“No one alone has all the answers.” With this call for collaboration and trust-building, Friedemann Schulze-Fielitz, Director of Business School Services at EFMD, opened the EFMD Conference for Quality Assurance, Impact and Accreditation Professionals, which began yesterday at SDA Bocconi.

At the center of the debate during the first session was the meaning of accreditation: not a bureaucratic obligation imposed from outside, but a tool that can become a driver of transformation when it is fully embraced by organizations, emphasized Björn Kjellander, Director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation at Jönköping International Business School. “The value of the process lies in its ability to clarify ambitions, encourage internal debate within a business school and share information transparently. It is also an exercise that teaches you never to underestimate any detail,” said Stefano Caselli, Dean of SDA Bocconi School of Management, after thanking those who made the event possible, and especially Manuela Brusoni, the professor responsible for accreditation at SDA Bocconi, Eric Cornuel, President of EFMD, and Alfons Sauquet, Director of Quality Services & EQUIS at EFMD Global.

As Melanie Currie, Deputy Dean of Nottingham Business School, summed up, “Taking part in educational is a privilege, and every day is a learning day.”

The EFMD Conference for Quality Assurance, Impact and Accreditation Professionals has brought 126 academic managers, quality assurance leaders and accreditation professionals from international business schools to Milan to discuss the strategic role of quality assurance in institutional development. The conference is exploring topics related to accreditation, impact, reputation and continuous improvement, offering participants the opportunity to share best practices, analyze emerging sector trends and strengthen international networking.

The conference continues today and tomorrow, allowing participants to exchange views on the most pressing issues in the sector: from the evolution of accreditation systems and their impact on educational quality to the use of artificial intelligence in business schools and assurance processes, as well as the relationship between research, institutional strategy and continuous improvement.

Significant attention will also be devoted to how to communicate the value of accreditation within institutions themselves, the increasingly strategic role of accreditation managers, and the challenges posed by a global environment marked by economic instability, geopolitical crises and accelerated technological transformation.

Founded in 1972, EFMD is a global non-profit organization dedicated to management development. It is internationally recognized as an accreditation body for business schools, management programs and corporate universities. Its network includes 30,000 professionals and 980 institutions across 95 countries worldwide.

SDA Bocconi School of Management