International Accreditation
News and Events
News and Events
Under the title “What Should Management Education Stand For?”, the EFMD Annual Conference took place in Seville, Spain, from 7 to 9 June, 2026. More than 550 participants from universities and business schools around the world attended the conference, which was hosted by SanTelmo Business School. Prof. Dr. Andrea Braun von Reinersdorff, dean, Prof. Dr. Holger Sutschet, academic dean, Prof. Dr. Kay Hofmann, program director International Management B.A., Sabine Kohlsaat, project manager international accreditation, and Nathalie Banehr, international accreditation team, represented the Faculty at the conference. In addition to valuable networking opportunities with university and EFMD representatives, there was an extensive lineup of workshops, panel discussions, and presentations on topics such as “Artificial Intelligence – Strategic Tool or Existential Threat?”, “Internationalization with Purpose: Diverse Contexts, Shared Ambition,” and “Why Is the World So Angry?”.
A special highlight for the Osnabrück delegation was the awards ceremony, during which the Faculty was presented with the official accreditation certificate for the International Management B.A. program at a formal ceremony.
After 4.5 years, the goal has been achieved:
The International Management B.A. study program has been accredited for 5 years and was awarded the internationally recognized “EFMD accredited” label of excellence!
The program, the Faculty WiSo and the university are delighted with the long accreditation period of 5 years, which was recommended by Peer Review Team and confirmed by the EFMD Accreditation Board: only very few programs achieve this at the first attempt. This remarkable success means a significant increase in international visibility not only for IM, but also for the Faculty WiSo and the university, especially in the area of Business and Management. It also reconfirms the path taken towards the alignment of standards and processes in the IM study program with international benchmarks.
And how do we continue from here? First of all, the success to which numerous internal and external stakeholders of the university have contributed needs to be celebrated! After that, the IM study program and WiSo will work on implementing the suggestions outlined in the Peer Review Report to ensure a continuous quality improvement process, which is necessary for a successful re-accreditation in 5 years.
On Wednesday, 2 April and Thursday, 3 April, 2025, the Peer Review Visit of the International Management B.A. (IM) degree program was carried out by an international team of experts. On both days, the four-member team gained a comprehensive picture of the university and its (infra)structure, the WiSo Faculty and, in particular, all aspects of the IM program. In nine sessions on the first day and three more on the second day, the peers held constructive discussions at eye level with members of the University Steering Committee, the WiSo Dean’s Office, the IM program management, spokespersons of the subject groups, program lecturers and employees from various central and decentralized areas important for IM, as well as with students, alumni and practitioners. A campus and library tour and a live Zoom-session with our partner university Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in South Africa in the lecture hall of the future CN 0003 complemented the the tight schedule.
The final accreditation decision will be made by the EFMD Accreditation Council. It therefore remains exciting until the accreditation council met later in the year.
During the international accreditation process the project team cooperates with various departments of the university and works with different colleagues on concrete topics during different stages of the process. The process is ongoing over several semesters. Therefore, the project team informs all colleagues involved as well as interested persons through an internal newsletter that is sent periodically via email and contains information about current developments in the project as well as the status of its milestones.
The editions of the newsletter can also be found here (German only):
Archive
From 1 to 3 June, 2025, the EFMD Annual Conference took place under the theme “Navigating uncertainty: Business schools and the ecosystems of innovation.” This year’s venue was the TUM School of Management in Munich, Germany. As part of the project team, Anne-Christin Stockmeyer, program coordinator International Management B.A., attended the conference on behalf of the Faculty. More than 500 participants from EFMD-accredited and EFMD-member universities explored current topics such as “Knowledge Transfer, Impact, and Innovation,” “Collaboration for AI Innovation in Business Schools,” and “Internationalization in a Time of Disruption” through workshops, panel discussions, and presentations. In addition, the conference offered numerous opportunities to network and exchange experiences with representatives from the participating universities.
From 9–11 June, 2024, the EFMD Annual Conference, titled “Navigating Geopolitical Tensions, AI, and Fostering a Human-Centered Future,” took place at the Bologna Business School. The venue—the Aula Magna, surrounded by the historic buildings of the Università di Bologna in the heart of Bologna’s old town—provided an impressive backdrop for the more than 600 participants from EFMD-accredited and EFMD member institutions worldwide.
