Trends in the MBA/EMBA in the UAE/MENA Region
In this section, the trends in the MBA/EMBA industry will be discussed on a global and local (UAE/MENA region) scale in order to develop our creative strategy that will cater to the trends going on today. The industry analysis will be discuss higher education in the MENA region, followed by the precise EMBA situation on both a local and global level.
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On a global scale, we can see that technology trends are rising, therefore, more EMBA’s are issuing a way to attend online rather than physical in-class attendance. In fact, HULT Business school capitalizes on the notion that its EMBA program is flexible, global and practical. This rising trend should be taken into consideration by AUD- keeping up with technology and modernality.
In regards to the MENA region, higher education is growing rapidly in the Middle East, especially the GCC. According to the article “GCC Education Industry on steady Growth : Trends & Challenges” it is mentioned that the governments in the GCC are encouraging international curricula because these are what the residents in the GCC are demanding; foreign institutes (Alpen Capital, 2016). Due to increased demand, governments in the MENA region have been spending more on higher education- which raises quality of domestic workforce. However, in reference to the article “Will and MBA get you hired/promoted in the UAE” the counter opposite is mentioned, the article states that “many employers would prefer a candidate who has a lot of experience and the required skills. An MBA/EMBA can fast-track your career, however, in today’s job market relevant industry experience counts for a lot too,” said Bethan Robbins, commercial director of Hays UAE. In addition, the article also states that “With the current economic climate, we’ve found employers are being more strategic with their senior-level hiring, tending to recruit established professionals with specific industry experience (Graves, 2018). This trend tends to push people away from pursuing an MBA/EMBA in order to focus on gaining experience- therefore, we must bring forth the relevance of an MBA/EMBA in our campaign. In addition, MBA/EMBA degrees are meant to add value to candidates, however many companies and industries- especially at the executive level would rather experience over degrees. Therefore, we should brand our EMBA as an “experience” that includes industry exposure rather than merely an extra degree on one’s resume.
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Moreover, it is also mentioned that MBA’s are more of a pre-requisite requirement and common at the time of recruitment/screening process. However, when companies evaluate existing employees to determine which of them to promote, they tend to take performance, experience and attitude into consideration rather than educational level. Furthermore, the article quotes, Ashcroft, a senior business director at Hays Executive UAE, he states that “An MBA alone will not open doors to executive level opportunities. It is certainly a qualification that is well valued in the job market, but it must also be complemented with the right experience, track record and personal skillset.” This raises the question- if people value experience over MBA, our campaign must address that the qualities an EMBA possess goes beyond another degree on your resume. An MBA coupled with Experience is the perfect concoction for competitive edge and that’s exactly what we want our EMBA to pursue.
In the UAE, if we were to break down the EMBA industry we can say that on average, an EMBA class in the UAE has around 50 students or less, the biggest classes are those in London School of Business according to their class directory. As LSB is a direct competitor to AUD, we can use their class profile as a basis to what the EMBA situation is in the region. According to the figure below, the average years of work experience for students is around 12 years, 27% are women and 28 nationalities are being represented (per class).
Figure 3: Source: London Business School Class Profile 2017
Among the 28 nationalities being represented, almost half are from the MENA region, therefore, our campaign should entail some sort of Middle Eastern aspect to it.
Figure 4: Source: London Business School Class Profile 2017
Further breaking down the EMBA community, the highest industry whereby students choose to pursue their EMBA are those in Finance and Baking according to figure 4 below, and the lowest being retail. Therefore, our campaign should be more professional, as opposed to marketing an EMBA to a more creative industry.
Figure 5: Source: London Business School Class Profile 2017
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Moreover, the UAE is becoming one of the “emerging education hubs in the Middle East”, it’s presence of prominent international universities are drawing in many overseas students. Not only is this due to the caliber of the universities in the region, if we were to focus on Dubai specifically- we notice the cities state-of-the-art infrastructure, easy visa policies, favorable investment climate, strategic location and reputable name (Alpen Capital, 2016). The strategic location of Dubai can act as a USP in our campaign. Since AUD is located in the middle of Dubai, we can use this to our advantage and build on this notion.
According to “New investment avenues opening in the GCC’s education sector” it is stated that the the GCC population is projected to reach 65 million people by 2030, and a third of that number will be under the age of 25, which means more students will be enrolling in higher education, thus, we must also gear our campaign to focus on local students/those residing in the GCC to remain in the area and choose AUD, rather than fly abroad to study
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