European business schools dominate the top end of the Financial Times’ 2023 rankings of open enrolment and custom executive education programmes, with schools headquartered in Europe offering 11 of the 12 top-rated open programmes, reports Colette Doyle
The list, headed by Barcelona’s Iese Business School, also includes HEC Paris, Spain’s Esade, Insead – with campuses in France, Singapore and the UAE – University of Oxford’s Saïd, London Business School and IMD in Switzerland. Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil placed seventh in the list.
According to the FT, the data shows the “continued variety and strength of business school executive education providers, despite pressure on training and development budgets from employers and competition from alternative providers including edtech companies, consultants and coaches”.
Nantes-based grande école Audencia is ranked 42nd in the FT’s combined open and custom rankings; it is also the eighth-best French school. After having jumped 25 places in the open enrolment ranking last year, Audencia has gained another four places. It is now ranked 37th in the world and seventh in France, with ten more schools having been included in the ranking this year (75 vs 65 in 2022).
Worldwide, the AMBA-accredited school is ranked 11th in terms of its international location, 19th for the diversity of its faculty and 22nd for its international participants.
In terms of custom programmes, created to meet the specific needs of companies, Audencia is ranked 69th worldwide and the 13th-best school in France. When it comes to turnover growth and repeat business, it is ranked as number two in the country.
