May 2, 2023

Registration for GMAT™ Focus Edition to Open in August 2023

Free prep materials available two months prior to propel candidates to success on their business school journey

RESTON, Va., May 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global association representing leading business schools, today announced that registration for the GMAT Focus Edition, an updated version of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam, will open on August 29, 2023 for testing in the fourth quarter this year. In addition, official GMAT Focus prep materials will be available on mba.com on June 6, 2023, with a free study planner of only six weeks to help test takers stick to a schedule, inform prep activities, and track progress, as well as a free GMAT Focus Official Starter Kit that comes with a sampler of 70 real GMAT questions and two full-length practice exams to help candidates establish performance baseline.

Earlier this year, GMAC introduced GMAT Focus Edition after extensive research efforts involving hundreds of school professionals and an in-depth concept testing with thousands of students globally. The GMAT, the most widely used business school admissions exam in the past seven decades, was redesigned with improved test taking experience and flexible new features to better support candidates of graduate business education. Schools will benefit from it as an improved element in their holistic admissions process.

“We want to encourage people with a broad set of qualifications, undergraduate backgrounds and lived experiences to understand the richness of their choice and take that leap forward on their business school journey,” said Joy Jones, CEO of GMAC. “It is our belief that GMAT Focus Edition will allow candidates to optimize their preparation for graduate business education while helping schools attract a global pool of qualified and diverse applicants.”

“This is an important evolution of the test,” said Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean for Admissions at Yale School of Management and a board member of GMAC. “In terms of the relevance and usefulness of the test, this is definitely a positive step that will be beneficial both to business schools and to candidates.”

More efficient, more flexible, and more insightful, in an all-new testing experience

The GMAT Focus Edition will feature three 45-minute sections: Quantitative Reasoning, which examines problem solving skills; Verbal Reasoning, which evaluates critical reasoning and reading comprehension but no longer incorporates sentence correction; and the newly developed Data Insights section, which measures candidates’ data literacy skills and ability to analyze and interpret data and apply it to real-world business scenarios. With these changes and the removal of the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), it is nearly one hour shorter than the current version of the GMAT and therefore requires less content to prepare. Besides new features that allow test takers to bookmark as many questions as they want, review questions within the remaining section time and change up to three answers per section, and to complete the three sections in any order, the enhanced Official Score Report now offers detailed performance insights that helps them assess strengths and identify focus areas at no additional cost.

“I think the redesign of the GMAT exam is testament to GMAC’s commitment to continuous improvement. Changes to the exam address the growing importance of certain competencies and the future of work – for example with the addition of Data Insight,” said Arnold Longboy, Executive Director, Recruitment & Admissions at London Business School.

New score scale and concordance to help assess candidate competitiveness

The GMAT Focus Edition’s Total Score, ranging from 205 to 805, is based on test taker performance on all three sections of the exam, with each section, ranging from 60 to 90, weighted equally. This change has been made to ensure that test takers and schools can easily distinguish from a GMAT Focus Edition score to the currently available GMAT Exam score, which ranges from 200 to 800. To understand a test taker’s relative competitiveness, one can use the concordance tables available on mba.com that link score distributions between the two versions of the exam by percentile. With the GMAT Focus Edition’s new score scale, percentile rankings deserve the primary attention from test takers and schools when looking to understand the results.

“When comparing scores of GMAT Focus Edition to the current version of the GMAT Exam, we encourage test takers and schools to compare percentile rankings rather than comparing total scores,” stressed Manish Dharia, director of product development at GMAC. “Because the Total Score scale and the score scale distribution have both changed, comparing total scores or section scores from the current version of the exam to the GMAT Focus Edition is not appropriate, accurate, or a meaningful comparison of performance. Scores of 600 and 605 may look similar, but they represent very different performance levels on different skills.”

Additional efforts to facilitate smooth transition and swift adoption

As GMAT Focus Edition rolls out for the remainder of 2023, the current version of the GMAT exam will continue to be available to candidates until early next year to facilitate their in-progress preparation and applications for business school. Also, to that end, the GMAT Focus Edition fees will remain the same as the current GMAT exam.

“Keep in mind, all GMAT exam scores – whether they are of the current GMAT or GMAT Focus Edition – continue to be valid for 5 years,” said Ashish Bhardwaj, senior vice president and head of market development at GMAC. “With the advance announcement of the new edition, we encourage candidates to proceed with registering and taking the GMAT exam in ways that best enable their pursuit of graduate management education.”

