London Business School (LBS) has welcomed its highest ever intake of female students on its Executive MBA (EMBA) programme in Dubai, UAE.

Sixty one new students have joined the London Business School EMBA programme in Dubai, representing the largest cohort since 2009, out of which 28 per cent are women. Almost a quarter of the women joining the programme this year are UAE nationals.

The female students in the diverse class hail from thirteen countries and are employed in a wide range of industries, including banking and finance, non-profit and manufacturing.

Susan Roth, executive director, Recruitment & Admissions, London Business School, said: “Women’s interest and matriculation in our EMBA programmes is steadily increasing and this is something we are very proud of. In particular, the fact that the recent EMBA cohort for our Dubai stream reached almost 30 per cent is impressive.”

“These women demonstrate current aptitude and vast potential, underscoring Dubai’s position as a regional hub for excellence and as a source of top global talent,” she added.

To date, 124 women have graduated from the intensive 18-month programme in Dubai since the School’s Dubai Centre was first opened in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in 2007. London Business School attracts women from across the Gulf onto its programmes – in both Dubai and London – and equips them with the right tools to pursue ambitious ventures in the business world, a statement said.

Many of these women have gone on to take senior roles at some of the region’s top performing companies including the Al Gurg Group, Etihad Airways,  Virgin Megastores and the National Bank of Kuwait, and several have won regional awards for their contribution to business.

Emirati Reem Al Banna, a senior manager at HSBC, is part of this year’s cohort. She said: “I applied for the EMBA programme to prove that single mothers can do it all. They can lead a successful fast-paced career and juggle family responsibilities as single mothers while pursuing a top quality education at a leading global business school. London Business School’s EMBA comes highly recommended from alumni across the region and I am confident that the education and experience will help me realise my career ambitions.”

LBS runs a number of initiatives aimed specifically at women in business, including scholarships across all seven of its education programmes, from the full-time MBA, Masters in Finance and Masters in Management programme to its Executive MBA degrees in London and Dubai as well as the EMBA-Global degrees with Columbia Business School and Hong Kong University.

The EMBA students will take modules every three to four weeks at the DIFC before going on to take electives in both Dubai and London in year two.  The students’ second year of study will also see them complete an international assignment before finishing the course with two modules alongside their London-based colleagues. – TradeArabia News Service