AUD students discover the corporate, intellectual and cultural sides of New York City

This trip comes within AUD's continuous efforts to enrich its students' cultural and intellectual framework, to prepare them professionally by giving them a first hand experience of the professional world, and to expand their link with the outside world beyond the borders of the university.

New York City was chosen for its corporate, cultural and intellectual richness. The presence of the financial markets and exchanges, the vast myriad of international corporations, and the extraordinary collection of museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, fashion and entertainment venues, made this city a prime choice for the AUD tour.

Dania Bazzy, Director of External Affairs, AUD, said: "AUD strongly believes in the wealth of knowledge the students can acquire from such trips. Education expands beyond what is acquired in the classroom. These trips broaden students' horizons, help them develop their sense of independence, and allow them to appreciate team work and touch base with real life encounters."

With the City being a major center for international business and commerce and it being one of three "command centers" for the global economy (along with Tokyo and London), the students were given the opportunity to visit several international firms starting with the influential advertising agencies, Young & Rubicam, located in the heart of NYC Advertising district.

The students enjoyed a private tour around the agency complete with a question and answer session, and a special efficiency group workshop, providing them with hands on experience inside a multinational advertising giant.

Students also visited IBM Industry Solution Laboratories in New Jersey. Executives from the company spoke about the company's commitment to Innovation and Higher Education, the Corporate Relations Program and the company's Innovation Outlook. Later on, the students had an interesting tour of the Demo floor where hundreds of new innovations were displayed.

Another company that the students visited was Zubbery Associates Company, a growing architectural and real estate firm that was responsible for the Front Street Development Project at the South Street Seaport.

Finally, and during their visit to Deloitte & Touche, a firm with more than 120,000 employees worldwide, students had an overview of the tax, audit and consulting services of the firm.

In addition to the professional and corporate tours, the trip included visits to the City's famous museums; the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA), the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of National History.

The students also visited other monuments and landmarks in the City such as the NYC Public Library, Columbia University's campus, Manhattan Island, Times Square & 42nd Street, Grand Central Station and the Rockefeller Center.

AUD students were thrilled to have had the opportunity to be exposed to this City's corporate & cultural world. They found it quite similar to Dubai, home to mega projects and center for major multinational companies' headquarters.