The UPF Barcelona School of Management recognized for the fourth consecutive year as a “Transforming School" in the Positive Impact Rating

For the fourth year in a row, the UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) has been named as a “Transforming School", by the Positive Impact Rating (PIR), an international classification awarded in recognition of responsible business education, social impact and sustainability of the world's leading business schools based on the opinion of the students themselves. This is the latest achievement in a long list of recent milestones, including the School’s recent accreditation by the BGA, making it the first business school in Spain to gain this distinction, as well as being reaccredited by the AMBA and featuring in the Financial Times Executive Education Custom ranking for the second consecutive year.

The official announcement of the results was made during the PRME Global Forum, within the framework of the conference "Business Education for a Better World", which awarded the title of Transforming Schools (the category that includes the UPF-BSM) to higher education institutions around the world that display “a culture of positive impact, integrated within its governance and systems, with visible results in several dimensions”. 

With respect to the UPF-BSM, in the 2024 edition, the classification published by the Positive Impact Rating highlights, among other factors, the School’s  integration of sustainability within its courses and activities, the increasing number of practical learning opportunities and real-world applications, improved networking through events, and the strengthening of partnerships with NGOs and local organizations. 

With respect to the rating, José M. Martínez-Sierra, the Director General of the UPF-BSM, explained that “achieving this accolade once again this years is a great source of pride for us but, most importantly, it shows our commitment to our purpose as a management school, which drives us all to generate a positive social impact, but particularly our students, as the driving force behind all our academic and professional activity”. 

The Vice-Dean of Social Impact and Academic Innovation at the UPF-BSM, Ana Freire, added that “this new achievement is perfectly aligned with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra’s (UPF) Planetary Wellbeing initiative, which strives to promote knowledge and understanding of the interrelated and systemic complex problems that affect wellbeing of humankind, wildlife and the planet, and to identify integrated, innovative and interdisciplinary solutions, another key pillar of the UPF-BSM”. 

The Positive Impact Rating, a lever of change

The Positive Impact Rating (PIR) has experienced a significant rise in student participation this edition, with a 15% increase in the number of responses, from 12,836 to 15,000. For the fifth consecutive year, students from all over the world have evaluated their perception of the positive impact of their schools, beyond their economic and business contribution. This rating aims to be a lever of  change, promoting the transformation of the higher education market and of business schools themselves, by giving a voice to the people at the heart of our activity: the students.

The PIR’s evaluation del PIR is based on seven key dimensions of impact: governance, culture, programs, learning methods, student support, the institution as a role model, and public commitment.

With respect to the results of the latest edition, Urs Jäger, a member of the PIR Advisory Board, highlighted that "One of the most promising insights from the PIR is that schools from the developing economies are performing significantly better than the schools from developed economies. This result might strengthen the discussion on business schools in the global South and their contribution to sustainable development”.

UPF-BSM, a business school with an international projection

The UPF Barcelona School of Management has two of the most prestigious accreditations in the higher education sector: EQUIS and AMBA, which has been renewed in 2024, as well as accreditation by the BGA, which the School has obtained for the first time year.

Moreover, featuring in rankings such as The Financial Times, QS and Positive Impact Rating, among others, reinforces the UPF-BSM’s status as one of the elite business schools at a global level.