Kozminski University has moved up in both of this year’s Financial Times Executive Education rankings. In the Open-Enrolment Executive Education 2026 ranking, it was ranked 50th in the world, moving up nine places. In the Custom Executive Education 2026 ranking, it moved up four places. Kozminski University remains the leader in Central and Eastern Europe in postgraduate programmes, courses, training, and tailor-made programmes for business.
The Financial Times has published this year’s Executive Education rankings, covering the world’s best business schools offering development programmes for managers, leaders, and organisations. Kozminski University has once again been included among an elite group of business schools, confirming its position as a leading development partner not only in Poland, but also in Central and Eastern Europe – both for individual and corporate clients.
- In the Open-Enrolment Executive Education 2026 ranking, which covers open development programmes such as postgraduate programmes, courses, and management programmes, Kozminski University was ranked 50th in the world. This represents a rise of nine places compared to the previous year. Kozminski University is the only institution from Central and Eastern Europe included in this ranking.
- In the Custom Executive Education 2026 ranking, which covers programmes designed in response to the needs of companies and organisations, Kozminski University was listed among the top 100 worldwide – ranking 80th, with a rise of four places. In this category, the university is the leader in Central and Eastern Europe.
“This year’s Financial Times Executive Education rankings show that Kozminski University is not only a strong academic institution, but also a globally recognised partner in the development of leaders and organisations. Moving up both rankings is particularly significant because these rankings are close to the market – they assess the real quality of programmes, participants’ experience, and the value delivered to companies. This confirms that we can combine the standards of the world’s best business schools with a practical response to the challenges faced by managers and organisations today,” says Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek, Rector of Kozminski University.
The Financial Times Executive Education rankings are among the most important global rankings assessing the quality of management education outside traditional degree programmes. They comprise two categories.
The first, Open-Enrolment Executive Education, assesses open programmes available to individual participants – including managers, experts, entrepreneurs, and people developing leadership, strategic, and specialist competences. In the Polish context, this category includes, among others, postgraduate programmes, courses, and development programmes offered by business schools.
The second category, Custom Executive Education, concerns programmes designed for companies and organisations. These are training and development processes created on request, responding to specific business, strategic, and organisational challenges – from the development of management boards and managerial staff to transformation, innovation, leadership, organisational culture, and change management.
In both rankings, the Financial Times considers not only data provided by business schools, but above all the opinions of participants and corporate clients. The assessment covers, among other things, programme design, the quality of faculty, the relevance of content to the needs of participants and organisations, teaching methods, the practical usefulness of acquired competences, the international character of programmes, the quality of cooperation, and developmental value.
A Polish university among the best in the world
In the Open-Enrolment Executive Education 2026 ranking, Kozminski University entered the global top 50, ahead of many recognised business schools from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. In this year’s ranking, the university placed ahead of institutions such as Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Alliance Manchester Business School, and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. Kozminski University was ranked in a strong European environment, alongside French business schools such as Kedge Business School and Neoma Business School. This is particularly important because France is one of the strongest executive education markets in Europe, and its business schools regularly achieve high positions in international rankings.
“Moving into the global top 50 in the Open-Enrolment Executive Education ranking is an important signal for us. It shows that participants in our programmes appreciate not only the academic quality, but also the practicality, relevance, and real impact of education on their professional development. Today, executive education must respond to completely different challenges than just a few years ago: artificial intelligence, digital transformation, regulatory complexity, social change, ESG pressure, and the need for responsible leadership. Our role is to prepare leaders who can operate in exactly this kind of world,” says Dr Sylwia Hałas-Dej, Vice-Rector for Development and External Relations, Dean of the Kozminski Executive Business School.
The best programmes for companies in this part of Europe
In the Custom Executive Education 2026 ranking, Kozminski University was ranked 80th in the world, moving up four places. In this category, the university is the leader in Central and Eastern Europe. The ranking evaluates business schools that deliver development programmes for companies – programmes designed in response to the specific needs of organisations, teams, and management boards. In this category, what matters is not only teaching quality, but also the ability to understand the client’s challenges, propose a tailored programme, collaborate with managerial staff, and translate education into real organisational change.
In this year’s Custom Executive Education ranking, Kozminski University was ranked in direct proximity to institutions such as Rotterdam School of Management and Tilburg University. This confirms that the offer of tailor-made programmes for business developed in Poland is evaluated in comparison with recognised European schools of management.
“Companies today are not looking for standard training. They are looking for partners who can help them conduct change, understand new operating models, and develop leaders’ competences in a specific business context. Tailor-made programmes require deep diagnosis, close cooperation with the organisation, and responsibility for the outcome. Kozminski University’s strong position in this ranking shows that we can design development not as a one-off training session, but as a process supporting a company’s strategy,” emphasises Dr Sylwia Hałas-Dej.
Executive education increasingly closer to corporate strategy
This year’s Financial Times Executive Education rankings confirm one more thing – the growing importance of executive education in times of transformation. Development programmes for leaders increasingly address not only classic management competences, but also the ability to make decisions under uncertainty, manage the impact of technology, use data, implement AI responsibly, build organisational resilience, and lead through change.
For Kozminski University, its presence and advancement in both rankings confirm its strategic direction – combining academic quality, business practice, and a real response to the needs of leaders and organisations.
“Our ambition is to create education that does not end with the transfer of knowledge. We want to build an environment in which managers, experts, entrepreneurs, and organisations can develop the way of thinking needed to make better decisions. Rankings are important, but what is even more important is that behind this result are specific participants, companies, faculty members, and business partners who co-create with us an ecosystem of development,” adds Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek.
Kozminski University on the global map
Presence in the Executive Education rankings confirms Kozminski University’s position as one of the most recognisable business schools in the region. The university has for years been included in the international Financial Times rankings, holds the triple accreditation of AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA, and continues to develop a broad portfolio of programmes for managers, specialists, and organisational leaders. This year’s advancement in both rankings shows that it is strengthening its position in the global executive education market.
Rankings 2026 are available online:
