Dubai: The Ashridge Business School will expand its UAE portfolio this academic year to eventually offer 35 executive postgraduate education programmes.
Ashridge was set up and funded by Shell and Unilever as a place to send managers and leaders to learn skills of the latest industry thinking. The school consults businesses on their organisational development needs and designs courses tailored to meet their current and emerging challenges.
"We work in over 50 countries and yet we've chosen to make quite a significant investment in the UAE," said Rory Hendrikz, Ashridge's Middle East Director. "We are also increasing our portfolio of open and public programmes focused on key areas we've identified here in the UAE, one of which is leadership."
Ashridge has been in the UAE longer than most universities here but Hendrikz said the school still may not be well known outside certain circles.
"We fit a business-to-business type environment model and therefore to the average person on the street we might not be a recognised brand," he said.
It was founded as one of the UK's first business schools over 50 years ago and ranks 20th on the Financial Times' customised executive education list. It has been operating in the UAE for over ten years. However, it set up its first branch office outside the UK in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City only last year.
