Manchester Business School Worldwide regional centre attracts MBA students to Dubai from across the Middle East

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12 months on, the school has already passed the 200 student mark, as its three blended learning MBA programmes continue to attract students from across the Gulf region and beyond. The school celebrated the occasion with a celebration event and motivational session for students and alumni at Dubai Knowledge Village.

Experienced managers across the Middle East are increasingly taking control of their own careers and taking the initiative when it comes to professional and personal development, according to Manchester Business School Worldwide. Business students are looking for flexible MBA programmes that allow them to stay in the workplace whilst adding new skills that help them progress their careers or move from technical or specialist positions onto a general management track.

The School's students are all experienced (MBA courses are all post experience programmes - the average age of students is 34 years) and working at middle and senior management level, as well as in technical and specialist roles. The three MBA programmes currently offered are all general MBA programmes but with a specialist focus - engineering, finance and the school's unique MBA for Construction Executives, which the School launched in the region in response to the construction boom in the Middle East.

Speaking to guests at the Dubai celebration, Nigel Banister, CEO of Manchester Business School Worldwide, said: 'The MBA qualification provides the tools for continued success at the highest management levels and is still the most sought after and valued management qualification, especially those offered by the top business schools. They can also offer very good returns on investment - Manchester Business School was ranked third outside the US in a recent Forbes business magazine survey, in terms of the salary increases enjoyed by our graduates.

'The reasons that initially attracted Manchester Business School Worldwide to Dubai and the Gulf region are as valid today as ever,' he added. ' The visionary leadership and desire to create a knowledge society in Dubai means that creativity and innovation will be the currency of the future. We aim to support the development of the region's future business leaders and will encourage more companies to support the development of their talented managers through student sponsorship and tailored company programmes. The risk for employers is that they lag behind the ambition and commitment of their top managers, which can lead to staff retention issues. MBA programmes can be built into the overall reward package for future leaders.'

MBSW Director for the Middle East, Randa Bessiso, adds: 'Our MBA programmes are helping managers develop their careers and switch from specialist areas to general management. Our group of 200 students is made up of 42 nationalities and the majority are self funded and therefore very highly motivated and committed. An MBA programme is a major, life-changing undertaking and the blended learning route, which combines self study and face to face workshops, is certainly not an easy route. However, it leads to exactly the same qualification as students on campus, there is no distinction made between the different study methods - all our successful students graduate with a Manchester MBA.'