Moatassem Moatez graduated with a part-time MBA from Manchester Business School. Rebecca Rees for The National
Moatassem Moatez graduated with a part-time MBA from Manchester Business School. Rebecca Rees for The National

Graduating by degrees with MBA flexibility



Around three-and-a-half years ago, Moatassem Moatez decided to change his life.

As a marketing manager for a large multinational company in Dubai, he was looking for a way to move into a top management role. The best way to do that, he concluded, was to study for an MBA, but it was not as simple as taking some time out of his career and signing up. He had responsibilities.

“Having a family, having certain obligations, having a career, you cannot just simply turn all this off and focus on your studies,” says Mr Moatez, 33, a father of two young children, aged six and two, from Egypt. “You still need to make sure that you are able to support your family.”

So he decided to do a part-time MBA. It took him a term to devise a study timetable which helped him juggle his family, career and coursework. But he did it.

Last week, Mr Moatez, who even left his job to start his own business with two partners halfway through the course, graduated with a part-time MBA from Manchester Business School (MBS).

“If you have the luxury to not earn money, not work, quit your job and dedicate 18 months for your full-time MBA, for your studies, then obviously this would be the first choice,” says Randa Bessiso, director for the Middle East at MBS.

“But for those who want to still gain the MBA, the same top-quality qualification from a top school, but without having to put their career on hold or have an interruption in their family or personal life, then the part-time MBA would be the answer.”

The main difference between the full-time and the part-time courses is the duration, at 18 months for the full-time MBA and 30 months for the part-time option. Full-time students are sent abroad to study, while that is not necessary for part-time students as they already work on international projects. The cost is also different at £40,000 (Dh229,863) for the full-time option and £26,000 for the part-time course. Aside from that, the academic content is very similar, says Ms Bessiso.

Last year, MBS added a third option – the executive MBA, which is designed for c-level professionals only. “They have requested over the years that they would like to have a shorter option to study but still part time and something that is designed for in the boardroom or about to enter the boardroom,” says Ms Bessiso.

“It’s only a group of 30. We take them on a journey around the world, so we literally take them out of their comfort zone and time zone.” At £51,500, it is the most expensive option, mainly because the course is taught in MBS locations around the world including Dubai and Shanghai. But for just 20 months, it is the shortest part-time MBA course MBS offers. It is, however, by no means the shortest “MBA” out there. Institutions including Probana Business School and the University of Salford both offer “mini MBA” courses in the UAE.

The University of Salford’s mini MBA is designed to offer a taster of the real thing for £3,549.

“The programme is five days long and includes a key introductory topic from each of the core disciplines from our normal MBAs – covering subjects such as marketing, HRM, finance, supply chain management, digital marketing and business,” says Yvonne Moogan, director of MBA at Salford Business School, University of Salford.

“Executives and organisations have less time today and a mini MBA offers a nice solution to this problem – taking only a short time out of their working calendar rather than doing a full MBA. In this sense, it provides an insight into a full MBA programme as the mini MBA covers the core components of a full MBA programme.” But is it worth it to make the time and study the real thing? Recruiters would say so.

“The MBA seems to coach people to think more broadly, to understand their broader impact in an organisation and ultimately to perform better, and therein lies the value of investing so much money in education. An MBA is an excellent personal development tool that we would thoroughly recommend,” says Toby Simpson, managing director at the Gulf Recruitment Group.

And Mr Moatez would too.

Aside from the content, the MBA gave him a network that has been invaluable to him as an entrepreneur since setting up Innovest Middle East, which works with entrepreneurs and SMEs to grow their businesses within the region. And it encouraged him to keep on learning.

“What they taught me well, forget about all the content, is how you can still keep this motivation of looking further for new information, for innovations. How you can still keep this engine or learning coming through. Everything I do now I think OK, how can I learn from this even more?”

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MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs

The specs: Fenyr SuperSport

Price, base: Dh5.1 million

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm

Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
HOSTS

T20 WORLD CUP 

2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland 

ODI WORLD CUP 

2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh 

CHAMPIONS TROPHY 

2025: Pakistan; 2029: India  

hall of shame

SUNDERLAND 2002-03

No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.

SUNDERLAND 2005-06

Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.

HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19

Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.

ASTON VILLA 2015-16

Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.

FULHAM 2018-19

Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.

LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.

BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari