Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
The UAE is becoming a major destination for executive education, with top global universities turning their attention eastward to meet rising demand in a country with growing economic ambition and evolving leadership needs.
Institutions like Georgetown and NYU say the UAE offers a landscape that blends real-time economic experimentation with long-range policy planning. This combination creates a propulsive research environment, giving executive education both relevance and room to adapt.
“Markets like the US and Europe are mature. The demand for education is either flat or, in some cases, declining,” Prashant Malaviya, Vice Dean of Programmes at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, said in an interview with Aletihad.
“But this part of the world — Asia, the Middle East, the Far East — is still young and there’s a real hunger for growth, for doing amazing things.”
Georgetown shortlisted 16 cities for its new Executive MBA before selecting the UAE over Singapore, a decision Malaviya attributes to the country’s ambition, strong alumni support and a business landscape that he says “never stands still”.
Amol Dani, Chief Operating Officer at NYU Abu Dhabi, sees the same momentum, adding that the country’s economic diversification strategy has made it a logical choice for globally-minded institutions.
“NYU Abu Dhabi is a prime example of why Abu Dhabi, and the UAE more broadly, are particularly appealing to top international universities seeking to expand globally,” he told Aletihad.
“The country’s ongoing efforts to diversify its economy and reduce reliance on hydrocarbons have driven major investments in human capital, research, and innovation.”
A Campus for Every Ambition
“There’s always something happening here. Not just the physical landscape, but the rest of the infrastructure and business landscape is changing constantly,” Georgetown’s Malaviya said.
According to him, this protean setting has created a natural energy among faculties, many of whom see the UAE as a space where their own research can accelerate. The key draw, Malaviya explained, is the opportunity to observe the fluid policy and business dynamics in situ - something that would be much harder to replicate in more mature markets like the US.
NYUAD’s Dani echoed the sentiment, calling the UAE a “living laboratory” where universities can generate knowledge not in isolation but through hands-on engagement.
“At the same time, these international collaborations enrich knowledge creation and offer transformative experiences for students, faculty, and staff across both host and home campuses, advancing the true globalisation of higher education,” he added.
Professionals already embedded in its economy believe that the UAE offers the golden trifecta in a single location - a globally connected workforce, leadership hungry for innovation, and a policy environment that puts talent development at the centre of long-term economic planning.
“Top international universities don’t expand casually. They look for long-term stability, policy alignment, and global relevance. The UAE offers all three,” Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of the Marketing and Communication Sector at the UAE Government Media Office and a recent Georgetown EMBA graduate, told Aletihad.
According to him, the nation’s higher education landscape is defined by a kind of dual clarity: strategic support from government on one side, and institutional ambition to position the country as a regional knowledge hub on the other.
“The UAE doesn’t just accommodate excellence; it competes for it.”
Aisha Rawert, Former Executive Director, Social Services, at the Abu Dhabi Media Office and EMBA Student at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, believes that the UAE’s openness and diversity are another lodestone for elite institutions eyeing new markets.
“This diversity doesn’t just enrich the classroom, it drives more inclusive, globally-relevant research that goes beyond Western-centric perspectives. That’s why top institutions like Georgetown are expanding here - it’s where innovation, diversity, and global ambition truly converge,” she told Aletihad.
In her view, that esprit de corps also encourages students to develop leadership frameworks that are as internationally resonant as they are locally grounded.
Not Just Theory, But Transformation
As the UAE pushes towards a knowledge-based economy through strategies like “We the UAE 2031” and its “Centennial 2071” vision, both Malaviya and Dani agree that executive education is an essential part of the infrastructure needed to achieve those goals.
“As economies develop and mature, the need for continuous learning becomes even more essential. [Undergraduate education] is often not sufficient on its own to meet the evolving demands of today’s dynamic workplace,” Dani explained.
“At NYU Abu Dhabi, we see this firsthand through our programmes and partnerships that support upskilling and reskilling across sectors, contributing to the UAE’s broader vision of building a knowledge-based, future-ready economy.”
Malaviya, likewise, warned against thinking of education policy as a one-way street that starts with early learning and stops at undergraduate level. In his view, this oversight ignores a key structural dynamic: that transformation depends as much on senior leadership as it does on entry-level talent.
“You need to educate the top brass - if your most senior leaders are not educated in world-class ways, if they don’t appreciate new thinking, they won’t support the young people hungry for change.”
Beyond upskilling those already in the system, Malaviya pointed out another advantage – world-class executive education also makes the country more attractive to international talent who may be deciding whether to build careers in the region.
The country’s growth model is already influencing curriculum design, and one trend cutting across all sectors is the market hunger for AI-related competencies. At matching velocity, there is a growing need for programmes that help participants operate effectively in multicultural, non-local corporate settings, especially relevant as Emiratisation expands into private-sector roles.
NYUAD’s executive programmes are built around leadership, strategy, communication and change, with recent offerings focusing on the use of AI in the workplace. Dani said the goal is to support reskilling at scale while ensuring that learning outcomes can be measured, adapted and applied.
Georgetown, meanwhile, now encourages all faculty members to integrate AI concepts into every course, whether it’s marketing, finance or supply chain management. The university is also developing a series of new business-oriented degrees, covering areas like sustainability, healthcare and government, which will be launched over the next five years.
“Now we start to make a bigger impact across the entire spectrum of the talent needs that the country has,” Malaviya said.
The Business Case for Learning
“At NYU Abu Dhabi, executive education goes beyond traditional skill-building to focus on measurable impact and real-world application,” Dani said.
One way NYUAD ensures its programmes are delivering not just talent, but fit-for-purpose leadership are initiatives like TOMOH (Arabic for “aspiration”). Described by Dani as “a great success”, the programme supports recent Emirati graduates entering the private sector, with several participants already placed into full-time roles within the institution.
The benefits are also felt by Georgetown students. Earlier this year, the Dubai programme saw its first cohort of 51 EMBA students graduate in Washington, DC. According to Malaviya, many had already used the experience as a springboard for promotions, job transitions, or new ventures.
“Their impact will be felt through the economic activity they engage in, but also through the soft power they’re going to yield now as they go about their jobs and their duties,” he said.
But the value of executive education doesn’t always show up in a job title. For graduates like AlShehhi, the EMBA offered a chance to refine existing skills and rethink direction. After two decades of service and leading major national initiatives, he described the opportunity as a rare space to unlearn, reframe, and engage with unfamiliar perspectives - what he called a structured reset.
“Don’t pursue an Executive MBA to validate your past, pursue it to challenge your future,” AlShehhi explained.
“You realise quickly that leadership is not a formula; it’s context, perspective, and how you listen. There was also value in discomfort, being in rooms where you’re not the most experienced person.”
Rawert, who joined the programme from a background in law, data and strategy, said the EMBA helped her bridge disciplines while staying focused on practical outcomes.
“At this point in my career, I’m focused on scaling impactful ventures, and this programme equips me with the tools and network to do that effectively.”
What began as a strategic decision ended up becoming something more personal and more foundational.
“I truly believe an Executive MBA should be mandatory for anyone leading teams or shaping strategy. It’s not just education, it’s transformation. It unlocks our ability to think across systems, lead with purpose, and design the future, not just manage the present.”
