INSEAD, a world-renowned international business school with campuses in Singapore and France, officially opened its Centre for Executive Education and Research in the Middle East, in Abu Dhabi last week.
General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, inaugurated the centre, which will offer both company-specific and open enrolment programmes for executives, with a focus on the Middle East.
Notes spoke to J. Frank Brown, dean of INSEAD. Excerpts from the interview.
What are some of the programmmes on offer?
INSEAD is a an international business school that offers MBA programmes, executive MBAs, open enrolment programmes (OEP), customised programmes (for corporations), and PhDs. In Abu Dhabi, at least in the short term, we will focus on non-degree management development programmes for corporations and company executives. So the programmes are often highly tailored … and do not have fixed schedules and curriculums.
The centre will be offering a set of programmes ranging from managing people in the Middle East to healthcare management, women and leadership, and human resources management, along with others.
Why was the UAE chosen as a base?
We chose the UAE to be INSEAD's GCC and wider Middle East hub due to the country's leading role as a regional trend-setter and its vision to develop into a global centre for innovation and excellence. As the capital city, Abu Dhabi was the natural choice as it is the seat of the Federal government and the headquarters of the nation's public sector companies.
Can one do part of the programme here and transfer to France?
Some programmes will have multi-part modules, which mean they can be run partly in France.
Who is eligible to apply?
The Abu Dhabi centre is part of our global learning network and is intended to attract participants from across the world. Fitting this goal, INSEAD will even introduce existing programmes locally in Abu Dhabi, which already have a global customer base.
This will create an exciting opportunity for executives from the UAE to meet peers across the globe and vice versa. This is the spirit of diversity that INSEAD promotes and demonstrates in all its activities.
Specific application requirements vary from programme to programme. Most applicants would be executives with work experience and ideally have an international outlook. They are normally corporate sponsored.
When do the courses commence?
The courses start in October. However, please note that INSEAD is not starting a university with academic semesters. It is essentially for executives of corporations, public sector companies etc.
Where will the programmes be offered:
The courses will be offered at INSEAD Abu Dhabi Centre located on 11th Al Falah Street.
Will the staff be from INSEAD or specifically recruited for this venture?
The centre has capacity for 30 academics and administrative staff in the first phase. We already have a small team of six to start with. The academic staff is from INSEAD's 143 faculty members and researchers.
What are some of the research areas INSEAD Abu Dhabi will focus on?
Research areas will focus on issues in the Middle East. In the area of research on women and leadership, the INSEAD Global Leadership Centre is planning a study on the leadership characteristics of successful women and executives in the Middle East.
In the area of healthcare research, INSEAD is providing, through the INSEAD Healthcare Management Initiative, a collaborative research programme to make a sustainable contribution to health and life sciences in Abu Dhabi and the region.
Research findings on the Arab Innovation Index, an index to measure the degree to which Arab nations respond to the challenges of innovation, will be released in the next months.
In addition, the school plans to develop an Arabic version of the INSEAD Knowledge portal which showcases faculty research.
For more information visit www.insead.edu
Who is J. Frank Brown?
J. Frank Brown is the dean of INSEAD — a leading international business school with campuses in France and Singapore. He is the second American dean since the foundation of the school.
He has developed leadership programmes within PricewaterhouseCoopers and has been a guest speaker on the subject at various universities and business schools.
Brown is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut State Societies of Certified Public Accountants.
He is Chairman Emeritus of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York and member of both the Iona College Board of Trustees and Bucknell University Business Advisory Board, in the USA.
He received his BSBA from Bucknell University and attended the Wharton Business School's Advanced Management Programme.
Before becoming dean of INSEAD, he served as a member of the INSEAD Board and as Chairman of the school's US Council.
— The writer is the director of Counselling Point Educational and Social Services
