Lagos — Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University, which had academic learning centres in Zurich and Vienna, has been adjudged the best among its kind worldwide by Global Institutions.

The academic excellence and high internal standards exhibited at the institution has elicited high calibre rating from global institutions, the Financial Times also ranked the university first in Switzerland, fifth on a European scale and 15th globally.

Commenting on the ranking, Chairman of the university, Mr. Michael Schmelczer said, "we are proud of our position in what is probably the most widely known ranking of MBA programmes worldwide. Ever since the establishment of our institution, instead of fighting common prejudices, we have been working hard on refining the quality of our academic programmes."

He said the university was an internationally accredited private institution of higher education, specialised in distant learning master and doctorate programmes. It has great systematic focus on academic excellence, which endears it to students globally.

He perceived the ranking as a reward of the institution's strategic engagement of top prestigious international economists and social philosophers and expressed hope that its students would acquire the technical skills to be at the top of their careers on graduation.

"The intensive interaction between professors and their students has stimulated great analytical skills and encouraged critical thinking as well as an affinity for debating among our graduates. SMC University commits itself to transferring knowledge based on relevance and cutting-edge didactic technologies. The university's close relations with the business world ensure a strong practical orientation."

He said the university had been accredited by world education regulatory institutions, as well as the European Council of Business Education (ECBE), an affiliate of International Federation for Business Education (IFBE). "The body has the sole franchise to satisfy the accreditation needs for business education of universities and colleges in European countries. It supports excellence in superlative business education by actively encouraging experimentation and profound superior levels of teaching."

In the US he said, the university has been accredited by the coveted Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programmes (ACBSP) for academic excellence. "ACBSP is one of the three organisations authorised by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to award accreditation to business universities.