(First EMBA Dubai class, 2007)

The School expands its global reach by opening a campus at the Dubai International Financial Centre . LBS launches the Executive MBA in Dubai (EMBA Dubai) and Executive Education programmes to develop top business talent and champion entrepreneurship across the Middle East.

 (EMBA Dubai programme launch, 2007)

The UAE’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attends the EMBA Dubai programme launch along with the first cohort of students. Of the 450 applicants, 78 people are selected to attend the programme.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation partners with LBS on a custom Executive Education programme for the manufacturing company’s senior executives. The relationship is still going strong today.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, launched in May 2007 to establish the UAE as a centre for knowledge and research, is recognised for giving generously to LBS. The School names two lecture theatres the Dubai Lecture Suite to mark the foundation’s contribution.

Professor Zeger Degraeve, faculty director of LBS’s Dubai programmes, is appointed the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Professor of Innovation. The award is a new chair to honour the UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed.

Assilah Al Harthy graduates from the EMBA Dubai programme and starts her journey to becoming one of the Middle East’s most influential business women. She launches Omani-based private equity firm Group 6 in 2010, making her the country’s first female CEO. She is later named one of the most powerful Arab Women for 2015 by Forbes Middle East.

The London and Dubai EMBA programme streams study together for the first time in the UK. Students from the Dubai programme spend a week with their London peers to share learnings and forge strong connections.

After completing her MBA, Ulrika Hedlund launches Business Productivity, a video tutorial provider that teaches people how to use Microsoft Office more effectively. She uses her experience as a customer and business advisor at Microsoft Gulf and the skills developed while studying at LBS to create a highly successful venture.

Atte Miettinen has one ambition when he graduates from LBS: to finish the Seven Summit challenge that he started in 2006. The goal is to reach the highest peaks of mountains Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Puncak Jaya and Vinson. The EMBA Dubai 2011 graduate becomes the first Finnish person to scale all seven summits in July 2012 when he climbs Denali.

The Dubai campus welcomes its first students from Australia and South Africa, who gain a global business and cultural perspective and benefit from being part of a rich and diverse international community.

Abdulaziz Al Loughani completes the EMBA Dubai programme at LBS before joining Kuwait National Fund for SMEs Development as Vice Chairman the following year. The fund provides financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises in Kuwait. Al Loughani’s other business interests include Talabat.com, a Kuwaiti-based food delivery platform – which is now the number one food delivery app in the GCC – First Dubai Real Estate Development Company and Leap Ventures, a venture capital firm.

In November, LBS signs its biggest Executive Education contract with Kuwait’s National Technology Enterprises Company to deliver a US$38 million leadership programme for the Kuwait Petroleum Company. This deal is the latest in a series of partnerships with leading organisations throughout the Middle East.

LBS alumnus Navin Valrani completes the MBA, but graduating is just the start of his relationship with the School. In 2014, the Dubai-based businessman becomes Member of the International Alumni Council – a post that he still holds – and takes on the role of Chair of the LBS Governance and Nominations Committee the following year . Valrani is currently CEO of the Arcadia Preparatory School in Dubai.

A passion for finance and entrepreneurship see Genny Ghanimeh setting up Pi Slice, an online microfinance crowdfunding platform. The business allows individuals and corporations to lend to MENA-based microfinance institutions, which in turn fund regional micro-entrepreneurs.

The Dubai entrepreneur mentor scheme is launched, giving entrepreneurial students and alumni access to successful business people in the Middle East. LBS alumni Genny Ghanimeh, Mohamed Nassar and Tommy Wakefield-Smith make up the initiative’s first Dubai-based mentoring panel, along with Aman Merchant. Students who have remote access to mentors in London can now arrange up to two in-person consultations with members of the panel.

Navin Valrani and his wife launch a scholarship to support Indian women who want to study at the School. The Monica and Navin Valrani Scholarship is for women who have shown the determination, ambition and motivation to achieve success.

The School’s survey of nearly 500 regional executives shows that the Middle East is seen as a growing market for entrepreneurship. More than two thirds (71.4%) of respondents describe business growth in the region as steady, fast or very fast.

The School’s first UAE International Assignment is launched, giving EMBA students the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest business minds in the emirates. During their week-long assignment, 65 people studying in London or Dubai meet regional policymakers, practitioners and industry experts through guest lectures, site and company visits and panel sessions.

In November, LBS hosts ‘In Conversation – Making a Modern city’ featuring Mohamed Alabbar , Founder and Chairman of Dubai-based Emaar Properties. He talks to Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, in front of an audience of 250 LBS alumni, students and friends about Dubai’s emergence as a modern international city.

The number of electives at our Dubai campus extends from six to nine to cover subjects such as private equity and venture capital, strategic thinking and wealth management. Introducing new electives gives our students more opportunities to broaden their thinking and develop the skills needed to succeed in a globally competitive business world.