Aston Business School Shortlisted for AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2025
Aston Business School has been shortlisted for the Best Business School Partnership award at the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2025.
This recognition comes following the Business School’s transformative partnership with the City of Birmingham Rockets Basketball Club (COB Rockets), which stood out among a record number of global entries.
Aston Business School is part of an elite group of global business schools who hold the gold standard of ‘triple-crown’ accreditation from AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), AMBA (Association of MBAs) and EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System).
The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards bring together the leading lights of the global business education community to celebrate excellence among Business Schools, students, graduates, suppliers, and employers that share AMBA & BGA’s values of ambition, impact and integrity.
The Best Business School Partnership award recognises business schools that share AMBA & BGA’s passion for building networks and have adopted a proactive, innovative approach to strategic collaboration.
The partnership between Aston Business School and COB Rockets has allowed Aston MBA and MSc students to engage with real-world business challenges, delivering projects that support the growth and sustainability of COB Rockets, while reinforcing experiential learning and social responsibility for the students.
Professor Marian Garcia, dean of Aston Business School, said:
“We are honoured to be shortlisted for this prestigious award.
“Our partnership with COB Rockets exemplifies our mission to engage with local communities and businesses in meaningful ways.
“The collaboration, which is embedded in Aston Business School’s strategy to make a transformational impact on students, businesses and communities, aligns with COB Rockets’ goal of nurturing both sporting talent and personal development among disadvantaged youth.
“This recognition highlights the powerful impact that partnerships can have on both education and the broader community.”
Kirit Vaidya, the Fulltime MBA programme director, said:
“Being shortlisted for this prestigious award is recognition of our experiential learning approach and its benefits for our students, the business school, the university and of course our partners.
“Business challenges are a part of the fulltime MBA curriculum and not an add-on. They are instrumental in initiating and strengthening our partnerships with businesses which then extend to MBA and other students working on projects with partners and partners engaging more widely with us.
“Our continuing partnership with COB Rockets has a special place among our partnerships because of the profit with purpose mission of COB Rockets and the CEO Robert Palmer’s leadership style which inspires our students.”
Robert Palmer, CEO of City of Birmingham Rockets Basketball Club, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been nominated for this prestigious award.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside the innovative leadership of Kirat Vaidya, the MBA programme director, throughout this partnership.
“The business challenge has enabled us to benefit from the high quality expertise of the students and we have been able to adopt some of the outstanding proposals into our organisational strategy as we move forward.
“The relationship with Aston Business School has been a highlight of our year and to have received this nomination is a proud moment for everyone at City of Birmingham Rockets.”
Winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on Friday 24 January 2025 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London.