 Dubai is not a mirage.
From sailing to the sandy beaches on the man-made islands of "The World," to riding the 40-foot desert sand dunes, to seeing the indoor ski slopes inside the world's largest mall, the 53 Georgetown MBA students who traveled on the Global Integrative to Dubai in February learned that it is truly a city like no other.
This marked the second year that MSB travelled to Dubai for the Global program, and once again it was a success. Students worked on projects for a variety of local and multi-national firms, such as 3M, FedEx Express, GE, Nakheel, Nissan, RAK Ceramics, and EFG Hermes.
Leaders from several of the firms spoke at the opening event at the Chamber of Commerce, about how their plans for a two-year job in Dubai had turned into a lifetime.
Only a handful of the students had been to the United Arab Emirates before, so the group was constantly in awe. From the diverse mix of East and West culture, to the scale of construction and growth, there were surprised around every corner.
"The integrative was one of the highlights of my experience here at MSB," said Monica Bhanote (MBA '08), who worked on a US branding strategy with Nakheel. "To have the opportunity to test our business problem solving skills-in particular the marketing strategies taught by Homa-in a dynamic environment like Dbai, was great."
One highlight to the trip happened when the entire class travelled to the next Emirate to visit RAK Ceramics. This tile and ceramics company has enjoyed great success within the past decade and is the subject of a soon-to-be-published case study by Professors Ferdows and Nollen.
The day featured a factory tour and beachfront dinner sponsored by RAK. But the most memorable experience came when Georgetown had an audience with the Crown Prince of Ras al-Khaimah, Shaikh
Sa'ud bin Saqr al-Qasimi. The Prince had an amazing palace, and entertained the group for two hours. Even better, articles and photos of the visit appeared in national newspapers the next day!
"An amazing yet unexpected treat was meeting the Crown Prince in his palace," said Vika Dzyuba (MBA '08), who worked on the RAK Ceramics project. "I enjoyed his reflections on the future of the UAE, the importance of education in the global world, and his simple sharing of his life experiences."
Other fun times in Dubai included 7-star hotels, 360 degree views, rooftop pools, price haggling in the gold & spice souks (markets), and the sights at the lobby bar in the Dhow Palace.
After Global, students travelled the region over spring break. While a few hardy souls ventured to East Asia, larger groups went to Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey. Thousands of photos were taken, and no one was too happy to return to DC at the end of the week!
By Andrew McLaughlin, MBA '08
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