About GMAC

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a mission-driven association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. GMAC provides world-class research, industry conferences, recruiting tools, and assessments for the graduate management education industry as well as resources, events, and services that help guide candidates through their higher education journey. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment.

More than 12 million prospective students a year trust GMAC’s websites, including mba.com, to learn about MBA and business master’s programs, connect with schools around the world, prepare and register for exams and get advice on successfully applying to MBA and business master’s programs. BusinessBecause and GMAC Tours are subsidiaries of GMAC, a global organization with offices in China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com

Media Contact:

Teresa Hsu
Sr. Manager, Media Relations
Mobile: 202-390-4180
thsu@gmac.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8829077

May 2, 2023

Les inscriptions à l’examen GMAT™ Focus Edition ouvriront en août 2023

Des supports préparatoires gratuits seront disponibles deux mois au préalable afin d’aider les candidats à réussir dans leur parcours vers les écoles de commerce

RESTON, Virginie, 02 mai 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Le Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), une association mondiale représentant les plus grandes écoles de commerce, a annoncé aujourd’hui que les inscriptions au GMAT Focus Edition, une version actualisée du Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), ouvriront le 29 août 2023, tandis que l’examen se déroulera au quatrième trimestre de l’année. Par ailleurs, des supports préparatoires officiels du GMAT Focus seront disponibles sur mba.com le 6 juin 2023, avec un planificateur d’études gratuit de seulement six semaines pour aider les candidats à se tenir à un planning, informer les activités préparatoires et suivre leurs progrès, outre un GMAT Focus Official Starter Kit gratuit fourni avec un échantillonneur de 70 vraies questions du GMAT et deux examens pratiques taille réelle pour aider les candidats à établir un référentiel de leurs performances.

Plus tôt cette année, le GMAC a lancé le GMAT Focus Edition après des efforts de recherche étendus impliquant des centaines de professionnels scolaires et un test de concept approfondi avec des milliers d’étudiants à l’échelle mondiale. Le GMAT, l’examen d’admissions pour écoles de commerce le plus largement utilisé au cours des sept dernières décennies, a été repensé pour offrir une expérience améliorée et de nouvelles fonctions flexibles permettant de mieux soutenir les candidats souhaitant poursuivre des études supérieures dans le commerce. Les écoles en bénéficieront en guise d’élément amélioré de leur processus holistique d’admissions.

« Nous voulons encourager les personnes avec un large ensemble de qualifications, les étudiants en premier cycle et les individus aux expériences vécues à comprendre la richesse de leur choix et à réellement avancer dans leur parcours vers les écoles de commerce », a déclaré Joy Jones, PDG du GMAC. « Nous croyons que le GMAT Focus Edition permettra aux candidats d’optimiser leur préparation aux études supérieures de commerce tout en aidant les écoles à attirer un pool mondial de candidats qualifiés et diversifiés. »

« Il s’agit d’une évolution importante du test », a commenté Bruce DelMonico, doyen adjoint pour les admissions à la Yale School of Management et membre du conseil d’administration du GMAC. « En termes de pertinence et d’utilité, ce test présente véritablement une progression positive qui bénéficiera tant aux écoles de commerce qu’aux candidats. »

Plus efficace, plus flexible et plus instructif, dans le cadre d’une expérience de test entièrement nouvelle

Le GMAT Focus Edition comprendra trois sections de 45 minutes : Raisonnement quantitatif, qui examine les compétences de résolution des problèmes ; Raisonnement verbal, qui évalue le raisonnement critique et la compréhension de lecture mais n’intègre plus la correction de phrases ; et la toute nouvelle section Connaissances des données, qui mesure les compétences de lecture des données des candidats et leur capacité à analyser et interpréter les données et à les appliquer à des scénarios commerciaux réels. Avec ces changements et le retrait de l’Évaluation de rédaction analytique (Analytical Writing Assessment, AWA), il dure près d’une heure de moins que la version actuelle du GMAT et requiert donc moins de contenu pour se préparer. Outre de nouvelles fonctions permettant aux candidats d’attribuer un signet à autant de questions qu’ils le veulent, de passer en revue des questions pendant le temps restant d’une section, de changer jusqu’à trois réponses par section, et de compléter les trois sections dans n’importe quel ordre, le Rapport de notation officiel amélioré intègre désormais des informations détaillées sur leurs performances qui les aident à évaluer leurs points forts et à identifier les domaines sur lesquels ils doivent se concentrer sans aucun coût supplémentaire.

