The Stern School of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi has opened admissions for its first executive MBA programme outside the US, designed for experienced professionals in the Middle East and North Africa.
The leading institution offers a full-time MBA and the new programme launched on Tuesday aims to “accelerate” the careers of senior executives and entrepreneurs who want to scale their organisations, NYU Abu Dhabi said.
Applications have opened for the part-time, 23-month programme that will begin in August next year. In-person classes will be held during one weekend each month, from Friday to Sunday, at the Stern school in Abu Dhabi. There will also be two-week residencies in New York and Shanghai.
“I would describe it as tailored for senior professionals who have accomplished a lot and are looking to accelerate their careers, get to that next level and want to find ways to improve their organisations,” Prof Robert Salomon, dean of Stern at NYUAD, told The National.
“We also have a fair amount of entrepreneurs who come to our programmes who have been running organisations for a number of years and are coming back to school because they want to build their organisations, scale their organisations at a larger level.
“It helps people accelerate their careers, elevate into new positions and also helps people pivot from one environment into another environment. They will learn how to think critically about the environments in which they find themselves.”
Calling top talent from the region
At Stern New York, doctors, lawyers and IT professionals from across the US sign up for the executive MBA part-time along with senior leaders who hold chief executive positions. The management programmes sometimes draw professionals from Europe for the weekend courses.
“The residencies in New York and Shanghai are meant to build camaraderie, build networks among the class so the students build on those relationships, tap into our campuses abroad and network with executive MBA students in those markets,” Prof Salomon said.
The programme has helped many professionals implement their learning when they return to their organisations, he added.
“I had a student working on a fairly technical project where they learn some aspects of valuation or valuing projects. The student came back to say he was using this method in his organisation because they were expanding into a new market and he went on to become executive vice president of that organisation,” Prof Salomon said.
“Another student was a medical doctor who wanted to learn more about the business side. After our programme, he was appointed not only chief medical officer, but chief business officer as well. The hospital recognised that it's not just medicine that he understood, but he understood the business aspects.”
The inaugural class is expected to consist of about 40 students who will receive an executive MBA degree jointly conferred by NYU Stern and NYU Abu Dhabi.
Adapting to changing workplace
The programme is designed to equip executives to handle disruptions caused by AI, political and economic shocks to the global economy, all the while driving change in their organisations and the wider economy.
“It’s not just about tools because you can teach anybody the tools. They will learn about data analytics tools, AI tools, financial modelling tools but it’s more about how to think about this conceptually, how to bring critical thinking skills, know how and when to deploy those tools,” Prof Salomon said.
“The world is changing, there have been economic shocks, political shocks. There are cultural differences that we have to think about when we operate in a global economy and the students will learn how to deal with those challenges, be prepared for all these complexities.”
The course promises participants the opportunity to work closely with leading regional and international corporate partners with hands-on projects to address real world challenges.
“The rapid growth across the MENA region is creating robust demand for top talent, and Stern at NYUAD is well positioned to help meet that need,” said Bharat Anand, dean of NYU Stern.
“Building on the success of our one-year MBA for early-career professionals, the new executive MBA offers working professionals a rigorous, flexible programme with world-class on-the-ground faculty and strong ties to local corporate networks.”
