The Financial Times has published its annual ranking of the world’s premier executive education programmes and the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) has retained its top position in Africa.

GIBS has once again been ranked among the world’s 50 best business schools by the esteemed Financial Times (UK edition) in its 2018 Executive Education ranking, which covers both customised programmes that are tailor-made for corporate customers and open programmes that are designed for leadership within organisations. This is the 15^th year that GIBS has been ranked.

A number of parameters are used to compile the ranking, which is based on the satisfaction levels of corporate clients and individual participants. With a combined ranking of 42, GIBS continues to hold its own as the leading African business school in this highly competitive space – on par with the world’s premier business schools such as London Business School, MIT, Sloan, and Stanford Graduate School.

The Dean of GIBS, Prof Nicola Kleyn said: ‘This ranking amplifies that GIBS is indeed a global centre of excellence that offers state-of-the-art education. A collective effort from our faculty and programme execution team ensures that we keep delivering value to our clients.’

The ranking looks at the 90 best business schools offering customised programmes and the 75 best offering open-enrolment programmes worldwide, and highlights the quality and suitability of the programmes and teaching excellence. GIBS rivals the world’s best international schools when it comes to:

• ‘partner schools’, which looks at the quality and quantity of the programmes developed and delivered in conjunction with other Equis or Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited business schools;
• value for money’, which rates the programme design, teaching and materials in terms of value for money; and
• ‘future use’, which looks at the likelihood that clients will reuse GIBS for other customised programmes in future.

Lerato Mahlasela, Director: Custom Programmes at GIBS, said: ‘We work hard to ensure we deliver quality programmes that are in line with our customer needs. This ranking is a clear indication that our executive education programmes are in line with market expectations.’

Director: Open Programmes at GIBS, Nishan Pillay, added that: ‘GIBS benchmarks itself against top business schools across the world; this ranking is testament to the quality produced at GIBS from design through to delivery.’

For more information on GIBS programmes, please visit https://www.gibs.co.za.