« Je crois que la refonte de l’examen GMAT atteste de l’engagement du GMAC en faveur d’une amélioration continue. Les modifications apportées à l’examen s’adressent à l’importance grandissante de certaines compétences et à l’avenir du travail, par exemple avec l’ajout de la section Connaissances des données », a déclaré Arnold Longboy, directeur exécutif du recrutement et des admissions à la London Business School.

Une nouvelle échelle de notation et un système de concordance pour aider à évaluer la compétitivité des candidats

Le Score total du GMAT Focus Edition, allant de 205 à 805, se base sur les performances d’un candidat aux trois sections de l’examen, où chaque section, allant de 60 à 90, est considérée avec la même valeur. Ce changement a été apporté pour s’assurer que les candidats comme les écoles puissent facilement distinguer une note au GMAT Focus Edition d’une note à l’examen GMAT actuellement disponible, qui va de 200 à 800. Pour comprendre la compétitivité relative d’un candidat, il est possible d’utiliser les tableaux de concordance disponibles sur mba.com qui lient les distributions de notes entre les deux versions de l’examen par centile. Avec la nouvelle échelle de notation du GMAT Focus Edition, les classements par centile méritent le plus gros de l’attention des candidats et des écoles cherchant à comprendre les résultats.

« Lorsqu’il s’agit de comparer les notes du GMAT Focus Edition à la version actuelle de l’examen GMAT, nous encourageons les candidats et les écoles à comparer les classements en centile plutôt que les notes totales », a insisté Manish Dharia, directeur du développement produits au GMAC. « Comme l’échelle de Note totale et la distribution de l’échelle de notation ont toutes deux changé, il ne serait pas approprié, précis ou pertinent de comparer les notes totales ou des notes de sections de la version actuelle à celles de l’examen GMAT Focus Edition. Des scores de 600 et 605 peuvent paraître similaires, mais ils représentent des niveaux de performance très différents pour différentes compétences. »

Des efforts additionnels pour faciliter une transition fluide et une adoption rapide

Alors que le GMAT Focus Edition se déploie pour le reste de l’année 2023, la version actuelle de l’examen GMAT restera disponible pour les candidats jusqu’au début de l’année prochaine afin de faciliter leur préparation en cours et leurs candidatures aux écoles de commerce. Par ailleurs, à cette fin, les frais pour le GMAT Focus Edition resteront les mêmes que pour l’examen GMAT actuel.

« Gardez à l’esprit que toutes les notes à l’examen GMAT, qu’il s’agisse du GMAT actuel ou du GMAT Focus Edition, restent valables pendant 5 ans », a déclaré Ashish Bhardwaj, vice-président sénior et responsable du développement de marché au GMAC. « Avec l’annonce anticipée de la nouvelle édition, nous encourageons les candidats à s’inscrire et à passer l’examen des façons qui favorisent le mieux leur poursuite d’études supérieures en management. »

À propos du GMAC

Le Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) est une association de prestigieuses écoles supérieures de commerce du monde entier, au service d’une mission. Le GMAC fournit au secteur de l’enseignement supérieur en management des recherches, conférences sectorielles, outils de recrutement et évaluations de classe mondiale, ainsi que des outils, ressources, événements et services qui guident les candidats pendant leur parcours dans l’enseignement supérieur. Propriété du GMAC, qui assure sa gestion, l’examen du Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) est l’évaluation pour école de commerce la plus largement utilisée.

Plus de 12 millions d’étudiants potentiels par an font confiance aux sites Web du GMAC, y compris mba.com, pour en savoir plus sur les programmes de MBA et de masters de commerce, contacter les écoles du monde entier, se préparer et s’inscrire aux examens, et obtenir des conseils sur les procédures d’admission aux programmes de MBA et de masters de commerce. BusinessBecause et GMAC Tours sont des filiales du GMAC, une organisation internationale avec des bureaux en Chine, en Inde, à Singapour, au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis.

