UCT's Executive MBA programme is still number one in Africa

The UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) has once again been ranked top in Africa for its Executive MBA programme according to the QS Global EMBA Rankings for 2021.

The school ranked third in the region specifically for executive profile and 51st overall globally. It also climbed 10 places to 42nd in the world for employer reputation, and six places to 43rd globally for diversity.

“Our EMBA programme stands out, globally, for the value that it brings to students in helping them to understand and lead effectively in complex environments — as well as for the personal and professional growth that they experience in the programme,” says Dr Catherine Duggan, Director of the UCT GSB. “It’s great to see these rankings reflect what our students, alumni and corporate partners have been telling us: that the UCT GSB is one of the top business schools that employers look to, in Africa and around the world.”

The prestigious QS ranking uses a methodology that combines input from thought leaders in business and management, assesses each business school’s reputation amongst academics and global employers, and takes the demographics of the EMBA cohort and other programme-specific indicators into account.

The Financial Times also ranks the UCT GSB as the number one African Business School for both its EMBA and Global MBA programmes. In addition, the school’s award-winning Customised Executive Education offering was ranked top in South Africa by the Financial Times in 2020.

The UCT GSB’s EMBA programme is one of the fastest-growing postgraduate degrees at UCT and is known for its focus on the practice of management and leadership rather than a traditional training in business functions. The EMBA provides reflective strategies and practical insight and tools to build students’ capacities to work productively with disharmony and complexity that come standard in the world of business today.

Kosheek Sewchurran, director of the EMBA programme at the UCT GSB, explains that in a complex world, leaders need more than knowledge to act with wisdom. They need the courage of their convictions and an ability to think integratively. “If ever there was a time to turn to a different form of logic it is now. As the world braces for the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, business schools must go beyond offering courses on what to do and help orient leaders in how to do it. As business schools we need therefore to find ways to allow leaders to experience new ways of being, doing and knowing, so that they pursue new options and new choices while uncovering and working with paradox and tensions.”

Globally, HEC Paris ranks first followed by Wharton Business school, and IESE at the second and third spots, respectively. QS added an additional 35 EMBA programmes to the ranking, evaluating a total of 176 EMBA programmes from around the world.

Nunzio Quacquarelli, CEO and Founder at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said the organisation had found no evidence of a slowdown in demand for the Executive MBA.

“On the contrary, average enrolments decreased over the last application cycle, while application numbers increased by 14%,” he said.

“With compensation for Executive MBA graduates also remaining robust, it is clear that employers continue to place a premium on the unique skillsets and experiences offered by the qualification.”