INSEAD's Abu Dhabi campus is the institution's third site to open, after those in France and Singapore. The campus dean, Frank Brown, said the decision to open in Abu Dhabi was made as early as 2004. "It didn't take long to work out that Abu Dhabi would be the place. The vision of the leadership connected with that of INSEAD. Building human capital is vital for a country wishing to diversify."
At yesterday's graduation, he said the research undertaken at INSEAD would benefit both the institution and the region. "We are keen to learn from the rich heritage of this region," he said. The campus now has eight resident faculty members and a worldwide network of 40,000 alumni. Its first executive MBA, the newest of its programmes, starts in October. Since its inception in 2007, it has already run over 30 programmes for 900 students.
In the Financial Times 2010 MBA rankings of international business schools, INSEAD was in fifth place. "Among all the business schools, we are by far the most international," said the institution's honorary chairman, Claude Janssen. "We're not just opening a subsidiary, like many institutions. People here were very keen to have us come. There was a very strong motivation to have a high-level and international education.
"We thought Abu Dhabi was the closest to our concept of an international location." When the school opened its Singapore campus 10 years ago, it was felt economic development was greatest in the Pacific Basin. A decade later, the Middle East is now the focus. "This region has been one of the fastest-growing in the world," said Mr Janssen.
