Oxford Saïd Business School celebrates 30 years ‘Oxford Saïd is different, and it always has been’ – Dean Mette Morsing

Thirty years ago, in 1996, a new Business School was established by the University of Oxford with just 40 students. In 2001, with the support of Mr Wafic Saïd, the School’s iconic headquarters building followed – right in front of Oxford train station -– and Oxford Saïd was born.

In just three decades, Oxford Saïd has become a top international business school, with around 1,200 students a year on our accredited programmes, and more than 100,000 participants globally have benefitted from executive education programmes, in person and online.

Professor Mette Morsing, Interim Dean of Saïd Business School, says: ‘Oxford Saïd is different, and it always has been. At our heart is a commitment to developing thoughtful, responsible business leaders building the best businesses in the world that are competitive, productive and resilient, while helping to create the society the world needs.

‘For me, a particularly important part of what we do is help our students and leaders develop good judgement. The world they are entering is complex and changing fast. Knowledge matters enormously, but increasingly so does knowing how to ask the right questions, listen to different perspectives and make good decisions when there is no simple answer. I call it ‘Learning How Think’. That is something Oxford University is uniquely placed to nurture.’

Professor Colin Mayer, the School’s first Professor of Management and the third Dean of Oxford Saïd, adds: ‘This business school is particularly well placed to address major international issues. From the start, Oxford Saïd had ambitions to justify its presence at the heart of the University…

‘Our intention was to make a major contribution to thinking about the nature of business and the role of business in the 21st century. And students have been attracted by the idea they were going to be learning something that went beyond a traditional business school education.’

Professor Morsing continues: ‘I am immensely proud when our students tell us their time here has been transformative, and when businesses entrust us with their future – through our degree programmes, executive education and research. Our research advances business practice while engaging with some of the great challenges and opportunities of our time, related to leadership of AI, entrepreneurship, energy transition, and global supply chains in the context of geopolitical challenges of a never seen before magnitude.’

‘Being a top-rated business school is gratifying, but it is not enough. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, I am incredibly proud of what Oxford Saïd has become. More importantly, I am excited about where we are going. We know what we stand for, and I am confident that we are ready to meet the future – and ready to develop the leaders and businesses that future needs.’

World Class Research

Early on, Oxford Saïd established world-leading research expertise across corporate governance, business taxation, scenario planning and professional service firms.

Today, the Business School is also leading in a range of new specialisms, and our faculty is producing cutting-edge research, including:

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve on workplace wellbeing
Professor Ludovic Phalippou on private equity
Professors Juliane Reinecke and Peter Tufano, along with Dr Mary Johnstone-Louis on sustainable business
Professor Tom Lawrence on strategic management, and
Professor Eric Zhao, on the ‘attention economy’.
Leading in new technology and ideas, Oxford Saïd has also forged partnerships with colleagues across the University and with business to bring cutting-edge research to the world through projects including:

The Oxford-UBS Centre for Applied AI
The Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative (FOMI)
The Oxford-Hyundai Motor Group Foresight Centre
The Future of Finance and Technology Initiative
The Private Equity Institute
The Oxford Future of Real Estate Initiative


Teaching Success

Oxford Saïd’s programmes are ranked among the best in the world and the School has developed teaching across every channel and with participants internationally from full-time students to executives, entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders, learning through in-person, hybrid and digital methods.

The Oxford Executive MBA is ranked first in the world by QS, the prestigious ranking service.
Our Economics & Management undergraduate degree is ranked first in the UK by the Complete University Guide and The Guardian.
The Oxford MBA was this week ranked by QS 7th globally and 2nd in the UK.
Also, this week the MBA was ranked 2nd in Europe and the UK by LinkedIn and second in the UK by Bloomberg.
Our highly-competitive Master’s in Financial Economics is ranked 2nd globally by QS
Oxford Saïd’s Executive Education Programmes have been ranked in the Top10 globally by FT.
The Economics & Management undergraduate degree is the most competitive entry course in the University, and
Internationally thousands of students are benefitting from Oxford Saïd teaching online.
Inspiring Alumni

More than 95% of students come to the School from overseas, making it one of the most diverse Schools internationally. And our alumni are leading across the world in key roles in business and finance. In the few months alone, we have proudly highlighted amazing stories of former students, including:

Two alumni who joined forces to clean up toxic waste from the Vietnam war and create business parks in the south east Asian country.
An inspiring alumna who introduced sustainable finance in a Hong Kong bank.
A recent alumna who launched the first ‘Nature bond’ on the London market.
Two recent MBA graduates who launched a business, based on a class project - which is now going global.

ENDS

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About Saïd Business School

Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is an innovative and vibrant business school embedded within a 900‑year‑old university, and home to QS’s highest ranking Executive MBA in the world. Educating global business leaders, change makers and innovators across every industry and sector through accredited degrees, diplomas for undergraduates and postgraduates and in-person and online Executive Education programmes. In its thirtieth year, Oxford Saïd consistently delivers ground-breaking research and exceptional teaching, creating impact from within.  https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/