Pour en savoir plus sur notre travail, rendez-vous sur www.gmac.com

Contact auprès des médias :

Teresa Hsu
Cadre de direction, Relations avec les médias
Portable : 202-390-4180
thsu@gmac.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8830032

May 2, 2023

Amii welcomes over 2000 of the world’s brightest minds in AI to annual Upper Bound event

Four days of events include keynotes, panels, demos and socials from world-leading AI researchers and innovative business leaders

EDMONTON, Alberta, May 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) welcomes the world AI community to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for Upper Bound, May 23-26. All are invited to attend the multi-day event, with diverse programming catered for AI researchers, industry leaders, pop culture enthusiasts and anyone who has ever been curious about artificial intelligence.

In-person and virtual tickets start at $0. Registration and schedules are available at upperbound.ai

A celebration of AI excellence in Alberta and beyond, Upper Bound will take over Edmonton with a full event schedule and more than 100 events taking place in the downtown core. Upper Bound is pleased to welcome our 2023 keynote speakers including:

Richard S. Sutton, trailblazing AI researcher and Amii Chief Scientific Advisor, considered by many as the pioneer of reinforcement learning | Ticket Access: Community Pass, Upper Bound Pass, Talent Bursary All Access and Online Pass
Cam Linke, CEO, Amii | Ticket Access: Upper Bound Pass, Talent Bursary All Access and Online Pass
Peter Stone, Executive Director of Sony AI America | Ticket Access: Academic Symposium and Upper Bound Pass (limited)
Marlos Machado, Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair | Ticket Access: Academic Symposium

“AI is the most important tool of our time, and it continues to dominate global conversation,” says Cam Linke, CEO of Amii. “Upper Bound puts a spotlight on Alberta’s AI leadership and legacy and is a celebration of AI that welcomes everybody to learn, network, discuss and join in on the conversation. This is an invitation for the world’s AI community to experience the best of what Amii and Canada has to offer in scientific excellence, start-up creation and industry application — so they can leave inspired by the connections they’ve made, the information learned, and their ambitious ideas realized.”

Upper Bound is an AI event for everyone and includes sessions, demos, networking events and socials open for a range of ages and familiarity with AI. Scheduled events include:

An Academic Symposium, showcasing leading research and organized by Amii Fellows from the University of Alberta, one of the world’s top academic institutions for AI research.
Panels on AI in industry, including discussions on innovative applications of AI in industry; the demand for AI talent; advancing cellular agriculture; ventures and start-ups; and more.
AI & Culture, high-energy and fun events for all AI enthusiasts.
Social and networking opportunities with daily coffee catch up, beers with peers and the hottest ticket in town, the official Upper Bound Party.

Last year more than 2,000 attendees from 38 countries attended the inaugural event. Amii awarded Talent Bursaries to over 500 recipients from around the world to cover travel and accommodation costs with over 69% of recipients self-identified as members of underrepresented groups in STEM.

This year, Amii has awarded over $500,000 in Talent Bursaries to support 700 recipients from 22 countries to Upper Bound in person. An additional 612 global Talent Bursary applicants received Online Pass access for live-streamed content and full immersion in the Upper Bound app.

Upper Bound is proudly presented by Amii. One of Canada’s three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI strategy, Amii is an Alberta-based, non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption. Learn more at amii.ca.

Media Contact

Lynda Vang, Communications Specialist

E: lynda.vang@amii.ca

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8829558

May 2, 2023

Namibia records increase in pork imports from EU

Namibia has recorded a significant increase of 4.9 per cent in pork imports from the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of 2023.

A Livestock and Meat Industry report released by the Meat Board of Namibia here Tuesday indicated that local pork production met 31.5 per cent of domestic pork consumption requirements, while imports (including offal and processed goods) met the remaining 68.5 per cent.

It said pork imports for the first quarter of 2023 were primarily recorded from Germany at 52.8 per cent, Spain (24.5 per cent), South Africa (9.2 per cent), and the EU (13.4 per cent).

A total of 2 223 415 kg of pork was imported during the first three months of 2023, compared to 2 120 551 kg imported during the same period in 2022.

The huge increase in pork imports from the EU market is due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in South Africa, which has required a shift as an alternative.

The move has been associated with large retail price increases as a result of import tariffs charged based on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) common external tariff schedule, it read.

