The city's leading business schools have boosted their international standing, with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology overtaking the University of Hong Kong as the top school in Asia, according to latest rankings. HKUST's School of Business and Management jumped from 82nd place last year to 37th in the Economist Intelligence Unit's rankings for the Master in Business Administration. The university was ranked second in the world's top 100 schools in the 'personal development and educational experience' category, with the report describing HKUST as having 'one of the world's best-qualified faculties'. The HKU School of Business was ranked 39th, up from 45th place. It was fourth in the 'personal development and educational experience' category, which is measured by faculty and student quality and student diversity. The rankings are based on questionnaires completed by business schools and about 20,000 MBA students and graduates worldwide. Factors considered include an MBA programme's ability to open up career opportunities and further the student's career, personal development and educational experience, increase salary and the potential to network. Spanish business school IESE at the University of Navarra retained its position at the top of the rankings, followed by Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business and Stanford Graduate School of Business in the US. The top 100 list includes 50 schools from North America, 39 from Europe and 11 from Asia and Australasia. HKUST's director of MBA programmes Steven DeKrey said the university had implemented a number of initiatives in recent years to enrich students' learning experiences, including setting up a team to look after their personal and career development. 'I think the more important result for us is being the leader in Asia and Australasia, which has been our goal,' he said. 'The fact that it's partly the graduates who provided the results is very gratifying.' Dr DeKrey said the school had worked hard to diversify its student body. Nineteen nationalities are represented in the current first year class of 69 students. The school expects to double its size within the next two years and form closer links with China, which is home to one-third of its students. HKU's MBA programme director, Chris Chan Wai-hong, said he believed the university's ranking continued to improve because of its small class sizes and innovative partnerships with leading business schools.