CENTRUM PUCP Business School, Hult International Business School, IE Business School, Imperial College Business School, Mannheim Business School and UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, have all scooped coveted awards in the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2020.
The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards, which were held in London on 7 February 2020, celebrated achievements in the post-graduate business education industry, by recognising the contributions made by AMBA-accredited Business Schools and BGA member Schools, as well as their students and graduates.
The ceremony was attended by 200 Business School leaders representing 46 Schools across the world, as well as category finalists, judges and members of the media.
The winners in the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards’ six categories were as follows:
Business School Careers Strategy Award
Hult International Business School (US)
Hult International Business School (Hult) is a non-profit educational organisation and the first triple-accredited Business School in the US. Hult offers programmes at undergraduate, post-graduate, and executive education levels and awards joint US and UK degrees across its global campus locations in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Shanghai, and New York.
Hult’s pedagogy is rooted in practical and experiential learning. Through real-world challenges, a future-focused curriculum, and an entrepreneurial spirit throughout, Hult is dedicated to taking students beyond business. Hult students graduate with the mindset and skills they need to thrive in a global landscape that is changing faster than ever before and are empowered to make an impact on the world through business.
The School has built a strategy around an alumni ecosystem to maximise employment and give students a chance to have a competitive edge for open positions in organisations. This involves getting students ready before they even start the programme, so they can start to network within the first few weeks. This strategy is built on three key pillars; getting ready, going external, and alumni referrals.
Business School Impact on Community and Society Award
Mannheim Business School, University of Mannheim (Germany) for ‘Where’s Amir? An example of a social sustainability project as part of the Mannheim MBA’
Mannheim Business School (MBS) is the umbrella organisation for management education at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and is considered one of the leading Business Schools in Europe.
MBS was the first German institution to be accredited by AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS. The objective behind the ‘Where’s Amir?’ project was to create, publish and promote a children’s book focused on creating an awareness of unity, diversity and integrity in young children, as they are still innocent and not influenced by thoughts such as racism. Its secondary objective was to encourage children to read more books. The book itself is aimed at children aged four to eight.
Business School Innovation Award
| Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London (UK) for ‘World’s first live holographic university lecture’
Imperial College Business School’s vision is to benefit business and improve society through the power of innovative thinking. Imperial College Business School is a key player in business education, offering a range of courses and degrees. It is among the 1% of Business Schools to have been accredited by AASCB, AMBA and EQUIS. Imperial College Business School won this award because, in November 2018, it became the first university to deliver a live lecture via holographic telepresence technology. The School went beyond webinars and video-based lectures to deliver a truly interactive experience that paralleled the real world, going as far as possible to create the dynamics of a physical lecture room; students were able to make eye contact with the lecturer and have their questions answered in real time. The lecture offered additional benefits to the students by drawing on a global pool of speakers, maximising teaching time, and creating a 21st-century educational experience. |
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (Private Sector)
Sharon Cunningham, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for Shorla Pharma
Sharon Cunningham is a PwC-trained chartered accountant with an MBA from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and a BSc in finance from University College Cork.
She is the Co-Founder of specialty pharmaceutical company, Shorla Pharma, which develops innovative oncology products for unmet needs, with a focus on women’s and paediatric cancers. Before this, she was Head of Finance at EirGen Pharma, a subsidiary of OPKO Health.
In 2019, Sharon was awarded the title of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, won the Sodexo Women Mean Business Female Newcomer Award 2019 with her business partner, Orlaith Ryan, and led a team of five to win the final pitch competition on the MIT-Harvard Medical School Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp in Cambridge Massachusetts, US.
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (Third Sector)
César Coasaca, CENTRUM PUCP Business School (Peru) for Inventum
César Coasaca is a technological entrepreneur and engineer. He is a specialist in innovation and the design of products and services. His work is focused on improving the opportunities for people in Peru and Latin America in conjunction with the enhancement of cultural wealth and biodiversity for development.
Inventum aims to support the development of technology that changes lives. Its first project, Pukio, is an invention that turns air into water.
MBA Student of the Year Award
Udochuku Richson, IE Business School (Spain)
Born in Austria with Nigerian roots, Udochuku (Udo) Richson embodies the diversity of IE Business School’s MBA programme.
His prior achievements as a former national rugby player and musician earned him a talent scholarship at IE. He holds degrees in molecular biology and immunology, and contributed to the development of breakthrough research initiatives as Manager of an EU research funding programme.
After dedicating more than four years to building a charity organisation focused on the integration of refugees, his next big goal is to drive the transformation of the healthcare system for a healthier and more sustainable society.
