FIA - Fundacao Instituto de Administracao

Since 2011 FIA is a signatory member of Principles for Responsible Management Education - PRME that brings together a select group of educational institutions with the objective of disseminating social responsibility practices in executive education. FIA has sought to take an active and leading role in PRME, with a member of the Foundation on your board and also offering your infrastructure for holding events and work meetings. The PRME proposes that all the activities of the entities signatories are inspired and guided by six fundamental principles: purpose, values, methodology, research, partnerships and dialogue.

Administration Institute Foundation (FIA) was born on July 11th, 1980.
Founded by professors from the Business Administration Department of the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil’s foremost state-owned research university, with the original mission of supporting the development and dissemination of management knowledge in Brazil through consulting, executive education, and extension activities. FIA’s creation as an independent institution was a strategic response to these activities which had been solely limited to USP.
During the 1980s, FIA developed several major management and system consulting projects, mainly focused on supporting federal government agencies and ministries, with funding from agencies such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Many in-company management development projects were carried out at very large state-owned institutions and companies in the areas of energy, communications, education, agriculture, and technology, as well as in a smaller number of private sectors in company executive education courses. Many specialized research centers were organized at FIA during this period. By the mid-90s, Brazil had opened up to international trade and investment, controlled its rampant inflation, and privatized hundreds of state-owned enterprises.
Anticipating a need for qualified managers in this changing environment, in 1993 FIA designed and launched the first International Executive MBA in Brazil, currently still a flagship program, from the outset following the recommendations of the Executive MBA Council of the USA. Over time, this project expanded into a full range of general and specialized MBAs, as described below. By 2003, FIA was the first Business School in Brazil to be accredited by AMBA – The Association of MBAs and in 2004 it became the first fully Brazilian Executive MBA ranked among the top 100 by the Financial Times. In 2009, FIA launched its first all English language MBAs, attracting full time students from 5 continents.
By 2010 changes in government regulations required undergraduate courses for a higher learning institution to maintain its local accredited status as an MBA provider, and FIA had to offer a Bachelor’s course in Business Administration. As a result of having part of its undergraduate courses in English, international agreements, and strong ties to the business community, it has obtained a 5-star rating in MEC evaluations to this date.
Created originally in 1980 as executive education, research and consulting Institution, FIA works to further improve its research position, increasing publications in Brazilian and international journals. To do so, mechanisms are being reinforced to support such ambitions (e.g., recognition of research contributions is expressed in Career Plan for purposes of promotion and compensation, as well as travel grants for international events).
Research is developed within each of the 17 Research Centers described below in figure 5, to which most MBA courses are associated, with results not only in academic production, but also in technical reports and practical integration with teaching. These research lines are coordinated by associate professors and developed with support from other professors and students.