4-28-09: Duke: Duke Partners With Dubai Institutions to Deliver Business, Policy Education Programs

Duke University entered into agreements Tuesday with the Centre of Excellence at the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development to establish the university as a leading presence in the delivery of business and policy education programs in Dubai.

The partnerships were announced by Blair Sheppard, Dean of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and Faten Hani, CEO of the DIFC Centre of Excellence, at a ceremony held in Dubai today under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Under the agreements, Duke University will establish a campus at the DIFC Centre of Excellence, which provides a platform for global educational institutions to provide a range of executive and professional education programs to students in the region. Fuqua’s global programs -- including The Duke MBA – Cross Continent, The Duke MBA – Global Executive, the Advanced Management Program, and the Global Leadership Program -- will run at the DIFC Centre of Excellence. Fuqua’s regional degree and non-degree programs will be offered through the Dubai Institute for Human Resources Development.

“We are delighted that Duke University and The Fuqua School of Business have selected the DIFC Centre of Excellence as partners in their global strategy,” Hani said. “The DIFC Centre of Excellence seeks to partner with global educational institutions like Duke University to provide world-class learning and development resources. Duke University will add a lot of value to the pool of global educational resources available at the DIFC Centre of Excellence."

Duke and the DIFC Centre of Excellence will establish joint research centers, allowing Duke’s faculty and students to pursue research topics related to the UAE and the Middle East while contributing to scholarship within the UAE.

Duke also intends to offer a one-year Master’s Degree in Management Studies in Government at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development (MBRPLD). The program will be tailored to the educational needs of government officials throughout the Middle East, and will draw on the expertise of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy.

“Partnering with these prominent UAE institutions will allow Duke University to provide its students and faculty with unparalleled learning opportunities, while making significant contributions to the development of the region,” said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead.

The DIFC Centre of Excellence and MBRPLD partnerships will create a significant embedded presence in Dubai for The Fuqua School of Business, which in September 2008 announced plans to expand its operations to Dubai, London, New Delhi, St. Petersburg and Shanghai. Duke first became engaged with the Dubai Executive Office through the MBRPLD, which was designed and delivered by Duke Corporate Education.

“We all have much to learn from the experience of Dubai and the greater Middle East. Meaningful student and faculty engagement in the region is a critical component of our success as a leading institution of business education,” Sheppard said.


http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/04/dubai_launch.html