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The chance to gain valuable business awareness and take part in a programme which cleverly complemented his work, attracted 45-year-old Salman Abdullah to Bradford University’s Dubai executive MBA.
Salman, who hails from Dubai, works for EMAL where he is Vice President, Operations.
“Back in 2005 I was promoted to a general manager position at the company I was working for and started to attend management meetings. However, as a manager with an engineering background, I found myself lost, firstly, in the vocabulary used by the chief financial officer and the chief executive officer, and then – more importantly – in the logic behind some of the decisions,” Salman explained.
“I started looking to bring my knowledge and skills up to a point where I could sensibly be able to contribute to the business in a way that reflected my senior position – and not just be another piece of furniture at the business review meetings.
“I compared a number of programmes available in Dubai and found the Bradford one the most suitable for my needs. It was a modular non-work-intrusive focused programme providing me with all the necessary ingredients laid out in a logical and well-structured framework. Just what an engineer head like me was looking for!
“There were many other good programmes on offer but they had not been thought out from the student’s point of view. Due to the modularity of Bradford’s programme and dedicated three day approach for each module, I was able to continue the MBA even when I was promoted and had to travel a 200km round trip to work. Attending evening classes just would not have been sustainable for me,” said Salman adding that he uses his travel time to study after appointing a driver.
“Due to the economics module alone I am able to clearly communicate and understand why businesses take the decisions they do. I can now more clearly translate the strategic board room decisions to shop floor practices – and link the action at the shop floor all the way back to the business performance figures.
“I would absolutely recommend this programme to others. However, if people don’t have fire in their belly then the best of the goodies are not appreciated. I would ask potential candidates to be absolutely clear in their head why they are pursuing the programme,” Salman concluded.
Dubai student photo - Paolo Serra
The Dubai MBA has exceeded 35-year-old Paolo Serra's high expectations to such an extent that he is now considering extending his studies to a Bradford DBA.
Paolo, from Italy, is Director of the Advertising and Venue Management Services department at Tecom Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding. He heads the unit responsible for the leasing or rental of advertising and venue spaces in all Tecom Free Zones, and supports events in these areas. Bradford University offices are located in one of the company's Free Zones and the classes are held in one of the conference rooms managed by Paolo's Department.
"I joined the programme because I wanted to gain a better general understanding of all the managerial aspects of a corporate environment and, in fact, I am getting more from the MBA than I expected. Tecom is sponsoring 80 percent of the MBA programme while I pay the remaining 20 percent through instalments deducted from my salary," Paolo explained.
"The teachers are very knowledgeable of real-life work related issues - coming from a variety of industries - and their approach has been more than just academic. I believe this is the key factor for the success of this MBA.
"I have gained knowledge of how to deal more effectively with colleagues, line managers and employees. I think I now have a good framework in mind to deal with and solve problems on many levels, both in finance and operational situations. I have also gained a good understanding of how to deal with or implement changes and put new business strategies in place."
Paolo continued: "Bradford University has, for me, a unique approach to the executive MBA. All the teaching rotates around your own work environment and all the modules are linked or refer to your own work and personal experiences. Also, having a class of 20-plus students from very different work backgrounds, but possessing six to ten years experience, is really enriching.
"For anyone thinking of enrolling on this MBA, I would say that this is one of the few projects that can really change your life - both in terms of work objectives and in personal development. But it requires a constant effort and a very determined attitude to complete it," Paolo concluded.
Dubai student photo - Kamala Huseynova
Emirates Holidays Tours Sales Manager, Kamala Huseynova, achieved a family ambition when she joined the Bradford University MBA programme.
Kamala, aged 34, who hails from Azerbaijan but has lived in Dubai for the last nine years, had planned to do a Bradford MBA since 2000 when she joined Emirates Holidays, a division of the Emirates Group, but wanted to firstly gain some experience and knowledge before undertaking the programme.
“I wanted to do the MBA in order to understand and view a bigger picture and it was also a dream of my father and grandfather’s,” said Kamala, who is responsible for business development and sales of Emirates Holidays for southern Europe and CIS markets.
“I am very happy with Bradford University and the styles and methods of teaching on the executive MBA. The University has given a great opportunity to all students in Dubai to be able to attend lectures in that country. I have enjoyed attending all the lectures and even listened to recorded lectures a few times using Blackboard. The University ensures we apply our academic knowledge via our work assignments. The lectures set students in groups within our cohort which has helped us a lot because we can study together, share knowledge and share opinions. We have also expanded our networking through our cohort,” Kamala continued.
“This MBA has changed me a lot and I am really grateful to Bradford University. My understanding of business has grown to a higher level and aspects that I was previously uncertain about have now become clear to me. I particularly use the marketing and business strategy aspects of the MBA when I am entering new markets during my work, or penetrating existing markets.
