Barry O'Brien is one young Irish
professional to have recently graduated
the prestigious Smurfit Business School.
Ireland's most prestigious graduate business and MBA school, The Smurfit Business School, has retained its position as Ireland's leading provider of postgraduate business education by ranking in the top 100 global MBA courses according to an index compiled by the Financial Times.

The school now ranks 88th on the list, Ireland's only entrant in a table spear-headed by major international names like Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford universities.

The school's Dean, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said that the high-flying college's ability to stay within the global top 100 for over 13 years was testament to the quality of education offered at Smurfit, and proof that the institution's curriculum had what it took to stand up to a tidal wave of exciting and rapidly improving new players from the Asian Tiger economies.

"This year many [of the new entrants] were Asian and half of the top 20 are now either Asian or joint programmes between Asian and US/European schools," the Dean commented in a press release.

"This gives us a window into the commitment to graduate business schools by those nations," he said.

Dean Ó hÓgartaigh remained confident, however, that the Dublin provider had what it took to continue its foray through the global elite, and to stand up from competition elsewhere in Europe, where it is ranked in the top 20.

The Dean cited the school's triple accreditation from three of the leading global quality agencies in the discipline - EQUIS, AMBA, and AACSB - as another reason for the school's steady placement among the global top centenary of business education providers.

One recent alumnus, Finbarr (Barry) O'Brien of Cork, Ireland, who completed a Master of Strategic Management and Planning at the Dublin institute, said that the business school's blossoming global recognition, and strong ties with ex-pats in America, were both compelling factors to attend one of the courses.

"I'd spent time as a legislative intern at the Massachusetts House of Representatives during my undergrad years studying Government at University College Cork (UCC)," Barry, also an occasional small business and technology correspondent, told IrishCentral thismorning.

"Studying for a degree which could capitalize on the global prominence of Smurfit as an institution, while also providing me with an education that I could be assured was of world-class quality, was a great choice to make."

"As Taoiseach  [Prime Minister] Enda Kenny's recent address in Cleveland bore out, young Irish like me are always willing to roll up our sleeves and do what we can do ensure a brighter future both for ourselves and for the country."

"I'm certain that the Smurfit experience has given me a little extra something that will undoubtedly help along the way."

Quality of education, satisfaction among alumini, and academic rigor and quality, are all factors that determine programmes' placement on the top 100 rankings, according to the Financial Times.