From a liver transplant surgeon to an NGO director, the diverse roll call of UAE-based individuals signing up to MBA courses has sky-rocketed as individuals seek to improve their skills. The London Business School, Hult Business School, Cass Business School, Manchester Business School and INSEAD have all witnessed an increase in enrollment this year as the financial crisis prompts professionals to develop their businesses, and spruce up their CVs in order to win big-ticket jobs. The UAE’s MBA market is also contending with a developing education story in Qatar, where gas-fuelled growth and a government spending spree have wooed big names to set up base. But the UAE’s financial hub status, developed infrastructure and vibrant population are set to keep professionals flocking to the UAE in order to attain an MBA while also soaking up the lifestyle. Hult began with 100 students in its first year of operation in Dubai in 2008 and the school now boasts 300 post-graduates, which is close to its maximum. INSEAD’s Abu Dhabi campus, the school’s third campus, is looking at 30 participants this year, versus 26 the year before. Demand for MBAs is rising due to a surge in inflows of professionals from the surrounding region jetting into Dubai to attend classes. The boom in markets all the way from India to the Eastern bloc is fuelling a new stream of students. “Our activity in Abu Dhabi is not something exclusively for the local market, but it is a regional platform for INSEAD. The campus in Abu Dhabi gives us access to the GCC, the wider Middle East, parts of the subcontinent, and parts of Africa,” says Javier Gimeno, INSEAD’s dean of the executive MBA program.“We expect the GCC to continue to do well. It will be interesting to see what happens with Egypt and Libya, which could be a developing market, but India is probably the fastest growing educational market at the moment.” The London Business School’s mix of students is currently split 50/50 between UAE residents and students from abroad. In 2007, nearly 70 per cent of the class was UAE-based. “Now we have students travelling each month from Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran, India, Senegal, Egypt, Jordan and even people from London,” says Denise Johnsen, London Business School’s senior recruitment and admissions manager in Dubai “The reason they come here is because they want to establish a network in the GCC.” The growth in demand for MBAs is also linked to the global trend of individuals from outside the finance industry finding value in acquiring an MBA to get ahead in their respective fields.