“Bradford University knows and understands the UAE – it has been in Dubai for nearly 15 years. The University has the right approach and shows great interest in developing its students professionally. I feel the part-time executive MBA is much better than just following an MBA online.
“I recommend the programme to others on a daily basis – in fact, my husband started the programme this year on cohort 11!”
Dubai student photo - Chitra Suryakumar
Becoming more rational, thinking strategically and quickly to provide solutions, and confidence to achieve results, are some of the benefits brought to the workplace by Chitra Suryakumar after studying on Bradford University’s Dubai executive MBA.
Chitra, aged 45, who hails from India, works for Emirates airline in Dubai as Manager Pricing (Groups) Yield Management. She is in charge of price and seat confirmation for group movements for the Emirates Network and is a revenue management expert for the organisation.
“I had been planning to do an MBA for four years. Bradford was a known name in Emirates due to the previous seven cohorts being part of the consortium and that did help me make the decision to choose this programme rather than others in the UK and Europe,” Chitra explained.
“It has been an intensive learning experience and has made me research issues, gain a better understanding of subjects I would not have otherwise explored, and it has given me the ability to think rationally before reacting to situations.
“I have been particularly impressed by the dedicated effort needed by every student to gain knowledge and how faculty members prepare students on what they should expect and how much time to invest in the programme. The topics are so well interconnected.
“I spent two hours daily over two years to do the programme. Understanding the subject prior to doing a project is critical, so devoting time and effort to your studying is essential.
“I would most certainly recommend the programme to others and I would like to say ‘thank you’ to all the professors and my guide who created a high level of interest and helped in achieving good results. Overall it’s a great programme,” Chitra asserted.Dubai student photo - Mohit Soral
All of the high expectations of the Dubai MBA held by 37-year-old Mohit Soral were met by the programme.
Mohit, who hails from India, works as Route Manager - Revenue Optimisation, for Emirates Airline, and holds considerable responsibility within the company.
“I was attracted to the programme by the ability to complete postgraduate studies while working; the past experiences of my peer group in the workplace who took part in this MBA; the structure of suitable classroom sessions over weekends which meant minimum disruption to my job; and the reasonable fee structure,” said Mohit.
“I hoped to gain exposure to various elements of management, such as finance, strategy, HR, and personal development, and wanted to use that knowledge in my workplace to improve efficiency and productivity. I also wanted to bring in changes in management styles. All my hopes for the course have been met to my satisfaction.
“I especially liked the three-day classroom courses for each module with detailed discussions and interaction with Bradford University professors. This has helped me to think differently and use my knowledge to improve the processes within my workplace.
“The classroom sessions were held every five weeks for each module over the weekend – so there was minimal disruption from work and adjustments could be easily made. I slotted in an hour of study every day to ensure I kept pace with the assignments and project work, and this regular pattern allowed me to finish the course on time.
“I would recommend this programme to others – it is excellent for working executives. The learning experience gels well within organisations today.
“For anyone considering enrolling on the programme I would say that this is an opportunity to enhance your skill base while still being at work. The feeling of pride and satisfaction at the end of the course is worth waiting for,” Mohit concluded.
Dubai student photo - Francesca Rajeswaran-Krishnan
The seniority, maturity and diversity of the cohort was just one of the aspects of the Dubai executive MBA programme that impressed Francesca Rajeswaran-Krishnan.
Francesca hails from Goa, India, but has spent all her adult life in Dubai. She is a Director at ING Bank NV, in Dubai, and is primarily responsible for its financial institution clients in the UAE, Oman and Qatar.
“I was attracted to the Dubai programme by the combination of on-the-ground lectures, classroom and group study and Internet learning; along with the broad spectrum of management topics taught; plus the 24-month tenure,” Francesca explained.
“I was hoping to gain formalisation of my existing skills, in-depth knowledge of specific areas including accounting, finance, marketing and strategy, improved articulation, as well as an awareness of new techniques, managerial tools, and management gurus. To a great extent my expectations were met.
“My cohort included representatives from many nationalities and from varied fields including banks, airlines, the diplomatic core and government companies -was quite impressive.
“The interactive nature of most lectures and the group discussions were very stimulating, and gaining the opportunity to understand my business personality, my style of learning, execution and decision-making was quite enlightening.
“The extensive research angle needed for the successful completion of the MBA helped considerably in creating awareness of the vast knowledge base of the global web. This served to open up multiple channels of research which are extremely useful in the workplace.
“I tremendously enjoyed the Management Project, even though the interaction with the Supervisor was limited to telephone and email. The eight-month period was very generous and allowed a more relaxed pace of study which resulted in extensive learning.
“To anyone thinking of embarking on this MBA I would say to be committed and focused and know that you will have to make sacrifices over the two-year period. You will only succeed in maintaining the high motivation levels required if you embark on the MBA specifically for yourself . ,” Francesca concluded.
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