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‘Expanding knowledge through quality networks’

By Eno Bassey
06 August 2015   |   1:09 am
TWENTY-FOUR years ago, Lagos Business School (LBS) was a small institution in the Lagos metropolis offering management courses relevant to the Nigerian environment.
Lagos-Business-School

Lagos Business School

TWENTY-FOUR years ago, Lagos Business School (LBS) was a small institution in the Lagos metropolis offering management courses relevant to the Nigerian environment.

Today, it is ranked by the Financial Times of London among globally renowned business schools in open enrolment and custom executive education. This record-breaking achievement has been possible, thanks to the School’s efforts to empower participants in its programmes to succeed with sound knowledge, the right ethical attitude and a solid network.

The Dean, Dr. Enase Okonedo, emphasised that a good business school should go beyond simply having an undergraduate and master’s programme in business administration, but also offer courses that can make participants remain competitive in the global space.

In maintaining its standards as a repository of knowledge, the School engaged the services of world-class local and international faculty to facilitate its MBA and Executive Education programmes.

In the course of both programmes, participants are equipped with the right ethical attitude in management and business, and internalise values that will stand them in good stead in the real world such as integrity, professionalism, spirit of service, mutual respect and community.

After the programme, they join an influential network of over 5000 alumni whose experience they can leverage on in their quest to achieve success.

The School’s full-time MBA programme is designed to prepare managers to succeed in the increasingly complex global business environment.

Its part-time variants, the Executive MBA (EMBA) and Modular MBA (MEMBA) are designed for busy professionals looking for quality management education that combines flexibility with a strong academic background. “While LBS is not the only business management education institution in Nigeria, we are proud of our programmes,” says MBA Director, Dr. Uchenna Uzo.

Adding, “We attract the best and the brightest faculty members who impart knowledge and conduct research to ensure the institution is at the cutting edge of management education and business practice.”

The Executive Education at LBS is no less comprehensive, drawing on the experiences of multinational faculty and participants to design a curriculum that offers management knowledge and skills through the case-study and group-work approaches to learning.

These courses, delivered in the School’s purpose-built learning facilities, attract thousands of participants from multinational and indigenous companies yearly, who attest to the expert teaching, relevance and overall benefits derived from active participation.

The Executive Education landscape in Nigeria is evolving by the day, with more organisations and individuals identifying the value it provides,” says Henry Onukwuba, Director, Executive Education.

There is a departure from the more traditional role where Executive Education provides general and functional knowledge, to one where it has become a driver of organisational change and builds the depth of leadership talent.”

In recent times, several of the School’s MBA students have proved their mettle by making a difference with the quality of business and management education they have received. Last year, Onyanta Adama (MBA 12) made the shortlist for the FT MBA Challenge with UK charity World Child Cancer.

She joined five other students from Lagos and abroad to draft a plan on how Ghana could treat childhood cancer in a self-sustainable manner. In the same year, a group of MBA students participated in the African Business Practicum organised by the Yale School of Management and came tops.

This set the stage for their participation in the International Leadership Case Competition (ILCC) 2015 held in the same institution recently, where they got accolades for being the only participants from Africa, as well as the rare skills in business case analysis they displayed.

Alumni of the School’s executive programmes have also driven positive change in their respective spheres with the practical aspects of their intensive training in class. Earlier this year, Paul Orajiaka (AMP 20) revamped a rundown school in Ikorodu, Lagos.

He assured that the project was the first in a long line of CSR initiatives that would cut across the six geopolitical zones of the country in months to come. This was preceded by his interview with the celebrated Forbes magazine for starting his doll manufacturing company, Auldon Limited, with a paltry $30, and making it a success story in the industry.

In other sectors of the economy, alumni of the school’s executive programmes are routinely picked to fill high-profile positions where they can drive positive change. Recently, Thomas Etuh (CEP 17) was appointed the Chairman, Board of Directors, Unity Bank.

His counterparts in Skye Bank – Abimbola Izu (SMP 28), Markie Idowu (EMBA 8) and Yakubu Sanni (AMP 22) – were also appointed Executive Directors, Corporate Services; Technology and Service Delivery Channels, and Abuja and Northern Region respectively. Meanwhile, LBS continues to forge partnerships and affiliations, which do not only boost its brand image but also establish opportunities for students to get a truly international management education.

The School is now a full member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), one of the leading international networks in management development and accreditation. It is also affiliated with the Global Network for Advanced Management, IESEG School of Management, IPADE Business School and the Association of African Business Schools (AABS), among a long list of others.

In years to come, LBS will leverage on this sense of innovation to continually improve its service offerings to participants in its programmes. Stakeholders assure that the School will not rest on its oars until it instills a system of sound knowledge, professional ethics and service to the community through the practice of management.

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