It further said that the Pork Steering Committee, at its meeting on 13 February 2023, resolved to keep the ceiling price at the December 2022 level of N.dollars 51.03/kg in line with the Pork Steering Committee resolution of 18 February 2020, as a risk mitigation approach.

The higher of the calculated ceiling price and the fixed level N.dollars 51.03/kg will be maintained until a new suggested pork ceiling price is implemented, it added.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 2, 2023

Namibia records decrease in meat exports

Namibia joins the global beef industry’s loss by exporting 1 652 213kg of beef to various destinations during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 2 043 683kg exported during the same period in 2022.

According to the Livestock and Meat Industry Report released by the Meat Board of Namibia here Tuesday, 61.7 per cent of total beef exported during the period under review went to the Netherlands, 16.6 per cent to China, 11.0 per cent to South Africa, and 8.2 per cent to the UK, while beef exports to the Norwegian market accounted for only 2.3 per cent of total beef exports during this period.

The remaining 0.2 per cent was split between Angola and Botswana.

The report further showed that mutton exports climbed by 270.6 per cent in the first three months of 2023, owing mostly to increasing production quantities. A total of 158 634kg of mutton was transported to South Africa and 59 979kg to Norway.

Imports of meat and meat products fell considerably during the period under review, at 268 141kg in 2023, a 50.3 per cent decrease from 539 689kg imported during the same period in 2022.

It further stated that during the first quarter of 2023, a total of 35 694kg of mutton, primarily obtained from China and Australia in the form of offal products, were imported, compared to 123 471kg imported during the same time in 2022.

Year-on-year mutton imports fell by 71.1 per cent and this could be related to greater availability of offal, which typically accounts for the majority of imports and is now provided by local abattoirs as slaughtering improves, the report said.

Furthermore, the report stated that the marketing of livestock is expected to increase during the 2023 period, as farmers are expected to off-take their animals at a much higher rate to avoid losses due to unfavourable rainfall conditions expected during the remainder of the year.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 2, 2023

Dorothy Nyong’o To Serve As Global Ambassador For World Ovarian Cancer Coalition

The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition has announced that Mrs. Dorothy Nyong’o has joined the organization as an Ambassador to help raise awareness of ovarian cancer, tackle low health literacy, and empower women in Kenya and across the world to take action to improve equitable access to high-quality, affordable care.

The announcement comes ahead of World Ovarian Cancer Day, a flagship awareness-raising initiative in which approximately 200 organizations from around the world raise their voices in solidarity in the fight against ovarian cancer.

A statement from the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition indicates that if access to high-quality, affordable care does not improve, the number of new cases of ovarian cancer in Kenya is estimated to increase by more than 130% from 2020 to 2040.

‘Sadly, the majority of women who have ovarian cancer live in low- and middle-income areas where access to treatment is extremely limited by inefficient infrastructure, inadequate resources, and cultural barriers. It can be impossible or financially crippling for many women and their families to obtain appropriate care,’ read the statement.

‘Worse still, there is a stigma around ovarian cancer for too many in the world, even in 2023, and that is compounded by many societal and economic barriers to health care, not just in my country, Kenya,’ said Mrs. Nyong’o.

‘As a founding trustee of Africa Cancer Foundation, I am excited to serve as an Ambassador so we can improve awareness and access for all women – no matter where they live,’ she said.

Mrs. Nyong’o is the Managing Trustee of Africa Cancer Foundation, First Lady of Kisumu County, and Director of 7th Sense Communications Limited.

She holds an Executive M.Sc. in Organizational Development from the United States International University (Nairobi), a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communications, and a B.A. Hons in French and Political Science from the University of Nairobi.

In her role as Ambassador, Mrs. Nyong’o will help the Coalition in its efforts to empower the ovarian cancer community in Kenya and across the globe through collaboration, knowledge, and action.

‘If we don’t take action now, the lives of hundreds of thousands of women in Africa will be lost over the next two decades. Ovarian cancer must become a priority, so that the increasing burden and challenges of successfully treating women with ovarian cancer are recognised and planned for at local, regional, and national levels,’ said Clara MacKay, CEO of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition.

It is our great honor to be working with Mrs. Nyong’o who has done so much already to help close gaps in care in Kenya and has shown such commitment to the advancement and empowerment of women in her country. Together we are determined to improve the lives of women in Kenya who are living with, or at risk of, ovarian cancer, she added.

Source: Kenya News Agency