FT Executive Education Rankings 2023: Europe at the top

European business schools dominate the FT’s top 2023 college rankings open enrollment ranking and unique executive education programs – with a few notable exceptions.

European-based business schools offer 11 of the top 12 open programs – led by Iese in Barcelona – and nine of the top 12 individual courses designed uniquely for client organisations. However, US-based Duke Corporate Education definitely bucks the trend and takes the top spot in the individual rankings.

Duke CE is followed by France in the individual standings Insead, HEC Paris, Ise and ESMT In Germany. University of Michigan: Ross is ranked sixth in the United States and Fundação Dom Cabral Brazil is ranked 11th.

Among the top 12 schools in the open enrollment rankings Fundação Dom Cabral the only non-European provider, joint seventh, while other highly ranked institutions include Oxford: Said, London Business School and IMD In Switzerland.

European providers led by HEC Paris, Iese and France’s Insead also lead the overall table, based on strong performances in the main twin rankings of courses open to all and individual programmes. Duke CE does not offer open enrollment courses, so it is not listed here.

Management training usually involves shorter, non-degree programs. The FT’s rankings of open enrollment and individual courses are not comprehensive: each includes the top 75 of the 105 schools that took part in the process. Some schools did not receive enough ratings from participants and clients to be included, while others, including some in the United States, declined to participate.

The data shows that providers of executive education in business schools remain diverse and strong, despite pressure from employers on training and development budgets and competition from alternative providers, including edtech companies, consultants and coaches.

“There is a growing interest in staffing schools that often have strong regional links with businesses,” says Andrew Crisp, co-founder of education consultancy CarringtonCrisp. “In the broader market, economic uncertainty is also a factor, along with layoffs in the technology sector, and training is often an early loss in corporate spending cuts.”

Courses are often taught across multiple campuses to expose students to different cultures and reflect their geographic spread. For example, Spanish school Iese teaches programs in the United States, Germany and Brazil, HEC programs in Qatar, and Insead in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to their activities in France.

Geopolitical tensions around China and Russia have limited some international programs. However, Xiang Bing, a Beijing-based dean Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, says domestic demand remains strong and is also developing courses focused on “unicorn” businesses in Singapore, South Korea, Dubai, Japan, Italy and the US. “The most important driver is our globalization,” he says.

Many leadership training courses were hit hard by the pandemic as employers focused on keeping their businesses afloat, but they have partially recovered as companies offer training to retain and motivate senior staff, explore new strategies, build teams and develop skills in areas such as digital transformation. Leadership, along with artificial intelligence, managing telecommuters, sustainability, and diversity are among the topics that leaders often look for.

However, business schools are being disrupted both by the expansion of alternative forms of online care following the Covid-19 epidemic, and by the emergence of new technologies, including regenerative artificial intelligence.

According to Josh Bersin, a corporate learning consultant, some business school leadership programs that were thought to offer “off-the-shelf” training are “losing their luster,” but corporate clients “have been willing to spend significant money on specialized, customized leadership programs.”

Online and hybrid courses reduce the opportunity for face-to-face contact, but they have also reduced training costs and travel barriers for participants and presenters from around the world.

Several business schools, some of which were not included in the FT rankings, continue to expand and adapt, including Chicago Booth, which is moving its Asian pillar back to Hong Kong after briefly moving to Singapore during the pandemic.

Corporate clients are “willing to spend significant sums on special, personalized executive programs”

Ranked schools must be approved by the US accrediting agency AACSB or the European accrediting agency EFMD and, depending on the ranking, have reported revenue of at least $1 million in 2022 from their individual or open executive education programs. They are judged on a number of criteria, including participant evaluations of a range of factors, including course design, follow-up, and school survey data on faculty and student diversity.

Of the open courses, Iese finished first in terms of overall satisfaction; Runner-up HEC Paris was ranked first for course design, teaching methods, faculty and follow-up. Five schools, including Iese, reported a 50:50 gender balance. Kozminski University Poland had the highest percentage of female students, 67 percent; the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was the lowest, 20 percent.

Among individual courses, Duke CE was ranked first by clients for program design, teaching methods and materials, and Michigan: Ross was ranked first for faculty quality. Insead gained new skills and learning and ESMT Berlin achieved the best results in terms of objectives achieved and value for money.

For open programs, schools submit one or two general management courses of at least three days and one or two advanced management courses of at least five days. For individual courses, each school must have a minimum of 15 clients, of which at least five must complete an assessment.