May 18th to 21st, 2025, the 2025 AMBA & BGA Global Conference was held in Berlin, Germany. Wu Haitao, Dean of the School of Business Administration (SBA) at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL), Associate Professor Wang Junjie from the Department of Business Administration, and Mr. Zhu Hanbin from the Research Office attended the conference on behalf of the SBA. The event brought together over 400 deans, associate deans, and MBA program directors from more than 100 business schools around the globe to explore the theme of artificial intelligence in business education. A total of 45 Chinese universities, including Zhejiang University and Tianjin University, were represented.
Main Hall of the 2025 AMBA & BGA Global Conference
On 19th May2025, Andrew Main Wilson, CEO of AMBA & BGA, delivered the opening address and shared the latest statistics and trends in global MBA education. He noted that only 297 business schools worldwide have earned AMBA accreditation, while 63 have been accredited by BGA. In breakout sessions, participants engaged in discussions on maintaining innovation and integrity in the AI era, enriching experiential learning through generative AI, cultivating leadership amid technological revolution, and managing disruptive changes in business schools.
SBA Representatives with Andrew Main Wilson, CEO of AMBA & BGA
On 20th May, a featured session for Chinese business schools was co-hosted by Professor Wang Zhongming, Senior Professor of Humanities and Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Center at Zhejiang University, Professor Wendy Loretto, former Dean of the University of Edinburgh Business School, and George Iliev, Director of Accreditation at AMBA & BGA. Professor Wang Zhongming highlighted ZUEL’s SBA as the first institution in Mainland China to publish an ESG Report on MBA Education, attracting considerable attention and discussion among attendees.
SBA Representatives with Professor Wang Zhongming and Mr. George Iliev
Associate Professor Wang Junjie delivered a speech on the SBA’s experience in winning the 2025 AMBA & BGA Excellence Award (Gold) for Best CSR and Sustainable Development Initiative. He introduced various social responsibilityfocused programs launched by the SBA, including charitable initiatives for underprivileged students and children with autism, leadership and employability enhancement programs for women learners, and the “Youth Business Observation of China” project supporting field research aligned with national and societal needs.
Associate Professor Wang Junjie Presents SBA’s CSR Activities at the China Business School Session
The SBA delegation also attended sessions on annual AMBA & BGA strategic reports, the Silk Road Alliance’s report on green business transformation and leadership development, and the certification ceremony for newly accredited schools. They engaged in discussions with international accreditation experts and peer institutions on the integration of AI in education, global accreditation practices, and international cooperation in business education.
Group Photo of Chinese Delegates at the 2025 AMBA & BGA Global Conference
Background
The Association of MBAs (AMBA), founded in the United Kingdom in 1967, is a globally recognized organization that offers international accreditation specifically for MBA programs. The Business Graduates Association (BGA), launched in 2019 as an extension of AMBA, provides holistic accreditation for business schools. It evaluates institutions based on the Continuous Impact Model (CIM), aiming to promote sustainable improvement across all aspects of business education.
The SBA at ZUEL received its first AMBA accreditation in 2011, becoming the seventh institution in Mainland China and the first among finance and economics universities in the country to earn this distinction. The SBA subsequently passed its first and second AMBA re-accreditations in 2014 and 2019, respectively.In 2021, the SBA became the first AMBA-accredited business school in China to be independently accredited by BGA. In 2024, the school successfully completed its fourth AMBA accreditation and second BGA accreditation, receiving the highest five-year accreditation term granted by the AMBA & BGA joint framework.
As the first business school in Central China to be dually accredited by AMBA and BGA, the SBA maintains a leading position in global business education. Leveraging international accreditation as a strategic tool for development, the SBA continues to enhance its internationalization efforts and remains committed to cultivating globally minded and innovation-driven management talent.