Jan 14

Another Great Day in the UAE

Al Bayan News Paper 1.12.12  

As part of a very exciting day in Abu Dhabi our group was fortunate enough to have a meeting with his Excellency Shiekh Nahyan bin Mubarak the Prime Minister of Education. During the exchange we were able to ask several questions regarding education in the UAE, and he was nice enough to pose for a picture with us! The picture ran in most of the arabic news papers as well as on Dubai and Abu Dhabi TV. A special thanks goes out to professor Sidaoui for arranging this meeting! Below is a link to the news story – although it is in Arabic.

http://www.albayan.ae/across-the-uae/education/2012-01-13-1.1572347

Additionally we visited two universities here in the UAE in Zayed University and Higher College of Technologies where we had an amazing new friend Sultan lead us around!

Certainly not to be ignored we also visited Shiekh Zayed Mosque which was an amazing cultural experience!

Jan 11

Day 4

First off a big thank you to Dubai Properties and Flip Media for hosting us yesterday. The two presentations provided us with insight about the real estate industry and risk management here in dubai, as well as the role of social media in the GCC countries and the evolution of a company from start up to top internet marketing firm in the UAE.

Today we are looking forward to two more visits. One with JWT, a WPP Group Company, and the second with Boeing both of which we are all looking forward to!

Additionally last night we were fortunate enough to go on the Dubai Creek tour which was a different way to experience the city.

USF MBA at Pfizer, Inc. 1.9.12

Jan 10

Thank you and Dubai Fountain

After another great day of visits with our hosts at Pfizer, Inc., The United States Consulate, and CNN Arabic, our group had a special treat eating dinner at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant, Abd el Wahab, overlooking the Dubai fountain. We had a four course menu and were able to watch several versions of the wonderful show in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa.

Jan 09

Day Two

After a great day yesterday many of us were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to explore the Dubai Mall for dinner and some “light” shopping. The Dubai Mall is one of the largest malls in the world and contains, in addition to hundreds of designer stores, a world class aquarium which can be seen below.

The Aquarium at the Dubai Mall

Today features visits to:

  • Pfizer, Inc.
  • The US Consulate
  • CNN Arabic

We are all looking forward to another great day!

 

 

Jan 08

Day One

Our first day in Dubai is already over, and everyone in our group would like to say a BIG thank you to each of our hosts for making our first day a special one. Each presentation offered our group  unique learning opportunities about doing business in Dubai, the vision and future of Dubai, or marketing at some of the world’s finest hotels. Below are a few images from the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel here in Dubai:

Interior of the Burj Al Arab

Profile of the Burj Al Arab from the Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Moon rising over the Jumeirah Beach Hotel

 Again thank you to all of our wonderful hosts for helping start our trip off right!

Jan 08

Arrived!

We made it to Dubai, and here is a view of our hotel from last night after dinner. Today we are off to visit:

  • Dubai Tourism
  • Dubai Chamber of Commerce
  • Jumeirah Emirates Academy
  • and the Burj Al Arab

Should be a fun, full day as we try to fight off the jetlag as we explore just a little of what this city has to offer!

Check for more updates throughout the day and week!

Jumeirah Emirates Towers

Dec 05

It’s all coming together…

With 31 days until we fly out everything is coming together. Had our last group meeting on Saturday, and our calendar is filling up fast. Here is a picture of our group all dressed up and ready to go!

Feb 01

Jumeirah Group and Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

On Monday, January 10, the group took a tour of the luxurious Burj al Arab, a five star hotel within the Jumeirah group.  The hotel is built on a man made island and is replete with gold leaf motifs, 24 hour butler service, and incredible views of the gulf and man made palm islands.  We toured the second smallest guest room, which boasts two bedrooms, three baths, servants’ quarters, and amazing views.

We then met with Terry Kane, Director of Digital Strategy for Jumeirah Group.  He overseas all online presence for Jumeriah group which includes over 20 websites, translated into 4 languages.  Mr. Kane spoke about the challenges of creating relevant content for the companies group of websites.  Kane spoke about building a “happy path” for their customers, ensuring the customer’s experience is a good one from start to finish and they find what they are looking for on the website whether it be more information about the hotel or securing a booking.

Next we meet with Dr. Stuart Jauncey, Dean of The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.  The school was founded in 2001 by the Jumeriah Group with the intention of training world class professionals in hotel management.  The school currently has just over 300 students representing over 55 nationalities.  Dr. Jauncey touched on his 3 basic rules for doing business in the Gulf:

1. Obey Islamic law, or Shariah
2. Favor Family, tribe and friends first when doing business
3. Be hospitable and protect one’s “face”

Jan 30

Back home, one week later

After an 8 hour layover in Dubai and 16 hours in the air over the north pole, we arrived in sunny San Francisco on Sunday, January 23.  While we all take the time to re-adjust our sleep schedules, students are still compiling photos so that we can feature them here.  On February 4th the class will be meeting one final time to reflect and present some of the topics covered in each student’s required essay (some of which will be posted here after they are reviewed).

For an excellent summary of our trip in the UAE and an informed perspective on doing business in the area, please click here to read a recent blog post written by one of our faculty leads, Cari Guittard.

 

Jan 26

Sabanci University

Our trip to Turkey had thus far been a test of everyone’s health, as a terrible flu seemed to affect just about everyone on the trip.  Professor Imparato summed it up well, when comparing us to the last two groups of students who organized trips in previous years, “if the first group would be known for its ambition, the second for its level of responsibility, then your group would be known as the most resilient.”  Fortunately, on Friday morning the group was back to 100% health as we piled into a bus headed towards Sabanci University to meet with Vice Director Selcuk Karaata and others representing the University’s School of Management.

Mr. Karaata provided us with a fitting end to our rich set of hosts from Turkey, by outlining the forces of innovation in Turkey (and in any nation, for that matter) and how innovation acts as a paradigm shift, directly affecting productivity and employment.  Therefore, he added, one cannot calculate a standard of living for any nation based on its level of natural resources or production alone.  One must account for innovation as a primary factor driving future growth in living standards.

Following this presentation we were able to tour the campus and were all struck by its sheer size for university with an enrollment consisting of just under 4,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students (USF is somewhere around 15,000 total).  That night we met with MBA students from the university in Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square, where we all celebrated our final night abroad with our newest friends from Sabanci University.

Our last night in Istanbul in Taksim Square

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