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QED Advisor nominated for LIFT Award

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QED advisor,  Joanne Powell, has been nominated for a LIFT (https://liftireland.ie/) award in the leadership category of Competence. Her nomination included reference to her “love for learning and self improvement and implementing change for the betterment of the organisation” and also noted that she “is highly respected and hugely trusted because of her competency.

LIFT Ireland is a social enterprise aimed at increasing the level of positive leadership in Ireland.  All nominations are being reviewed in the coming weeks, with the shortlist being announced in early January, before the live awards ceremony (date tbc).  To learn more about the LIFT values and LIFT process, visit https://liftireland.ie/about/

Email QED to learn more

QED forms partnership for The Accredinator software application

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QED is delighted to announce a new partnership with H2 Software and The Accredinator

The Accredinator is a software application that helps business schools with accreditation requirements for AACSB, AMBA and EFMD.  The software was developed by H2 Software. The application enables Business Schools to manage one underlying database with an easy-to-use interface that produces the required accreditation tables for faculty and publications. You can learn more about The Accredinator (including booking a free demo) here.

The team at QED is delighted to work with Professor Hans van der Heijden (University of Sussex, UK and H2 Software) on this valuable addition to our portfolio of accreditation services.

Learn more here

AACSB: Approval Process for 2020 Business Accredition Standards

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What you need to know …

AACSB’s Business Accreditation Task Force has released the proposed final draft of the revised 2020 Business Accreditation Standards.  What do you need to know?  Here is a summary of the top five questions…

 

1. If there are no physical meetings, how will the standards be approved?
AACSB is using a process call ‘Written Consent’ – which is applicable under local law.  The key steps are as follows:

  • The proposed standards have to be approved by a majority of the AACSB Accreditation Council.  The Accreditation Council comprises educational organisations holding AACSB accreditation.
  • The Official Representative of each of these organisations will receive a unique link (electronically) asking him/her for ‘written consent’ to approve the proposed standards;
  • These links were due to be issued yesterday – April 27th.  **If you are the Official Representative for an organisation that’s a member of the Accreditation Council, we suggest that you check you have received this link** (and check your spam folder!!)
  • Voting is open for 90 days – until July 27th.
  • AACSB expects to post results on July 28th.

More information on the process is available here.

2. Are the proposed standards available to review?
Yes, they are.  AACSB has released several documents:

AACSB has also published its virtual update on these standards (see video link).  This session is about an hour long, but provides a really good summary of the new standards directly from the Business Accreditation Task Force (BATF)

3. If the standards are approved, can we adopt them immediately?
Not quite…  As might be expected, there is a transition period, which is measured by when your Institution’s Accreditation Visit is due.

  • Visits due in 2020/21:  Optional Controlled pilot for pre-selected schools ONLY.  AACSB has advised that this will be a relatively small group of Schools (circa 15-20 schools) that are in the CIR process (i.e. not open to schools having an initial accreditation visit in 2020/21).
  • Visits due in 2021/22 and 2022/23:  It is optional to transition to the new standards.
  • Visits due from 2023/24:  It is mandatory to transition to the new standards.

Assuming the Proposed Standards are approved, AACSB will contact all schools (accredited or in-process) after the end of July to discuss the practicalities of transition to the new standards.  This will include information about becoming part of the pilot group. (Stephanie Bryant, at ICAM, also suggested that those schools that are interested in being part of the pilot in 2020/21 – and who are part of the CIR process –  should let her or their AACSB Staff Liaison know).

4. Will there be an Interpretative Guidance Document, as there was for the Exposure Drafts?
Yes – AACSB has said that this will be issued once the standards are approved (i.e. anticipated to the the end of July 2020).

5. What areas are most likely to be impacted, based on the 2013 Standards?
The new standards are much more streamlined (now 9 Standards, rather than 15).  The overall essentials still apply: The standards are mission-driven.  There’s still a focus on Engagement, Innovation and Impact.  Areas that are likely to be of particular interest to schools include:

  • Requirement for a formal risk analysis (Standard 1)
  • Changes to some of the guidance around reporting in faculty tables (now to be ordered by ‘discipline’ as the default);
  • Some changes to guidance and requirements around faculty qualifications (more principles based – giving Schools more flexibility);
  • Additional guidance relating to the potential scope of collaborative provision programmes is provided.
  • A new standard (Standard 9) on Engagement and Societal Impact

QED will be looking at the implications of the various changes for Schools in due course (but contact us if you have any questions)

For advice or comments on any of the above, please contact the QED Accreditation Team at info@QEDaccreditation.com.  

QED sponsors ESCP

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QED sponsors ESCP Student Award

QED was delighted to sponsor ESCP London’s Social Impact Project of the Year 2020 at the recent Annual Student Gala.  This prize is awarded to those students who, as early-stage social entrepreneurs, have participated in ESCP supported projects that have helped to address or to tackle important societal challenges locally, nationally and/or internationally.

 

escp-gala-award-2020-2-resized

 

For enquiries or comments on any of the above, please contact the QED Accreditation Team at info@QEDaccreditation.com.  

‘Leadership Game’ taster session in Krakow

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QED hosted a ‘taster session’ of the Leadership Game at AACSB’s EMEA Conference in Krakow in October 2019.  Ten representatives from schools in Switzerland, Spain, France, UK and Belgium joined QED for an evening session of the Game which is proving popular in Schools.  The Leadership Game is designed to help organisations improve their leadership intelligence and increase effectiveness.  It is also a great team-bonding exercise.

Comments included:

a wonderful opportunity to connect‘ (Alexandra Frith, Hertfordshire Business School)

Great learning from the Leadership Game‘ (Sarah Vaughan, ICN Business School)

Wonderful insight in how to nurture and develop transparent and honest working relationships in a team‘ (Robert Buttery, FHNW)

QED wins National Leadership Award

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LIFTED 2019 Kitemark

QED was recognised with an award for its commitment to leadership at an annual leadership event held at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on Wednesday 22nd May 2019. The award, from LIFT Ireland, a not-for-profit initiative aimed at increasing the level of positive leadership in Ireland, was accepted on behalf of QED by Joanne Powell. Over the last 12 months, QED has introduced LIFT Ireland’s positive leadership training and made a commitment to fostering leadership values across its employees and the wider community.

LIFT Ireland, which stands for ‘Leading Ireland’s Future Together’, was founded in 2017 by siblings Joanne and David Hession along with Sonya Lennon, founder of Dress For Success Dublin. The collective movement aims at teaching people of Ireland, from ages 14 and up, positive leadership skills. LIFT does this through its eight-part, group learning programme. Since its launch in May 2018, almost 1,000 people have become involved, from across Ireland. LIFT adopters have included community groups, businesses, schools, and sports clubs including, most notably, Munster Rugby.

On Wednesday afternoon, LIFT Ireland recognised over twenty organisations from all sectors for their commitment to leadership and LIFT throughout the past year.

Joanne Hession, Co-Founder of LIFT Ireland spoke of the reasoning behind the event.

“LIFT Ireland was created to increase the level of positive leadership capabilities in Ireland. Our goal is that by 2028 over 10% of the country’s population will be “Living LIFT”. That is to say that around half a million Irish people will have experienced our learning groups and adopted the teachings in their everyday lives. Last May, to celebrate the launch of LIFT Ireland, we held ‘LIFT OFF’. To keep the momentum going, we wanted to hold annual LIFTING events from LIFTING 2019 through to LIFTING 2028 and beyond. That is the reason we are here today. It’s been very inspiring to hear from so many great leaders and those positively affected by LIFT. ”