Paari School of Business, the management arm of SRM University-AP, marked a defining moment in its academic journey on September 21, 2026, with the formal presentation of its AACSB International membership certificate. Mr Prathap Das, Regional Head, South Asia, AACSB International, visited the campus to hand over the certificate and pins to Prof. Ch Satish Kumar, Vice Chancellor, SRM University-AP, in the presence of Mr Lakshmi Narasimhan, Director, International Relations and Higher Studies, Prof. Ashay Kadam, Dean, Paari School of Business, and Dr Vinayak Kalluri, Registrar, SRM University-AP.
The ceremony opened with introductions, Mr Das briefly outlining his own role at AACSB alongside that of Dr Geoff Perry, Executive Vice President and Chief Membership Officer, AACSB International, before turning to the significance of the day itself. The certificate presented, he noted, recognised Paari School of Business’s induction as a member of AACSB, the first formal step on the road toward full accreditation.
Founded in 1916, AACSB is the world’s oldest and largest business accreditation body, with member schools in more than 100 countries. Its aim, Mr Das explained, is to keep business education closely tied to industry, and to help universities work towards their own mission and vision rather than fit a single template.
This prestigious Membership brings access to AACSB’s network of business schools, the chance to benchmark against peer institutions, and exposure to how leading schools run their programmes, along with entry into a wider alliance of institutions committed to continuous improvement in management education. Accreditation is a distinct and further step, its significance lying in the rigorous, independent assurance it offers that a business school’s education meets standards recognised the world over, a distinction held by a small fraction of business schools internationally.
What lies ahead for PSB as it works toward accreditation was also addressed by Mr Das, from the curriculum standards the School will need to align with to the broader institutional benefits that accreditation eventually confers, including enhanced global recognition, stronger industry partnerships, and improved outcomes for graduates. The process itself rests on three broad sections encompassing nine distinct criteria, against which every aspect of the School, from strategic management and innovation to faculty qualifications and student learning, will eventually be assessed.
This handover marked Paari School of Business’s formal admission into a network of AACSB member institutions committed to common accreditation standards. PSB now turns its attention to the preparation that lies between this milestone and full AACSB accreditation, work SRM University-AP expects to bring stronger industry recognition and closer alignment with global standards in business education.
