UCD College of Business was once again recognised as Ireland’s leading business school and a centre of excellence for rigorous, relevant, business education and research.
For a remarkable fifth time, the College was awarded AACSB re-accreditation, celebrating 20 years as the first Irish business school to attain ‘triple-crown’ accreditation from AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS. The College also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Ireland’s first Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Department. To commemorate the contributions of the Founding Professor of Industrial Relations, Brian J. Hillery, new student awards were created to continue his legacy of excellence.
Professor Susi Geiger was appointed as an independent expert with the newest WHO Technical Advisory Group on Pricing Policies for Medicines. Professor John Geary led a first-of-its-kind study that examined the extent to which the pandemic reshaped work in Ireland and the consequences for workers’ job quality and wellbeing. Professor Cal Muckley, using a machine learning algorithm, found individuals clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and related dementias can be identified four years in advance, with money management difficulties among lead indicators. This research will help financial services companies to better protect vulnerable individuals. Professor Donna Marshall, an executive member of the UCD Earth Institute and leading sustainable supply chain scholar, was named in the Vogue Business 100 Innovators List, which recognises people at the forefront of fashion industry reform. UCD Quinn School students won the first UCD On-Campus Hult Prize Competition, which challenges young people to solve the world’s most pressing issues. Their company, Bean Around, makes exfoliating soaps from repurposed coffee grinds and will compete for $1m to make their idea a reality. In addition, UCD Smurfit School’s student team took first prize for the third year in a row at the competitive CFA Ireland Research Challenge.
Professor Federica Pazzaglia assumed the role of Director of UCD Smurfit School, bringing with her expertise in behavioural approaches to strategy, cognition and entrepreneurship. Tim Wray was appointed Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development, ushering in a new global top 50 and EU top 25 placement in the Financial Times Executive Education Rankings in both the Open Enrolment and Custom Executive Education categories. The UCD Smurfit School CEMS Masters in International Management placed 17th, Executive MBA 64th, and the full-time MBA programme 91st, in the Financial Times global rankings. The school is ranked 24th in the FT European Business School rankings, making it first in Ireland.
