BBS achieves three strategic goals despite pandemic:
start of construction of new campus, Equis international accreditation,
further growth in enrollment and activities
Bologna, May 2nd, 2022 – The growth of Bologna Business School, the post-graduate and post-experience management training school created by the University of Bologna together with leading companies in the area, continues.
This is shown by the figures of the 2021 budget, approved on Friday, April 29th by the Shareholders’ Meeting of the business school and holding foundation led by Dean Max Bergami. The results of BBS activities in 2021 see an increase in the value of production, which touches 15.5 million euros (+31.2% compared to 2020) and Ebitda equal to 1.3 million euros (+29.1% compared to 2020), supported by a significant increase in the number of students enrolled in Executive courses.
In particular, if on the one hand the offer of short courses and Master’s courses – executive and part-time, university and full-time – was consolidated, a significant development concerned the segment of “Customised Programs”, programs tailored to the needs and thanks to the investments of companies, testifying to the ability of BBS to interpret the training demand of companies.
Results which, in the context of the complex economic and social situation, confirm the effectiveness of BBS’s managerial training programs, chosen by young graduates, managers, and companies to invest in skills and face new challenges: from the management of the ecological transition to the integration of artificial intelligence in business processes, from the management of complex international markets to the new dynamics of the labor market.
In 2021 the data on the Placement of the School were also very significant, with 95% of the students of the class of 2021 finding a job at the end of their studies, thanks in part to the collaboration of BBS with a vibrant network of national and international companies. There was also an increase in international orientation: in 2021 42% of foreign students took part in the courses provided by the School in English, while 27 Visiting Professors from all over the world took part (+69% compared to 2020).
In 2021, BBS also received EQUIS accreditation, placing it among the top 1% of global business schools that meet the most rigorous quality standards. Also in 2021, BBS, which currently conducts part of its activities on a temporary campus at BolognaFiere, began construction of the new campus, which is expected to be completed within a year, just across the street from the iconic Villa Guastavillani headquarters.
The Shareholders’ Meeting of April 29th approved an amendment to the Statute aimed at ensuring gender parity in the bodies of the Board of Directors, the Board of Auditors, and the Student Council; it also confirmed Piero Gnudi as Chairman, former Chairman of Profingest Management School and a director of BBS since its establishment.
“These results, in a difficult and uncertain year, are the outcome of the work of a great team that includes the staff, faculty, master’s directors, executives, alumni, and managers of the companies we work with,” said Massimo Bergami, Dean of BBS. “This is a clear indication of the path on which to continue, together with the University, all the partners, and the institutions with which we have very fruitful relationships. Our mission is to contribute to the professional growth of the participants and to the economic-social development of society, thinking for example of the ecological transition and the integration of artificial intelligence. Therefore, we will turn to ever broader horizons in order to attract talent to this area and help companies in international development. For a region like Emilia-Romagna, a leader in exports, the ability to compete in the world is an essential requirement. Our strength is the community that develops around BBS, composed of many people from different backgrounds, with whom we can build our future”.