Graduation 2021

Message from Dean, Alliance Manchester Business School

On behalf of The University of Manchester and Alliance Manchester Business School, it is my pleasure to congratulate all our graduates from the Middle East on your outstanding achievement.

Graduation is always one of the most enjoyable parts of my role and sharing the celebrations with graduates and families, one of the great pleasures and privileges of my working life.

This 2021 Graduation Celebration for the Middle East is especially significant because it marks the return to a face to face event, two years after our last graduation. This is a unique celebration across our part-time Master’s programmes in the Middle East and it is a special pleasure to welcome all our new graduates, alongside our Global Part-time MBA graduates.

This graduation celebration is also a testament to the resilience of all our students and supporting families, friends, employers and colleagues, as well as our faculty and the team at the Middle East Centre, and to the success of the UAE authorities in meeting the challenges of the pandemic.

A part-time Master’s programme is very challenging even in normal times but you have successfully completed this, despite the disruptions. You have overcome incredible adversity and the University acknowledges your outstanding achievements. Your success will also be recognised by future employers and it will become part of your story.
A Manchester Master’s degree says something about you – but it is no automatic passport to success, achievement or fulfilment; these still have to be earned.

Our faculty and staff have been remarkable in ensuring your continuity of learning and I would also like to thank all the team at the Middle East Centre, led by Founding Director Randa Bessiso, for its commitment to supporting every one of you.

The pandemic has certainly been a challenge but new opportunities are emerging and your Manchester learning experiences will help position you for these new careers in transforming  industries.

Today more than ever, we all have a responsibility to create a more sustainable future and to make a real difference. The University is committed to playing its role through teaching, research and social responsibility.
This celebration is not the end but the beginning of a new chapter of your lives, careers, and we hope a lifelong relationship with the University, as part of our alumni community. We hope that you will continue to support us in our endeavour to grow and develop our community across the Middle East. I would like to invite every student and alumnus to join us in this effort and in the University’s commitment to answering the grand societal challenges that we face.
It’s a happy coincidence that our graduation celebration coincides with Expo 2020 Dubai, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE, and the 15th anniversary of the Middle East Centre in Dubai. So, we all have much to celebrate today, and as we look ahead.

Congratulations to you all on successfully reaching the demanding standards required of a Manchester Master’s degree.

Professor Fiona Devine CBE FAcSS FRSA
Dean of Alliance Manchester Business School

Middle East Centre The University of Manchester

Message from the Director Middle East Centre

It is my great pleasure to congratulate all our new Manchester Master’s graduates and to mark your achievement together at this in-person celebration – our first in two years. 

It is also an honour to share this special moment in the inspiring presence of Professor Fiona Devine CBE FAcSS FRSA, Dean of Alliance Manchester Business School and Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge & Human Development Authority, for whose support – and presence here at this graduation celebration - we are very grateful.

This really is a moment to celebrate. Every one of you has reached the standards of a Manchester Master’s, not only through a very demanding and rigorous academic programme but through one of the most disruptive global events in our lives. Your challenge was made even greater in these unique circumstances and we all understand and truly appreciate your outstanding achievement.

I would also like to pay tribute to those people who have supported your journey and made your achievement possible – your families and friends, your companies and your work colleagues.

In the Middle East, many of us have been fortunate to have benefitted from the advanced digital infrastructure that has allowed us to work and study remotely, and for a rapid and effective response to many of the disruptive elements of the pandemic.

In response to the disruptions of the pandemic, our team moved quickly to online learning and also pioneered hybrid workshops. We continued to enrol and support our part-time Master’s students and launched the new part-time MSc Financial Management. Just as importantly, we reached out to students and alumni more intensively than ever with over 200 webinars and online events hosting more than 10,000 participants.

Today, as we continue to emerge from the pandemic, we can see how quickly confidence, activity and opportunity are returning. You will be able to benefit from your new knowledge and skills, as well as the learning experience and professional network that all come as part of the learning experience with the University.

As we celebrate your graduation, we can also celebrate the Middle East Centre’s 15th anniversary. It is very fitting that Dr Abdulla is here with us, as he played such an important role in bringing The University of Manchester to the Middle East and particularly Dubai.

To mark this 15 year milestone, we have launched a series of initiatives including 15 social responsibility activities. We have a special focus on the Dubai Cares Adopt a School programme. This project aims to construct a school in Nepal with three classrooms serving 90 children. Our fund raising programme has been boosted recently with very generous donations from corporate partners and alumni of the Middle East Centre We thank all donors for your generosity.

As our regional community has grown in the last two years, so has the number of our corporate partners, who play a vital role in connecting us with regional business and help enrich the student experience. We have signed new Strategic Talent Partnership (STP) agreements with prestigious organisations including the Chartered Institute of Marketing; Emirates NBD, Cigna Insurance Middle East, Nissan, and SAJA Pharmaceuticals.

Each one of you has proved yourself to be a highly capable professional able to manage the competing demands of life, work and study – despite the global disruptions around us.
As alumni, we are very confident that you will use your new knowledge, tools, skills, confidence and network to build rewarding and fulfilling careers and contribute to your own professional and social communities.

Our students and alumni have played a central role in the success of the University, Alliance Manchester Business School, and the centre in Dubai. We have welcomed several of our alumni back to the classroom as adjunct faculty or teaching assistants, sharing their knowledge and real-world regional experience with current students.

Now, we can look ahead with growing confidence, with the added excitement of our 15th anniversary, Expo 2020 Dubai, and the 50th year of the foundation of the UAE.

On behalf of the entire Middle East Centre team, I would like to congratulate all our new graduates. It has been our privilege to support your learning journey and we wish you every success in your future lives and careers.

Randa Bessiso
Middle East Director
The University of Manchester