Widely known as the “Oscars of higher education”, the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards is one of the UK's most prominent higher education awards.
The shortlist recognises ESCP’s innovation in AI, entrepreneurship and real-world learning during the 2024–25 academic year, alongside its growing impact on London’s business and local communities.
The THE Awards celebrate excellence across the UK and Irish higher education sectors. Now in their 22nd year, the Awards received well over 500 entries across 21 categories from more than 130 institutions, with 74 institutions reaching the final stage.
The Business School of the Year 2026 award recognises outstanding overall performance during the 2024–25 academic year, including innovation, teaching, student experience, partnerships and impact on business and society.
ESCP’s shortlist reflects achievements across each of these areas, combining the international reach of its European multi-campus model with the growing impact of ESCP London Campus in the UK. During the year, the School pioneered institution-wide AI innovation, expanded its support for entrepreneurs and SMEs, created new opportunities for students to work directly with industry, launched new programmes and strengthened its contribution to communities across London.
I am delighted that ESCP has been shortlisted for Business School of the Year. It is a huge honour for our London Campus and the wider School, and a wonderful recognition of what our faculty, staff, students and partners have achieved together in 2024/25.
We have combined innovation across ESCP with our strong commitment to London’s business, government and social ecosystems, creating new opportunities for our students and the organisations and communities we work with. We are extremely proud that these collective efforts place us among the very best business schools across the UK and Ireland.
Prof. Marie TaillardDean of ESCP London
Pioneering responsible AI transformation
Following a strategic collaboration with OpenAI in October 2024, ESCP became the first school in Europe to implement ChatGPT Edu through a structured proof-of-concept across its six European campuses.
Starting with 1,000 early adopters, the initiative grew into a school-wide transformation programme covering teaching, research, student services and governance, with faculty and staff developing more than 200 innovation projects. ESCP subsequently expanded ChatGPT Edu to more than 10,500 members of its academic community and developed governance and ethical frameworks aligned with the EU AI Act, combining innovation with academic rigour, critical thinking and responsible AI use.
Expanding entrepreneurial support
ESCP strengthened its role in London’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by launching its European start-up incubator, Blue Factory, in the UK. Its inaugural event welcomed more than 150 founders, investors and industry professionals, while a later collaboration with Related Argent gave Bachelor in Management students the opportunity to develop proposals for Brent Cross Town, with several ideas being explored for potential implementation by the company.
The School’s contribution to the UK business community was further recognised through Small Business Charter accreditation across all 23 assessment dimensions. Building on this recognition, ESCP London Campus is launching the UK Government’s Help to Grow: Management programme, with its first cohort joining in January 2027, further strengthening the School’s support for SMEs and entrepreneurs across Camden, North London and beyond.
Industry collaboration and local impact
Close collaboration with industry and experiential, practice-led learning have long been defining characteristics of ESCP Business School in the UK, and 2024–25 was no exception. During the year, students engaged directly with global organisations including Canva, Cartier, L’Oréal and Ferrari through over 30 co-created projects, workshops and industry-facing learning experiences designed to address real business challenges in the UK and beyond.
Through the London Green & Impact Office, ESCP also deepened its civic engagement across Camden and North London, connecting students with local organisations to address social and environmental challenges. This included the Good Life Camden for Youth initiative, through which MSc in Marketing & Creativity students worked with Camden Council to develop a youth-centred wellbeing framework, subsequently tested with more than 40 local young people.
Responding to evolving industry needs, ESCP expanded its academic portfolio with the launch of the Executive Master in Luxury Transformation and Leadership, bringing together leadership, technology, sustainability and responsible business within one programme delivered across London, Dubai and Paris.
ESCP’s commitment to student experience was also recognised when the School won the ‘Empowering Student Voice’ category at the Independent Higher Education (IHE) Awards 2024 for its approach to embedding student perspectives in decision-making across its six campuses.
The 2026 shortlist builds on ESCP’s strong track record at the THE Awards. The School won Business School of the Year in 2018 and was shortlisted for the award again in 2024. In 2025, ESCP was shortlisted for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Estates Team.
The winners of the THE Awards 2026 will be announced live at the awards ceremony at The Vox in Birmingham on Thursday, 26 November.
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