Dubai: Having launched its Dubai-based Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) in 2007, the Cass Business School saw the fruits of its labour when its first batch of students graduated last week.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Makoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The EMBA programme is aimed at managers in the Gulf region who want to accelerate their career development while remaining in full-time employment and it is the first study programme of its type offering specialist modules in Islamic finance and energy.
Plans
Although the university plans to only offer the EMBA for the time-being, it wants to open up its electives such as Islamic finance and leadership to the wider community said Prof Richard Gillingwater at the event. The university also wants to expand its offerings in executive development, particularly in the fields of finance, property and investment.
"We want to offer them to a wider group of people who have a particular need in a certain area. Or maybe it will be a way for them to sample what we have to offer and then decide to do the whole thing."
The university is still focused on more senior executives for its EMBA but "if someone has dramatic rise in an organisation, is doing very well and could benefit from the programme, we wouldn't say ‘no, you can't come'. We are sensible and flexible".
"What we are not ready to do, and don't do in UK, is take very young and inexperienced people," he added.
Study tour
The ceremony also coincided with a study tour where London-based Cass Business School MBA students met business leaders in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The Cass Business School International Study is a five-day programme comprising visits to leading companies, high-level presentations and discussions, and meetings with business leaders.
Graduate Tariq Al Najjar, an Emirati, said he benefited from learning about how the UAE has developed from an oil-dependent to a diversified economy. "This will stabilise the income and ensure future growth of this region. Therefore this market change needs experts who are able to run the portfolios of those types of investment."
Another graduate Mohammad Sabunchi, said: "We were taught to challenge existing notions in place and look deep into issue."
Sabunchi, who has a telecom background and works for the DIFC, pursued the degree to understand the business side of his industry.
