[{"jcr:title":"Insper and AACSB discuss new standards for business education","cq:tags_0":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper","cq:tags_1":"area-de-conhecimento:gestão-e-negócios","cq:tags_2":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper/internacional","cq:tags_3":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper/institucional"},{"richText":"Event brought together academic leaders and guests to discuss the impact on teaching, research, and social engagement","authorDate":"01/06/2026 09h30","madeBy":"Por","tag":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper/institucional","title":"Insper and AACSB discuss new standards for business education","variant":"imagecolor"},{"jcr:title":"amarelo - verde - vermelho"},{"themeName":"amarelo - verde - vermelho"},{"containerType":"containerTwo"},{"jcr:title":"Grid Container Section","layout":"responsiveGrid"},{"text":"Insper and the [Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)](https://www.aacsb.edu/) hosted the event “Driving Excellence in Business Education: Insights from AACSB & Insper” on May 26. The event was dedicated to discussing the future of international accreditation standards and the role of applied research in higher education.   AACSB — a global business education accreditation organization — was represented by Tim Mescon, Vice President Americas Growth & Engagement, and Patty Edmondson, Member Engagement Manager. The meeting brought together managers and academic leaders to discuss how to demonstrate the impact of knowledge produced within academia.   The opening remarks were delivered by [Guilherme Martins](/en/docentes/guilherme-silveira-martins) , President of Insper, who outlined the institution’s trajectory since its founding in 1999 as a nonprofit business school through the expansion of its academic portfolio into areas such as Engineering, Computer Science, and Law. Today, Insper has 4,000 undergraduate students, 2,500 graduate students, and nearly 12,000 participants in Executive Education programs, in addition to maintaining more than 135 international partnerships.   Guilherme emphasized that generating applied knowledge is a central part of the school’s mission. The institution holds the so-called “Triple Crown” — the combination of AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS accreditations. Insper’s relationship with AACSB began in 2004, with its first accreditation in 2010 and its most recent reaccreditation in 2021. For the review visit scheduled for 2027, Insper chose to participate as a pilot institution for the organization’s new standards.   According to Guilherme, the decision to participate as a pilot institution is aligned with Insper’s mission and current stage of development. “The new AACSB standards are very much aligned with what we do at Insper, so it makes sense for us to take part in this process,” he said. For him, accreditation goes beyond a reputation seal. “More important than the seal itself is taking advantage of AACSB’s global network of best practices,” he added.   The AACSB presentation was led by Tim Mescon, Vice President Americas Growth & Engagement. Founded in 1916, AACSB became an international organization in 1997 and today has more than 2,000 members in over 100 countries. Approximately half of these institutions are accredited, representing about 6% of the world’s business schools.   Tim presented tools available to network members, such as AACSB Exchange, a digital platform that brings together more than 20,000 faculty members and administrative professionals to share best practices, and DataDirect, described as the world’s largest business school database. “Our members are able to gain strength through the global network,” he said, highlighting opportunities for connection, collaboration, professional development, and access to data to support decision-making.   The new standards under development by AACSB are structured around three impact dimensions. Standard 7 advances the measurement of the individual teaching impact of each faculty member. Standard 8 focuses on research excellence and its practical application. Standard 9 evaluates how a school contributes to its community and addresses social challenges. Accreditation was presented as a peer-review process guided by each institution’s mission and committed to a culture of continuous improvement.   Research with Purpose and Impact   The program included the panel “Research Impact Framework: Institutional Perspectives,” moderated by [Flavia Piazza](/en/docentes/flavia-ferreira-piazza) , International Development Coordinator at Insper. Participants included [Sérgio Lazzarini](/en/docentes/sergio-giovanetti-lazzarini) , Academic Vice President of Insper, and Alexandre Garcia, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor in the Master’s Programs in Accounting Sciences and Administration at [Fecap](https://www.fecap.br/) . The discussion was based on AACSB’s research impact framework, which proposes a “purpose test” for business schools: to what extent does research produced by universities generate contributions that go beyond the boundaries of academia?   Lazzarini explained that Insper’s mission is focused on generating applied knowledge. In his view, research published in high-impact journals can and should be connected to real-world problems. The institution maintains a strategic project to monitor the reach of its intellectual output, including formats such as books for a broader audience and technical reports.   Insper’s Academic Vice President also warned of a risk: academia should not become a “consulting firm” that merely replicates knowledge without generating it. “Academia can contribute more when greater impartiality, the creation of new methodologies, or the generation of debate is required. Organizations need to be prepared to receive unfavorable findings as a result of studies produced in partnership with academia,” he said.   Alexandre Garcia brought Fecap’s perspective to the discussion. Founded 124 years ago by business leaders and financial institutions with the purpose of solving practical business problems, stakeholder engagement is part of the school’s identity. In recent years, Fecap has created research centers to involve faculty and students in the co-creation of research with professional associations, companies, and civil society organizations.   Alexandre detailed the model adopted with investor relations professionals, who participate from research planning through the presentation of results. “From the planning stage, professionals define the issues that concern them most and that they would like empirical research to help improve. Researchers then work on the data, and the results are often not what they expected, but impartiality is extremely important and is what distinguishes academic work from other types of work,” he said.   The relationship between methodological rigor and practical relevance also emerged during the discussion. Alexandre stated that rigor is non-negotiable at Fecap, including due to Capes requirements, but that relevance arises from dialogue with the market and partner organizations. Lazzarini added that he does not see a necessary opposition between rigor and practical application: rigor serves precisely to ensure more robust analyses and conclusions.   Trust emerged as one of the main challenges to increasing research impact. For Alexandre, more than infrastructure or incentives, the cultural barrier between academia and the market is the most difficult obstacle to overcome. “Trust is perhaps the most delicate aspect because it involves organizational culture and executives. There is difficulty in the market opening its doors to academia for joint collaboration. This cultural change would be important and necessary to break the barrier that exists today,” he said.   Lazzarini mentioned the use of databases such as [Overton](https://www.insper.edu.br/pt/campus/biblioteca-telles/recursos-de-busca) , which maps citations in public policy documents, as a complementary resource for measuring the reach of academic output. At the same time, he acknowledged that impact measurement remains complex and subject to distortions. “We would need a complementary set of indicators that would allow for cross-validation in order to understand what is actually happening,” he argued.   The panel concluded with a question-and-answer session and closing remarks from Flavia Piazza and Tim Mescon, who thanked the participating institutions. In the end, the event reinforced that the discussion on impact, accreditation, and applied research involves not only new indicators but also a cultural shift within universities, companies, and organizations that collaborate in the production of knowledge."},{"title":"accreditations","buttonText":"Learn about our accreditations"},{"title":"global partnerships"},{"linkIcon":"icon-insper-return-arrow","linkText":"Learn more about us"}]