Andrew Main Wilson, Chief Executive of the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association (AMBA & BGA), said: ‘On behalf of the AMBA & BGA team, I would like to congratulate the finalists and winners of this year’s Excellence Awards.
‘The quality of award entries was once again very high this year and we are proud to celebrate the achievements and innovation so clearly evident in AMBA & BGA’s network of Schools and their students.’
ENDS
For more information or interviews, please contact:
- David Woods-Hale, Director of Marketing and Communications, AMBA & BGA – d.woods@associationofmbas.com
- Ellen Buchan, Communications and Insight Assistant, AMBA & BGA – e.buchan@associationofmbas.com
Awards selection process
Finalists were shortlisted by AMBA & BGA’s senior management team. Our judges reviewed 30 shortlisted entries, selecting a Winner and, if appropriate, a ‘Highly Commended’ entry for each award. Our judging panel is made up of AMBA board members, business experts, deans, and management leaders.
All of our judges were selected based on their experience and qualifications.
More information about the categories and complete list of the Winners, Highly Commended entries and Finalists
Business School Careers Strategy Award
This award recognises institutions that share AMBA & BGA’s passion for proactive and innovative approaches to graduate recruitment, talent management and succession planning. It is open to any AMBA-accredited and/or BGA member Business School working strategically and collaboratively in terms of recruitment and talent development in the business education arena.
Winner
- Hult International Business School (US)
Highly Commended
- ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University (Spain)
Finalists
- Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria)
- Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University (UK)
Business School Impact on Community and Society Award
The Business School Impact on Community and Society Award honours AMBA-accredited and BGA member Business Schools that share AMBA & BGA’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and that are passionate about making a difference.
The award recognises Business Schools that are taking the initiative in creating a sustainable future and teaching students about social values.
Winner
- Mannheim Business School, University of Mannheim (Germany) for ‘Where’s Amir? An example of a social sustainability project as part of the Mannheim MBA’
Highly Commended
- Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon (India) for ‘Karma yoga: selfless action for community benefit’
Finalists
- Indian Institute of Management Indore (India) for ‘Traffic management project for Indore City, India’
- Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia (Malaysia) for ‘Community development and engagement – (re)connecting with community and empowering the gifted: autism’
- Paris School of Business (France) for ‘Acting Beyond Knowledge: a CSR initiative’
- Porto Business School, University of Porto (Portugal) for ‘Reducing the School’s environmental footprint’
Business School Innovation Award
This award is a celebration of innovation and radical thinking in business education delivery across all areas of a Business School and has been developed to recognise and reward game-changing new practices, risks and creativity with relevance to programmes available at AMBA-accredited and/or BGA member Business Schools. It promotes the value of taking risks in pursuit of the new in different categories such as teaching, learning, recruitment and alumni relations.
Winner
- Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London (UK) for ‘World’s first live holographic university lecture’
Highly Commended
- NEOMA Business School (France) for ‘ExE (experiential education)’
Finalists
- Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK) for ‘Emergency and disaster management training’
- Graduate School of Management, MIP Politecnico di Milano (Italy) for ‘FLEXA: a new digital mentor for personalised lifelong learning’
- Paris School of Business (France) for ‘Virtual reality in marketing courses’
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) for ‘Science Park partnership’
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award
This award highlights the success of Business Schools in fostering entrepreneurship among their MBA and executive MBA cohorts, and is a chance for individuals to impress a panel of high-profile judges who are already at the forefront of global entrepreneurship.
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (private sector)
Winner
- Sharon Cunningham, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for Shorla Pharma
Highly Commended
- Kris Lindahl and Hal Salvesen, Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University (UK) for Digital Future Capital
Finalists
- Goke Lawrence Egunjobi, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria) for
i-impact Products & Services - Hany Soliman, The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business (Egypt) for Engineering Group for Innovation
- Shrenik Paras Parmar, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham (UK) for Proodle Solutions
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (Third Sector)
Winner
- César Coasaca, CENTRUM PUCP Business School (Peru) for Inventum
Finalists
- Comfort Onyanta Alli, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria) for Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative
- Xia Yixin, School of Business, Jiangnan University (China) for Wu Xi Beizhe Wenhua Chuanbo
MBA Student of the Year Award
The MBA Student of the Year Award plays a pivotal role each year in supporting our pledge to promote the MBA’s position as the leading international business qualification.
Winner
- Udochuku Richson, IE Business School (Spain)
Highly Commended
- Vincent Weber, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) (Spain)
Finalists
- Carla Mariana Chávez Castellanos, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) (Venezuela)
- Mecia Petersen, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham (UK)
- Monika Lemajic, Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
- Shivani Ghai, UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town (South Africa)
Find a list of all AMBA-accredited Schools
