• Leuphana
• Institutions
• Research Schools, Institutes and Research Centers
• Leuphana School of Management and Technology
• News
• AACSB: Leuphana School of Management and Technology receives international accreditation

AACSB: Leuphana School of Management and Technology receives international accreditation

2025-02-14 Lueneburg. After strategically realigning the School of Management and Technology (LSMT in short) and significantly developing its management, the members of the Leuphana School are now reaping the rewards: as of today, the School and its study programmes proudly bear the AACSB accreditation seal of quality.

The AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) is a network that has existed for over 100 years to test and certify the quality of education at business schools. This certification is one of the most prestigious awards for institutions of business education worldwide. With the AACSB seal, Leuphana School of Management and Technology (LSMT) is a pioneer. Only 16 other universities or schools in Germany obtain this seal of quality so far. In northern Germany, LSMT is the first public organisation to receive this distinction.

The members of LSMT are justifiably proud of this success, as only six per cent of all business schools worldwide are AACSB-certified institutions and meet international standards in teaching, research and administration.

‘TThis is a great achievement by all our colleagues in science and administration. The accreditation makes us even more attractive for prospective international students, partner universities and companies because it is easier to see what our strengths are and how systematically we conduct research and teaching’, says Leuphana President Sascha Spoun.

Paul Drews, Dean of the School, adds: ‘The accreditation provides us with independent external confirmation of the high quality of teaching and management at LSMT. It opens further doors for us for international cooperation.’

Ambitious development

The Leuphana School offers a unique combination of management and technology and thus an interesting portfolio of study programmes and research specialisations internationally. It fully exploits the combined potential of Business Administration, Business Information Systems, Engineering and Psychology in the workplace. 

Elena Refec, the accreditation manager, describes the complex process: ‘The school has emerged stronger from the AACSB accreditation. We have further developed all processes, such as course planning, curriculum development and human resource management.’

Quality assurance for students

The quality management in teaching developed as part of the national accreditation was also updated with the so-called ‘Assurance of Learning’. Lotte Lutz, who is responsible for this, says: ‘At the LSMT, we strictly monitor the extent to which students actually complete their studies with all the skills and abilities that the programme offers. If we do not achieve certain goals, we react immediately.’

After all, compliance with the AACSB standards also confirms to students that they are being thoroughly prepared for the challenges of the global job market.

‘We now have proof that we consistently pursue our goals and continuously check whether we are on the right track or whether our goals are still right. This is an intensive but also promising process,’ summarises managing director Simon Burandt.

A connection for more responsibility

In terms of subject matter, the LSMT provides the framework for strong interdisciplinary research and teaching: ‘By working across disciplines on topics such as digital transformation, entrepreneurship, organisation Studies, responsible management, product development processes and psychology in the world of work, we are contributing to a better understanding of relevant social transformation processes,’ adds dean Drews.

Impact is also a focus of the accreditation and LSMT's strategy. ‘We measure the extent to which our projects in teaching, research and transfer influence industry or society,’ says Matthias Wenzel.

In addition to academic and economic impact, the Lueneburg school aims to contribute to social change and thus create ‘societal impact’. To this end, it supports, among other things, the founding of social and sustainable companies.

At the end of 2024, the school awarded ‘impact’ prizes to its researchers for the first time, including, for example, a workshop programme that led to the founding of companies in third countries and an international collaboration between researchers initiated by a professor of LSMT that advocated for the new European supply chain directive.