The Asian Institute of Management, or simply AIM, is a graduate school of business and a center of business and management research. It is one of only two schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with both AACSB and EQUIS accreditations. It is sometimes referred to as the Harvard of the East because it was established in partnership with Harvard Business School and because it uses Harvard teaching methodologies.

It was described by Asiaweek magazine (a TIME publication) as the best in the Asia Pacific region, and other magazines as one of the top three in Asia in the field of business education.

It was co founded in 1968 by Ralph Z. Sorenson, a graduate of Amherst College and the Harvard Business School, and through an agreement by the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University Manila. It is located in Makati City, Manila, Philippines. AIM has a local board of trustees and an international board of governors. Today, AIM executes over twenty distinct programs each year.

It received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1995, for training Asians in management of business and development. With its commitment to the quality and the environment, AIM also became the world's first graduate school of management to receive the ISO 14001 standard in 2000.

Business

The Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business is known for its two-year MBA program. Instruction is based primarily on the case method originally developed at Harvard Business School. The school applies American and European management principles to problems in Asia. Over the decades however, the school has built up a bank of its own Asian cases. The school's authentically Asian solutions to the region's management problems is a unique strength in its business education.

The Center for Development Management (CDM) has a one-year Master in Development Management program intended for executives and managers from developing nations who are deeply committed to the advancement of Asia. In addition, CDM conducts research, certificate courses in development management, and institution-building activities for Asian organizations. The center teaches development managers in matters that involve social and economic development of different sectors, most especially the marginalized. There are also special programs for professionals working in government and nonprofit organizations, as well as women in business.

Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE) has a Master in Entrepreneurship program to train entrepreneurs on making enterprises more productive, professional, and profitable. The Executive Education and Life Long Learning Centre offers the 18-month Executive MBA, rated No. 1 by Asiaweek in 2000.

Research

The AIM Policy Center is one of the centers for research and management excellence that the Asian Institute of Management houses. It is the public-policy think-tank of the Institute. The JBF Center in honor of the late Philippine Central Bank Governor Jose B. Fernandez, Jr focuses on research in the financial services industry. The Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility examines the nature of corporate social responsibility in the Asian context through research and programs. The Mirant Center for Bridging Societal Divides adopts the bridging leadership framework to address societal divisions and promote stakeholder empowerment to reduce societal inequities.

Collaborations

The World Bank selected AIM as its strategic partner in Asia with the establishment of the AIM-World Bank Global Distance Learning Center in October 2002 making AIM the first private management education institution in the world to partner with the World Bank. In addition, AIM is a center of excellence of the Asian Development Bank and collaborates with the ADB in delivering relevant programs that cultivate progress in Asian societies.

Awards and accreditations

AIM is one of only two business schools in the whole of Asia to be accredited with both the AACSB and EQUIS. AIM has received numerous citations, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian Nobel Prize, for International Understanding in 1995, for training Asians in management of business and development and the 1st Beyond Grey Pinstripes Award for Business School Innovation in Social Impact Management in 2001. AIM is also the world's first graduate school of management to receive the ISO 14001 standard in 2000 .