Graduation 2015

Congratulations on your graduation.

I hope that your studies at Manchester Business School have exceeded your expectations and that you leave with great memories of your time here.

It has been a real pleasure working with you through our Middle East Centre and we take enormous pride in your achievements. I am confident that you will use what you have learned to make excellent progress in your career and a positive contribution to your community in the future.

You now join our global community of over 50,000 alumni, based across 169 countries and we hope you take advantage of the network as your careers develop.

I am delighted to say you are graduating during our 50th anniversary year which is a particularly exciting time for the School, as part of The University of Manchester.

Celebrating our anniversary has enabled us to look back over the last 50 years and truly appreciate what we have achieved as part of the city of Manchester - taking inspiration from its rich history of enterprise, culture and innovation - and further afield through our international centres.

Manchester Business School opened its doors in 1965 as one of the UK's first two business schools, as a result of the 1963 Franks report.

Much has changed in the world since then, nonetheless our core aims of generating the highest quality research to inspire the business leaders of the future remain the same.

As we celebrate 50 years of supporting student transformation, we are embarking on our own transformation as we have received a landmark donation from Lord Alliance of Manchester that will be invested both in the School's new building and to drive forward our research agenda.

Together these will enhance the learning experience for all of our students and alumni.

We have spent the year celebrating with people from across the globe who are closely connected to the School: from faculty (old and new),  to students,  alumni, and organisations who have made such an important contribution to the enormous success of MBS - now ranked and accredited amongst the top schools in the world.

It is fitting then, that your graduation comes at the end of this significant year - allowing us all to celebrate this milestone together and making this ceremony extra special.

It also comes as we look forward to the next landmark occasion, the 10th anniversary of the Middle East Centre, in 2016.

As we start to reflect on the last ten years, there is no doubt that Dubai and the UAE have proved to be an outstanding host for the Centre here, supporting and making our success possible.
I am proud to say that you are part of the largest and fastest growing international network of our Centres; accounting for around half of all our Global Part-time MBA students.

As one of the first top ranked business schools to create a physical presence here in Dubai, location is and always will be important.

Of course, our success is very much driven by our people and the businesses that we work with, through our Talent Management Partnerships, enriching our student experience and alumni network in the process.

As an academic, research is close to my heart and the creation of new knowledge and original thinking is at the core of a research-driven business school.

Fittingly, our latest research programme was launched in the UAE's Year of Innovation and it aims to support the development of creativity and innovation, helping to realise social and economic aspirations of the region.

I am sure you will join me in thanking the Middle East Centre Team, most ably led by Randa Bessiso, who works tirelessly to support our growing body of MBA students in the region and I know that, having worked with you all so closely, graduation is a proud moment for them too.

We are, of course, deeply indebted to His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, United Arab Emirates Minister for Culture Youth and Community Development, for his generous patronage of this Graduation Ceremony and continued support.

Congratulations, once again, on all you have accomplished during your time with us and very best wishes for the future.

Professor Fiona Devine OBE FAcSS FRSA
Dean of Manchester Business School

On behalf of the entire team at Manchester Business School Middle East Centre, our warm congratulations to all our new MBA graduates on your achievement and outstanding success. 

Graduating during the landmark 50th anniversary of Manchester Business School gives this celebration an added dimension.

Your graduation marks the end of your MBA programme but also the beginning of the next phase of your career. As a team, we celebrate your success and look forward to continuing to support your career endeavours in senior management or as an entrepreneur. And wherever in the world you choose to further your career, the global alumni network means you will always be connected to the school and benefit from the support of like-minded, highly qualified professionals.

The quality of our students continues to be the defining feature of MBS in the Middle East. In July, I had the honour of attending and joining the procession of the University of Manchester's graduation ceremony in Manchester. It was deeply satisfying to see over 40 of our MBA students graduating at the ceremony, along with four DBA students - and a proud moment when noting the Middle East's top scoring MBA project.

The 50th anniversary of the business school has been an extraordinary year with many highlights.

Collaborations continue to play a big part in our work in the region and we were delighted to see our relationships with a range of professional bodies go from strength to strength. We signed an extension to our MOU in the Middle East with ACCA and we also signed new agreements with CIMA, PMI and British Centres for Business, and we continue to work closely with the IMA and the British Business Group.

Our close working relationship with Dubai International Academic City saw us visiting China to support 'Dubai Week in China', where we also connected with the MBS China Centre to help broaden the Dubai delegation's networking opportunities.

And of course we also enrolled nearly 200 new MBA students onto the Global MBA programme - and into the MBS alumni association, where we see membership and members becoming increasingly active. This was in addition to running the largest MBA workshops hosted by MBS anywhere in the world - and with increasing numbers of MBS students choosing to study in Dubai.

The Middle East graduation ceremony is, without doubt, the real highlight of every year, when we can all share the success and memories of students as they celebrate with family, friends and colleagues.

On behalf of MBS Middle East, I would like to thank you sincerely for choosing to study with MBS. The school is only as good as our students and we are privileged to be supporting a group of world class students and alumni.

So, enjoy this wonderful occasion.

Bringing the University of Manchester's MBA graduation ceremony to the Middle East is a mark of the very high respect, which the University has for the UAE. Once again, we are privileged and honoured to be hosting this graduation ceremony under the generous patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Culture Youth and Community Development; on behalf of everyone at Manchester Business School, we offer our sincere gratitude for his deep interest and continuing support for higher education, and for his work which continues to be such an inspiration to us all.

Randa Bessiso 
Director - Middle East 
Manchester Business School