Dublin, Monday, 23rd May 2016: Smurfit Executive Development has been ranked 69th in the world and 34th in Europe, according to the prestigious 2016 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings¹, published today.

(Pictured above l-r: Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean UCD College of Business, Helen Brophy, Director Smurfit Executive Development).

Smurfit Executive Development is the first provider in Ireland to feature in the Financial Times Executive Education Open Enrolment Ranking and adds further to the achievements of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School which is consistently ranked in The Economist and Financial Times global MBA rankings. Securing the Financial Times Executive Education ranking cements the school’s position as Ireland’s leading centre of excellence in business education and leadership development. 

Last year nearly 600 executives took part in Open Enrolment programmes at Smurfit Executive Development across 10 specialist Diploma programmes, two Business Masters programmes as well as a wide range of short courses and masterclasses.

Commenting on the ranking, Helen Brophy, Director of Smurfit Executive Development at UCD Smurfit School said: “Inclusion in the Financial Times Executive Education Rankings is a significant endorsement for Smurfit Executive Development and is a welcome recognition for the excellence we pursue as we support senior executives in developing their skills and expertise. In 2012 we took a strategic decision to focus on developing our Executive Education portfolio and we are delighted now to achieve such a prestigious ranking in recognition of our success to date. Notwithstanding today’s achievement, we will continue to invest further in faculty, facilities and programme development to ensure that our offering remains cutting edge”.

Welcoming the Financial Times ranking, Niall FitzGerald, Chair of UCD Smurfit School Advisory Board said: “Ireland needs a world-class education provider for Irish business and the Irish economy to thrive in the long-term. I am therefore delighted to see Smurfit Executive Development being recognised amongst the best in the world alongside such prestigious schools as IMD, Harvard, Stanford, Insead and London Business School.”

Today’s acknowledgement by the authoritative FT Rankings is the latest in a series of highly respected independent validations of UCD Smurfit School’s status as Ireland’s top graduate business school and Executive Education provider.

In January, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School’s Full-time MBA programme was ranked 79th in the world and 24th in Europe, by the prestigious 2016 Financial Times Top 100 Global Full-time MBA Rankings. Rankings with strict objective criteria such as the Financial Times and The Economist are the only truly independent and internationally respected classifications by which the world’s top business schools are ranked.