AACSB 2018 Annual Accreditation Conference: Asia Pacific Hosted in Hong Kong

On 23-25 May, over 220 deans, associate deans, faculty and senior administrators from schools across the region gathered in Hong Kong for the AACSB 2018 Annual Accreditation Conference: Asia Pacific. The event served as a unique opportunity for participants to learn — and truly understand — the AACSB Accreditation Standards, while gaining insight into the latest trends in Asia Pacific and global accreditation.

As Conference Chair, Prof. Kalok Chan, Dean of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School and Wei Lun Professor of Finance, opened the conference on 24 May with a plenary session on the topic of business education and future jobs. Joining him on stage was Mr. Steve Kwok, CUHK EMBA alumnus and Executive Vice President & Director at CITIC Pacific Ltd. and Mr. Rizwan Masood, Managing Director and Head of Human Resources at Standard Chartered Bank. The senior executives discussed the link between business education and business practice, and how education should evolve to keep up with a changing environment. Presenters also discussed the skills companies will be looking for in the future and how the schools can work with companies together to provide them.

The conference served as a good platform to discover the challenges schools in Asia Pacific face regarding accreditation and formulate solutions that will help the accreditation community worldwide. Attendees spent three days networking with peers, connecting with experienced accreditation volunteers, meeting with accreditation staff, and exchanging ideas and best practices with professionals from around the world.