PENANG, 19 March 2014 - The Graduate School of Business (GSB), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has earned accreditation from ABEST21 (The Alliance on Business Education and Scholarship for Tomorrow, a 21st Century organization) for its Master of Business Administration programmes.

According to GSB’s Dean, Dr. Sofri Yahya, ABEST21 was established as a non-profit organisation on July 1, 2005, and recognised as a business accreditation agency for business schools by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) on October 12, 2007.

“This accreditation ensures the degree that current and prospective students receive from USM is recognised with the excellence in the practice of sustainable learning and interdisciplinary teaching,” Sofri said.

To achieve this accreditation, an institution's business programme is required to undergo a meticulous internal review and evaluation process since ABEST21 accreditation requires the school's proactive approach to improving and developing its educational and research activities through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, on the premise of its own independent self-evaluation and an objective analysis through peer review.

“On behalf of GSB, I would like to extend our appreciation for all the support that GSB gets from USM top management in realising our efforts,” added Sofri.

USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman also congratulated GSB and all those involved for its recent achievement.

“I am thankful and proud of this recognition, and I believe it is attained through sheer hard work, dedication, commitment and team effort by all parties involved especially the staff of GSB,” Omar said.

For further information, please visit: http://abest21.org/

Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Mohamad Abdullah