The Faculty was represented by the project team Prof. Dr. Kay Hofmann, program director IM, Sabine Kohlsaat, project manager internationale accreditation, and Nathalie Banehr, international accreditation team. The panel discussions and presentations—featuring speakers such as Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna and former European Commission President Romano Prodi—addressed current topics such as “AI and the Future of Work,” “Global Conflicts and Their Impact on Business Schools,” “Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical Implications,” and “The Role of Business Schools in Building a Human-Centered Future.”
The project team also took part in the following workshops (breakout sessions): “Critical thinking: an essential skill for dealing with Gen AI and the climate crisis”, “Valuing and supporting the individual”, “Sustainability at business schools” and “Generation Z: expectations and needs”.
During the conference, there was also an opportunity for networking, and the project team exchanged valuable insights on the accreditation process with representatives from German, European and non-European universities. In addition, a number of discussions took place with representatives of the EFMD.
The EFMD Annual Conference, entitled "The role of business education in an unstable, unpredictable and unsustainable world", took place from 11 to 13 June, 2023. The venue was emlyon Business School in Lyon, France. From the project team, Prof. Dr. Kay Hofmann, program director IM, and Sabine Kohlsaat, project manager international accreditation, attended the conference. Around 600 representatives from business schools and universities specialising in management from around the world attended the conference. In addition to workshops, panel discussions and presentations on current topics in management education, the conference offered numerous opportunities to network with other higher education institutions and to exchange experiences, including on the EFMD accreditation process. The conference program also included a meeting for the project team with Prof. Dr Barbara Sporn, Director of EFMD Programme Accreditation, during which the next steps in the process were discussed and helpful feedback was provided on the eligibility decision.
On 28 April 2022, the kick-off event for the international accreditation of the International Management B.A. program took place via Zoom.
Lecturers teaching in the program had the opportunity to learn about the goals and requirements of the international accreditation process and to discuss various aspects of the Faculty's strategy with the dean's office and project team. Furthermore, the development of the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for the study program and the modules was another focus of the event.
Dean Prof. Dr. Andrea Braun von Reinersdorff opened the event and emphasized the importance of international accreditation for the international positioning of the entire university. Academic Dean Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lackner also emphasized the necessity of international accreditation for the Faculty in order to remain competitive on an international level and to increase its attractiveness for international partners.
As a basis for the afternoon workshop, program director Prof. Dr. Kay Hofmann presented a first draft for programme ILOs, which form the basis for the formulation of the individual course ILOs. The subsequent presentations by Academic Dean Prof. Dr. Ursula Hübner on the state of digitalization and its use in an international context and by Academic Dean Prof. Dr. Stefan Maykus on the Faculty’s understanding of education provided further important information for the development of the program and course ILOs. At the end of the morning, Annika Morgret presented the technical framework for module descriptions.
In the afternoon, the attending faculty worked in small groups to develop initial ideas for the formulation of course ILOs, the results of which will be made available to all faculty teaching in the program as a follow-up. The development of the course ILOs shall be completed by fall 2022.
Program and slides (in German language)
Program International accreditation kick-off event
Bedeutung der internationalen Akkreditierung für die Fakultät WiSo - Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lackner
EFMD - Kriterien, Anforderungen, Prozesse - Sabine Kohlsaat
Strategie „Digitalisierung in Studium, Lehre und Weiterbildung 2023“ - Prof. Dr. Ursula Hübner
Das WiSo-Bildungsverständnis - als Rahmen für die Weiterentwicklung des Studiengangs und der ILOs - Prof. Dr. Stephan Maykus
Modulbeschreibungen - Neues MoPPS und die Bedeutung der Modulbeschreibungen für die ILOs - Annika Morgret
![[Translate to English:] Auftaktveranstaltung zur internationalen Akkreditierung](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/6/csm_Foto_Akkreditierung_4f71f4a206.png "[Translate to English:] Auftaktveranstaltung zur internationalen Akkreditierung")
![[Translate to English:] Präsentation von Prof. Dr. Andrea Braun von Reinersdorff](/fileadmin/_processed_/e/e/csm_Foto_Akkreditierung_2_0796178dec.png "[Translate to English:] Präsentation von Prof. Dr. Andrea Braun von Reinersdorff")
![[Translate to English:] Präsentation von Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lackner](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/0/csm_Foto_Akkreditierung_3_dbfc40b30a.png "[Translate to English:] Präsentation von Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lackner")