Mannheim Business School scooped the coveted Impact on Community and Society Award at the world-renowned Association of MBAs (AMBA) and Business Graduates Association (BGA) Excellence Awards & Gala Dinner 2020, for ‘Where is Amir? – A Mannheim MBA social sustainability project.’.
The School received the accolade at a glittering awards ceremony in London, attended by more than 200 top Business School leaders representing more than 50 Schools across the world, as well as category finalists, judges and members of the media.
Mannheim Business School (MBS) is the umbrella organisation for management education at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and is considered one of the leading Business Schools in Europe.
MBS was the first German institution to be accredited by AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS. The School is listed among the international top 60, Europe’s top 10 and is Germany’s number-one institution in the MBA rankings of The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Forbes.
MBS won this award for its social sustainability project ‘Where is Amir?’ The project’s objective was to create, publish and promote a children’s book focused on spreading awareness and promoting unity, diversity and integrity in young children, as they are still innocent and not influenced by thoughts such as racism. Its secondary objective was to encourage children to read more books. The book is aimed at children aged four to eight, in kindergarten and in the early years of primary school, and is based in the backdrop of the historic Mannheim city, where the University of Mannheim attracts thousands of international students every year from all around the world.
The team from Mannheim Business School said:
‘There is a societal issue with integration of people from “the outside”, so we decided to create a children’s story book with a modern tale about embracing diversity and social inclusion as well as celebrating friendship, gratitude and kindness. We gave out about 50 books to children in one kindergarten and now we want to expand it across other kindergarten and primary schools in Mannheim. We also have a goal to create similar stories based in different cities around the world.
‘The book has been very well received by everyone we presented it to, and we also won the Impact on Community and Society Excellence Award by the renowned AMBA and BGA. But this is only the beginning. We want to create something that’s long lasting and impactful. We want to get our message to as many children as we can and make every project as inclusive as possible.
‘The School has always been very supportive and motivating. They sponsored our initial project, believed in us and the vision towards social inclusion. The programme director helped us reach the kindergarten and some of our German colleagues helped us in the book-reading workshop with the children. We now have ideas on how we can scale the project forward and are in talks with the School’s management to partner on the next steps.
‘In this post-industrial age, where migration and free movement of people has accelerated at record levels, ‘a socially cohesive society’ is the need of the hour, and that is the founding principle of our project. Our interactions with diverse members of society have further reaffirmed our mission. We are on an ongoing mission to make social inclusion a part of everyone’s agenda and it’s something we want to live by.’
Andrew Main Wilson, Chief Executive of the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association (AMBA & BGA), said: ‘On behalf of the AMBA and Business Graduates Association (BGA) team, I would like to congratulate the Finalists and Winners of this year’s Excellence Awards.
‘The quality of Award entries was once again very high this year and we are proud to celebrate the achievements and innovation so clearly evident in AMBA & BGA’s network of Schools and their students.’
ENDS
For more information or interviews, please contact:
- David Woods-Hale, Director of Marketing and Communications, AMBA & BGA – d.woods@associationofmbas.com
- Ellen Buchan, Communications and Insight Assistant, AMBA & BGA – e.buchan@associationofmbas.com
Awards selection process
Finalists were shortlisted by AMBA & BGA’s senior management team. Our judges reviewed 30 shortlisted entries, selecting a Winner and, if appropriate, a ‘Highly Commended’ entry for each award. Our judging panel is made up of AMBA board members, business experts, deans, and management leaders.
All of our judges were selected based on their experience and qualifications.
More information about the categories and complete list of the Winners, Highly Commended entries and Finalists
Business School Careers Strategy Award
This award recognises institutions that share AMBA & BGA’s passion for proactive and innovative approaches to graduate recruitment, talent management and succession planning. It is open to any AMBA-accredited and/or BGA member Business School working strategically and collaboratively in terms of recruitment and talent development in the business education arena.
Winner
- Hult International Business School (US)
Highly Commended
- ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University (Spain)
Finalists
- Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria)
- Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University (UK)
Business School Impact on Community and Society Award
The Business School Impact on Community and Society Award honours AMBA-accredited and BGA member Business Schools that share AMBA & BGA’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and that are passionate about making a difference.
The award recognises Business Schools that are taking the initiative in creating a sustainable future and teaching students about social values.
