The University of Manchester-Dubai has welcomed the first cohort of 2025 Global Part-time MBA (Global MBA) students from the Middle East. Representing 20 nationalities, the cohort includes experienced professionals from industries such as Banking & Financial Services, ICT, Construction, Manufacturing, and Consulting. Nearly 80% of the students are based in the region, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with women making up almost 20% of the intake. These students are positioning themselves for success in a dynamic regional market, armed with problem-solving, communication, and strategic thinking skills highly valued in the AI-driven era.
The Manchester Global MBA is delivered by the University’s prestigious Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS). The flexible hybrid MBA program blends rigorous academic content with practical group work based on real-world case studies, employing the ‘Manchester Method’ – a hands-on consulting approach.
According to research from Graduate Management Admission Council - GMAC™, (Middle East: Corporate Recruiters Survey 2024*) one-third (or more) of Middle Eastern employers planned to expand the hiring of MBA, data analytics, marketing, and industry candidates in 2024. It added that consideration for hybrid MBA programmes has significantly grown in recent years. Across the globe, total applications to graduate business school programmes increased 12 percent in 2024, compared to 2023, according to the annual survey released by GMAC). The data shows the rise in applications was mainly driven by renewed interest in full-time, in-person offerings. Despite this, programmes with more flexibility were also in high demand. Roughly two-thirds of online and flexible MBA programmes reported application growth.
The FT Global MBA ranking 2025 placed the AMBS Careers Service 3rd globally and top in the UK and Europe. The regional Careers and Alumni team in the Middle East supports students and alumni with a comprehensive range of personalised services, from mentoring and coaching to careers workshops and personal development support, networking and corporate engagement, all supplementing the global tools and resources available.
Randa Bessiso, Director – Middle East at The University of Manchester-Dubai, comments: “We are very pleased to welcome all our Global part-time MBA new students in the Middle East. It’s a talented and diverse cohort which brings a lot of breadth and depth of knowledge across a range of industries and experience of different organisational and social cultures. They will enrich each other’s learning experiences and also refresh and enrich our alumni community, which is very active in the region. Students from the region are top performers within the global cohort of part-time MBA students that the University supports, with around 70% graduating with a merit or distinction.
“MBA students are positioning themselves for a continually transforming regional and global economy (strongly influenced by AI and data analytics) with the benefit of an internationally recognised business qualification, very active careers services support, professional networking and engagement with our corporate and social responsibility partners. MBA candidates’ main career goals are generally a higher income, senior-level positions, management and entrepreneurial opportunities. We aim to give our students an edge in human skills development and in building fulfilling and rewarding careers with purpose and wish them all every success”.
The University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School offers two MBA intakes annually (January and July) for various faculty-led, flexible learning options in its part-time MBA program – including the Global Part-time MBA, Finance Accelerated MBA, and Global Executive MBA. The Global Part-time MBA provides opportunities to accelerate study, offering as much face-to-face interaction with faculty as many full-time MBA programs. The University’s Middle East Centre also provides a dynamic master’s portfolio, including specialist part-time programs such as the MA Educational Leadership in Practice and MSc Financial Management, in addition to executive education short courses.
In the 2025 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking, Alliance Manchester Business School’s (AMBS) full-time MBA is ranked 46th worldwide, 14th in Europe, and 5th in the UK. The FT also ranks AMBS 1st in the UK and Europe, and 3rd globally for its Careers Service. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025, AMBS was one of the first two business schools established in the UK in 1965.
