About University of Pretoria-Gordon Institute of Business Science GIBS

Founded in 2000, we are the University of Pretoria’s internationally accredited business school,

based in Sandton, Johannesburg – South Africa’s economic hub.

The school is named after Sir Donald Gordon, in recognition of his contribution to South African business and a significant endowment to GIBS. In May 2024 the annual UK Financial Times Executive Education rankings, a global benchmark for providers of executive education, once again ranked us as the top South African and African business school. This is the 14th year running that we have been ranked among the top business schools worldwide. In October 2024 our MBA was ranked among the top 100 business schools globally in the prestigious Financial Times Executive MBA Rankings. We are the only business school in Africa to appear in this ranking.

Message from the Dean

At GIBS we believe in business. We believe passionately that business can, and should be, a force for good, a force for positive change, and a force for the economic development our country and continent so desperately needs. We believe that business should work closely together, as well as co-operatively, with government and civil society to create a better, more equal South Africa of which we can all be proud. Whilst we are firmly rooted in a university system, we are, as organisation, philosophically close to business and this is enacted in everything we do.

Building management and leadership capability sits at the heart of any business school. While this is our primary focus, we believe that we play a crucial part ensuring business executives are able to develop a broader view and constructively engage with government, labour and civil society – both locally and internationally. Through this, we enable the building of competitive institutions so that business can responsibly generate the growth that the country needs.

Over the years GIBS has refined its management education offerings across a wide spectrum embracing degree programmes, open courses and offerings tailored to individual clients and consortia to effect behaviour change through the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Impact is core to the design, delivery and assessment of GIBS programmes. We create programmes that equip students to take up the reins of leadership to successfully propel businesses forward in the context of a dynamic and changing global environment.

GIBS works with more than 6 000 executives, managers and scholars every year across multiple countries. Our world-class campus situated in the heart of Johannesburg, one of the great African cities, coupled with our internationally-recognised faculty and associates, as well as our unique learning methodologies enable us to offer students a transformative learning experience.

GIBS Dean, Professor Nicola Kleyn

Related UP – GIBS Information