Inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum London Business School Launches Dubai Centre at the DIFC

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai and President of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) officially inaugurated the Dubai Centre - London Business School today at the DIFC.

Attended by His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of Executive Office in Dubai, His Excellency Abdul Rahman Mohammed Nassir Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, His Excellency Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the DIFC and His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein; Notable local and international figures spoke at the launch, including His Excellency Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the DIFC; Robin Buchanan, Dean, London Business School; Laura Tyson, former Dean, London Business School; Professor Zeger Degraeve, Faculty Director, Dubai, London Business School; and Saeb Eigner, Governor and Chair, Middle East Regional Advisory Board, London Business School.

His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the DIFC, commented: "We are delighted to be the home of the Dubai Centre of London Business School. The Dubai-London Executive MBA offered at the DIFC is a valued addition to the region, particularly the UAE. Our investment in education, geared towards creating an innovative, knowledge-based economy, has already borne fruit. the programmes offered by London Business School through the DIFC Education Centre, will provide further access to world-class executive education from one of the world's leading business schools.

Consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the world by publications such as Financial Times and Business Week, London Business School was the first leading business school to launch an Executive MBA programme as part of the DIFC Education Centre, which was opened in December 2006.  London Business School's inaugural Dubai-London EMBA programme commenced on 5 September 2007 with a class made up of 78 students representing 30 different nationalities.  More than 70 per cent of the accepted students are based in the United Arab Emirates and 15 per cent of the class is female. 

Professor Zeger Degraeve, London Business School’s Faculty Director, Dubai, said: "We are thrilled with the overwhelming response to the inaugural Dubai-London EMBA programme.  We recognise that Dubai, as an international economic centre, is a natural fit with the experience provided to our students in the United Kingdom and are pleased to be the first leading business school to offer a programme of this kind in the region.

"London Business School enjoys excellent links with the Middle East, which has undoubtedly emerged as a booming economic and creative centre. Over the past five years we have hosted four "Worldclass" events in the region featuring our Dean and leading faculty members and we look forward to hosting our fifth in Dubai on Friday 28 November," Professor Degraeve said.

"London Business School has a strong affiliation with Dubai and looks forward to developing its presence further, in order to serve business executives and contribute towards executive education in the region," Professor Degraeve said.