We are pleased to announce that the CEEMAN International Quality Accreditation (CEEMAN IQA) was awarded to SGH Warsaw School of Economics (hereinafter SGH) once more. SGH first obtained the IQA accreditation in 2011.
SGH was founded in 1906 as a private school and is the oldest business school in Poland. SGH is now a state-owned, non-profit higher education institution whose operations are regulated by the Polish Act on Higher Education. Since 2010 SGH has successfully undergone numerous national and international accreditation processes and is currently accredited by the Polish State Accreditation Commission, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the European Consortium for Accreditation in Higher Education (the Faculty International Economics at SGH has obtained the CeQuInt certificate), the Association of Masters in Business Administration (AMBA) and CEEMAN IQA.
SGH has a very strong brand recognition in Poland, which is consistently confirmed by national and international rankings. According to publicly available sources, SGH is usually ranked 1st in the Polish rankings of economic schools and universities. According to the most popular higher education rankings provided by Polish daily Rzeczpospolita and Perspektywy, a Polish monthly magazine on education, SGH was ranked 1st in Poland in 2016 and 2017 among all economic schools and universities, and 11th in 2016 and 12 in 2017 among all Polish higher education institutions. According to the Perspektywy ranking SGH was ranked 3rd in for scientific potential, 5th in the alumni on the labor market category, and 11th when in the prestige category. It took the 1st position in the MBA programs in Poland. SGH is the only Polish university to be ranked among the 100 top institutions of higher education by the Financial Times. Student teams led by SGH staff win top prizes at international competitions (e.g. Google - 1st place in 2014 and 2015; numerous case studies, start-ups and many other competitions). SGH is the only university in Poland which is a member of CEMS – The Global Alliance in Management Education, which includes 30 leading business schools from around the world along with their corporate partners.
SGH is regarded as a reputable research institution and its researchers regularly publish their work in both international and national journals. SGH considers research as one of its key operating areas, which is also reflected in its mission statement and the ambitious research performance by SGH faculty. Increasingly internationalized, research activities are carried out in multinational groups, international academic partnerships. Moreover, EU-financed grants allow them to transfer the newest knowledge and global awareness to their classrooms. According to the second issue (2017) of the Polish Scholar Metrics by Google, which ranks journals by the H5 indicator, some journals published by SGH are ranked from 2nd to 95th among the top 100 universities and higher education institutions. SGH pays a lot of attention to the connection between its educational programs and research done by the SGH faculty. The research topics are significant and are approached from an economic and social perspective. That creates an environment for graduating Bachelor, Master, doctoral students and post-doctoral students and others by giving them access to recent research results and the newest knowledge in both theoretical and practical fields. SGH’s strong relevance for practical knowledge and relevance is also seen by its presence in popular media when its members of its faculty comment on current economic and political developments in the press and on television.
It has to be mentioned that SGH was the first university in Poland to fully implement the principles of the Bologna process and the qualifications framework structure within the European Higher Education Area. SGH made a strategic decision in 2010 to start offering full programs in English in order to differentiate the offer and attract foreign students. The IQA Peer Review Team recognized that SGH has achieved remarkable progress since 2011 in terms of internationalizing its curricula, programs and teaching materials. In the last seven years, SGH has broadened the portfolio of programs delivered in English. Currently there are four full-time Bachelor programs, five full-time Master programs, one doctoral level program and one Executive MBA (EMBA) taught entirely in English. SGH is also one of the leaders in student mobility, annually hosting over 800 international students from more than 50 countries. It also offers double degree programs with international partners.
SGH has created a unique culture of student life, which makes students feel obliged to engage in the activities of a very broad range of student organizations and scientific societies. Such involvement allows them to practice their theoretical knowledge gained at SGH and skills in many disciplines (management organizations, projects, human resources, etc.).
With the aim to promote social responsibility among faculty, the students and stakeholders of the institution, SGH has established the Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the support of the Commission of CSR at SGH. The activities include research, teaching, organizing conferences, publishing etc. The Centre for CSR also co-organizes conferences such as the Business Socially Responsible or International Conference on the Future of Management. SGH is also an active member of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education).
SGH has been very successful in developing relations and networks with the business community and government institutions that serve the contemporary needs and challenges they face. On one hand, SGH provides companies with education, research partnerships, and connections to world-class faculty and students, while also using these networks to create relevant research and give students practical experience and relevant education. SGH also played an important role in shaping Poland’s transition period by affecting economic and social policies, and its faculty is still regarded as an important opinion leader, which can be seen by its strong media presence.
SGH gives great importance to the popularization of economic education and the development of social responsibility among young people and children, which is why SGH has developed a Children’s Economic University and the Academy of Young Economists in Warsaw and other Polish cities. Each of them boasts more than 150 yearly participants. SGH also runs programs for inactive and retired people with the aim to educate retired members of society and encourage them to be more active participants of social life.
Based on these findings, the CEEMAN Accreditation Committee awarded SGH Warsaw School of Economics International Quality Re-Accreditation on February 5, 2018.
“CEEMAN IQA Accreditation is not only the acknowledgement of the achievements of SGH, but also expresses the trust in our further development of the quality of teaching and scientific activities. CEEMAN IQA is of great importance to the strategy of SGH Warsaw School of Economics. It is formal proof of our quality as a teaching and research institution. Thanks to the accreditation we hope to attract new partners, high quality students and faculty. CEEMAN IQA has the power to make SGH more attractive to them and to strengthen our brand in the international environment”.
Professor Jacek Prokop, PhD
Vice Rector for International Relations and Head of Department of Business Economics at SGH Warsaw School of Economics