Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The University of Manchester, one of the world’s top 50 universities, has hosted the annual Graduation Celebration for around 70 business Master’s degree students from the Middle East, graduating from the Alliance Manchester Business School’s Global Part-time MBA, and MSc Reliability Engineering & Asset Management (REAM). Professor Fiona Devine CBE, Dean of Alliance Manchester Business School, led the celebration and gave the keynote address on behalf of the University. Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director General - Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA), was the guest of honour and addressed the new graduates. The Graduation Celebration was organised by the University’s Middle East Centre at The Meydan Hotel in Dubai and was attended by families and friends of the graduates, and partners of the Centre.

The University’s graduating class of 2022 in the Middle East comprises a total of 143 new business Master’s graduates of 26 nationalities - around 70 of these attended the Graduation Celebration hosted by the Middle East Centre. The vast majority of these new graduates were awarded degrees with a Merit or Distinction; more than 50% reside in the UAE; and around one third of the new graduates are female. The new Master’s in business graduates are all experienced and highly qualified working professionals in executive, management or specialist roles in various industry sectors across the region including Engineering, IT and Telecoms, Consulting, and Financial Services.

Speaking at the Graduation Celebration, Professor Fiona Devine, Head of Alliance Manchester Business School, said: “Today more than ever, we all have a responsibility to create a more sustainable future and to make a real difference globally. The University is committed to playing its role through teaching, research and social responsibility. I would like to invite every student and all alumni to join us in this effort and in the University’s commitment to answering the grand societal challenges that we face. This celebration also welcomes you to a lifelong relationship with the University, as part of our alumni community. You are in very good company, as you join our community of 60,000-strong alumni, based across 170 countries.

Wherever your career takes you, you will never be far from the support, advice and networking opportunities offered by our extensive local alumni groups and our international centres.”

The University of Manchester opened its Middle East Centre at Dubai Knowledge Park in 2006 and, today, it is the largest and fastest growing of the University’s international network of five centres based in key business cities around the world. The Middle East Centre has supported a total of more than 3,000 part-time business Master’s degree students in the region, and graduated over 2,000.

Randa Bessiso, Director - Middle East, The University of Manchester, commented: “Graduation is a very special occasion and we are delighted to be able to celebrate this with our students in the region. Our part-time business Master’s degree programmes are very demanding and the achievement of these graduates is especially impressive given recent disruption to lives and work. Our students from the Middle East are also top performers and the vast majority earn their degrees with a Distinction or Merit. Graduation is the start of a new relationship with the University as part of our global alumni network. Our aim is to help students and graduates build successful, fulfilling and sustainable careers through a lifelong relationship with the University.”

The University of Manchester Middle East Centre provides access to a dynamic portfolio of part-time business Master’s degree programmes for working professionals, including the flagship Global Part-time MBA, Kelley-Manchester Global MBA, and specialist part-time Master’s programmes – MA Educational Leadership in Practice, MSc REAM, and MSc Financial Management.

The University of Manchester is ranked among the world’s top 50 universities and one of the world's leading universities for impact towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Alliance Manchester Business School is triple-accredited and ranked among the world’s leading schools. Most recently, Alliance Manchester Business School retained its position as one of the UK’s leading business schools in the 2023 QS Business Masters Rankings.

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About The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and is one of the UK’s largest single-site universities with more than 40,000 students on campus – including more than 10,000 international students. The University is consistently ranked among the world’s elite institutions for graduate employability and world-class research across a diverse range of fields including cancer, advanced materials, global inequalities, energy and industrial biotechnology. 25 Nobel laureates have either worked or studied at the University, which is the only UK University to have social responsibility among its core strategic objectives, dedicated to making a positive difference in communities around the world.

About The University of Manchester Middle East Centre

The University of Manchester’s Middle East Centre at Dubai Knowledge Park opened in 2006 and is the largest and fastest growing in the University’s international network comprising five hubs in the key business cities around the world. The Centre has supported over 3,000 Manchester Global Part-time master’s students in the region and graduated more than 2,000 MBA students. The Centre also works in regional collaborations with a range of industry groups, professional bodies and companies, and supports a regional alumni association with over 2,800 members.

www.manchester.ac.ae

Issued on behalf of The University of Manchester Middle East Centre by WPR:
Media contact:
Jonathan Walsh 
jon@wprme.net