Winner
- Mannheim Business School, University of Mannheim (Germany) for ‘Where’s Amir? An example of a social sustainability project as part of the Mannheim MBA’
Highly Commended
- Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon (India) for ‘Karma yoga: selfless action for community benefit’
Finalists
- Indian Institute of Management Indore (India) for ‘Traffic management project for Indore City, India’
- Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia (Malaysia) for ‘Community development and engagement – (re)connecting with community and empowering the gifted: autism’
- Paris School of Business (France) for ‘Acting Beyond Knowledge: a CSR initiative’
- Porto Business School, University of Porto (Portugal) for ‘Reducing the School’s environmental footprint’
Business School Innovation Award
This award is a celebration of innovation and radical thinking in business education delivery across all areas of a Business School and has been developed to recognise and reward game-changing new practices, risks and creativity with relevance to programmes available at AMBA-accredited and/or BGA member Business Schools. It promotes the value of taking risks in pursuit of the new in different categories such as teaching, learning, recruitment and alumni relations.
Winner
- Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London (UK) for ‘World’s first live holographic university lecture’
Highly Commended
- NEOMA Business School (France) for ‘ExE (experiential education)’
Finalists
- Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK) for ‘Emergency and disaster management training’
- Graduate School of Management, MIP Politecnico di Milano (Italy) for ‘FLEXA: a new digital mentor for personalised lifelong learning’
- Paris School of Business (France) for ‘Virtual reality in marketing courses’
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) for ‘Science Park partnership’
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award
This award highlights the success of Business Schools in fostering entrepreneurship among their MBA and executive MBA cohorts, and is a chance for individuals to impress a panel of high-profile judges who are already at the forefront of global entrepreneurship.
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (private sector)
Winner
- Sharon Cunningham, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for Shorla Pharma
Highly Commended
- Kris Lindahl and Hal Salvesen, Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University (UK) for Digital Future Capital
Finalists
- Goke Lawrence Egunjobi, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria) for
i-impact Products & Services - Hany Soliman, The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business (Egypt) for Engineering Group for Innovation
- Shrenik Paras Parmar, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham (UK) for Proodle Solutions
MBA Entrepreneurial Venture (Third Sector)
Winner
- César Coasaca, CENTRUM PUCP Business School (Peru) for Inventum
Finalists
- Comfort Onyanta Alli, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria) for Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative
- Xia Yixin, School of Business, Jiangnan University (China) for Wu Xi Beizhe Wenhua Chuanbo
MBA Student of the Year Award
The MBA Student of the Year Award plays a pivotal role each year in supporting our pledge to promote the MBA’s position as the leading international business qualification.
Winner
- Udochuku Richson, IE Business School (Spain)
Highly Commended
- Vincent Weber, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) (Spain)
Finalists
- Carla Mariana Chávez Castellanos, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) (Venezuela)
- Mecia Petersen, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham (UK)
- Monika Lemajic, Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
- Shivani Ghai, UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town (South Africa)
About AMBA & BGA
AMBA
Spearheading excellence and trailblazing innovation, for more than 50 years the Association of MBAs (AMBA) has been the impartial authority on post-graduate management education. AMBA established that vision in 1967 and, in a volatile, uncertain world, it’s as relevant today as it was then. We are committed to raising the profile and quality standards of business education internationally, for the benefit of Business Schools, students and alumni, employers, communities and society.
- AMBA’s accreditation service is the global standard for all MBA, DBA and master’s degrees, currently accrediting programmes from the top 2% of Business Schools in more than 75 countries.
- AMBA’s Research and Insight Centre produces a rich body of reports exploring global trends in the business education sector. This drives our global thought leadership and public affairs campaigns.
- We are the only professional membership association that connects MBA students and graduates, accredited Business Schools and MBA employers throughout the world.
- Through its members, AMBA is building an international force for good, championing best practice, responsible management and sustainability. Membership to AMBA means being part of an international community of peers with access to business strategy thought leadership, career advice and knowledge, and an MBA jobs portal.
- AMBA’s multi-award-winning events offer networking opportunities online and in person across all continents in association with international corporate partners and thought leaders exclusively for our members and accredited Business Schools.
BGA
The Business Graduates Association (BGA) is an international membership and accreditation body of world-leading and high-potential Business Schools that share a commitment for responsible management practices and lifelong learning, and that are looking to provide a positive impact on their students, communities and the economy as a whole. It offers:
- Quality assurance services to Business Schools and similar institutions, aimed at continuous improvement and positive impact to increase a Business School’s credibility and influence.
- Consultation and mentorship services to Business Schools to improve their marketing and admissions, programme design, alumni interaction, teaching methods, and career development services.
- Award-winning international events for Business School professionals, focused on continuous learning.
- Student and graduate membership, which includes social networking events worldwide, professional development tools, a Career Development Centre, and much more.
- Leading and award-winning content on responsible management, professional and personal growth, and influence, via the Business Impact content hub.
