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My name is Rami Rabia, I am an Iraqi-Canadian, I have been based here in Dubai for the past
six years now and I graduated from the Cass Executive MBA earlier this year in 2012. I
currently work with the Government of Dubai at the Dubai Department of Economic Development,
which is the authority that licenses the businesses and is responsible for developing the economy
of Dubai. Specifically I work with the SME sector, helping them expand their exports.
I knew I wanted something from the region, and being based here in Dubai we are not short
of choice. We have, I think, four or five of the top MBAs based right here in the UEA.
But I still wanted to go to Cass really for the following reasons.
First was the international faculty that Cass has -- we have professors from all over Europe
and North America. Second, I think, was the student population
-- the student body. I had classmates from all over the region who flew in to take the
programme -- probably around 25% of them flew in every month just to take the programme.
Again, being based in Dubai, a lot of offices are based here to serve the region, so I wanted
a little bit more of that region flavour. And finally why I chose Cass was the module
structure that the programme has delivered. The programme is delivered over a four day
extended weekend, which really meant that in those four days I could completely cut
out the rest of my work, interruptions, my family, and just focus on the programme itself.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about Cass was the ability to take a company that
I was really fascinated with, being Emirates Airlines, and being able to study them several
times through several subjects and modules, which really gave me a great overview of the
company but also allowed me to apply some of the teachings that I learnt at a world
class university like Cass to a local company, and how they have been able to go internationally
and compete on the international stage. Cass gave me that global view of a global company
like Emirates. One of the highlights of my time at Cass was
the International Symposiums. I went to both South Africa and China. What I liked about
them was that it gave me an opportunity to interact with the London cohorts, themselves
were very international, which expanded my own network. But it was also an important
gateway to understanding some of the challenges faced by some of the Brit countries. I think
the part that I enjoyed most about the symposiums was the fact that I went there to purely learn
-- I didn't have to worry about organising my travels within the country or where I'm
going to eat or where I'm going to go next -- I was there purely to experience the country
which was fantastic. My advice to prospective students would be
that an MBA is not about the letters you put after your name but the name that you make
for yourself, and really what you put into the MBA is exactly what you're going to get
out so once you start the programme make sure you put everything that you have into it.