On Friday the 11th of February 2022, Part-Time and Full-Time MBA students arrived to start their module abroad in Dubai. This week is the first group of three to participate in the pilot module, which promises students the international enrichment and insights needed to broaden their global knowledge. “In today’s globalized world, we cannot ignore the changes happening around us,” adds Full-Time MBA student Poorti Mehta.
“An international perspective not only broadens your mindset but encourages you to think objectively.”
Kicking off the week with a desert safari and dinner, the students spent Sunday at the Dubai Expo 2020. The sprawling exhibition area is an immersive experience split across several districts and pavilions focused on sustainability, mobility, and innovation. The group started at the United Nations Hub: Mission Possible, an interactive representation of the organization’s sustainable development goals. Students also visited the Good Place Pavilion, Campus Germany (one of the many country pavilions at the expo), and DP World, one of the largest exhibitions focused on connectivity and flow.
“The experience was eye-opening,” says Full-Time MBA student Jessica Tan. “My favorite was the urban farming section of the United Nation’s Mission Possible. It inspired me to break the status quo of the operational methods used by my family’s agriculture business.”
“If urban farmers in the UAE can save more than 50% of water and use no grid power, then so can we!”
“I am so happy to be a part of this,” adds Poorti. “We learned about the challenges the world is facing and the solutions being implemented worldwide. What added to the experience was that my peers come from various professional backgrounds, which added a new perspective to the experience. Some had even worked in the Middle East, which brought different insights into our discussions.”
The rest of the week offers a series of insightful lectures from world-class experts and the opportunity to meet local companies and organizations. Such as the Department of Economy and Tourism and Emaar Properties, an Emirati real estate development company that counts the Burj Khalifa in its roster.
“This module is a great way to help us connect with people from other classes and cohorts. It also helps us to get to know our own classmates on a more personal level,” says Full-Time MBA student Valentina Ocker. “We are a very international group which was especially useful for our visit to the Dubai Expo 2020. We found a ‘local’ guide in each one of our classmates for every pavilion: from Italy to Japan to Zimbabwe and Germany.”
Find out more later this week when we catch up with the students on the rest of the module!