the strong leadership of the SWUFE Party Committee, the Faculty of Business Administration will continue to uphold the purpose of accreditation and evaluation mechanisms promoting the development of disciplinary construction and contribute more SWUFE power to economic prosperity and development.
Editor: LOU Yaqi
Proofreading: LI Zeyu
