Reopening INSEAD’s Middle East Campus to MBAs: Nurturing Leaders of Tomorrow
New Year’s Eve 2024 was memorable, as I celebrated it in the air with Qatar Airline. The destination was none other but the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where INSEAD’s Middle East campus is located. Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, INSEAD has finally opened up the Abu Dhabi campus to MBA candidates, attracting diverse and aspiring leaders from around the world.
Out of 50 INSEAD MBA candidates in Abu Dhabi, there were 30 nationalities from 5 continents represented. Students arrived from different parts of the world following a relaxing Christmas break, eager to kick-start the new adventure in this heritage district with more than four-thousand years of history.
When I asked my peers why they chose to come to the Abu Dhabi campus instead of Singapore or Fontainebleau campus for period 3, they responded with different reasons:
Camila Toro, a Colombia-born, ex-JPMorgan banking professional in New York and a Yale graduate, came to “explore the exciting work and development opportunities in a fast-growing region she hadn’t been to yet.”
Dr. Fadekunayo Adeniyi, who holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies and is originally from Nigeria, would like to “explore opportunities to work with key players allocating capital from the region into infrastructure in Africa.”
Xin Wang, a Chinese CEO of a family office in both Paris and Dubai, wanted to “gain strategic insights of this emerging hub of the world.” At the same time, Xin was hoping to leverage his global perspectives and cross-sector expertise to “connect minds, bridge resources and foster an ever-evolving community in order to induce lasting social impacts.”
Personally, I chose INSEAD because of the Middle East. Back in January 2017, I met the first INSEAD MBA alumnus in my life through a UAE government initiative. The conversation put INSEAD on my radar, and inspired me to explore this mysterious land of opportunities.
Also, as a Chinese ex-management consultant based out of Hong Kong SAR, I have worked on engagements across APAC, Euro-Africa, North America and LATAM, yet Middle East remains that missing piece. Coming to Abu Dhabi became a way to fulfill my dream during undergrad and build my knowledge ecosystem.
Tailored coursework with experiential learning
The pace was intense yet exciting. The programme was structured in the format of “blocs”, meaning one professor teaches one course before students move on to another course. As compacted as it was, we were expected to finish eight courses including three core courses and five electives in two months.
We kicked off the first class of the academic year, “Business in the Middle East”, with Prof. Neil Jones. A Harvard doctoral alumnus and a former McKinsey engagement manager from Canada, Professor Jones has lived in the Mideast for over a decade.
He helped us develop a foundational grasp of rentier states and how they addressed economic challenges under bold leadership. With a 56% growth in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) from 2019 to 2023, the liberalisation in Abu Dhabi brought in new capital and spurred diversification.
By privatising nonstrategic GREs (Government-Related Entities) and bringing them within the scope of competition laws, the UAE boosted efficiency and productivity growth. An expat’s paradise, around 89% of the UAE population is expatriates, meaning Emiratis only encompass a tenth of the people.
Curious about the unique labour market landscape, we chose to write a report on building and sustaining talent pipelines in the UAE as our experiential research project.
Corporate Entrepreneurship, one of the electives, also enabled us to apply business skills to real-world situations while receiving feedback from members of Plug and Play Abu Dhabi. Facilitated by Prof. Chiara Spina, one of Poets & Quants’ Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors, we were asked to use entrepreneurial skills to address local business challenges faced by NEOM, Arab National Bank, or GEMS Education.
Students generated actionable recommendations that followed regional trends, such as a GenAI-enabled resource management system for a green city. Jordan Bray (Vice President) and Kenza El Gamra (Programme Manager) from Plug and Play provided us with valuable advice, including how to write a compelling pitch deck storyline and validate ideas through experimentation.
On a personal note, I walked away from this course with expanded perspectives on assessing growth opportunities and generating next practice.
Expanding learning into an industry of choice
An MBA is not just about hitting the books. INSEAD helped us take the next step in our career journeys through engaging with top employers and exploring career opportunities.
In the second week, INSEAD's Career Development Centre (CDC) organised a Dubai career trek, enabling us to gain first-hand perspective into the organisations visited and potential career possibilities, all while expanding our professional network.
Covering a diverse range of industries, the esteemed companies we visited include Strategy& (formerly Booz & Co), Visa, Uber, L’Oréal, and Moelis & Company.
At the Strategy& trek, partner Jad El Mir and his dedicated members walked us through the “Life at Strategy& Middle East”, “Personal Growth” and “Recruiting”. The consultancy amazed us with its wide scope of work, including national economic development, regulatory reform, and privatisation. It also impressed us with its investment in human-centric programmes.
For example, the firm initiated a people council, where staff could bring a point of view on topics, then discuss how to make an enduring impact in the firm and the society. I deeply resonated with this purpose-led initiative. Years ago, I was selected as the only councillor from Asia-Pacific to join Deloitte’s WorldImpact Council (WIC), contributing to the firm’s partnership with the International Olympic Committee. The experience enabled me to increase knowledge and build senior leadership and management skills, outside of consulting engagements.
In the week of February 24th, the CDC organised a first-ever INSEAD Abu Dhabi Networking Forum. Hosting 30+ leading companies, including BCG, Kearney, Roland Berger, Etihad, and Schneider Electric, this forum offered us a chance to gain valuable information about companies and industries of choice.
I personally considered it a highly effective session, as I received interview invitations on the same day. I also gained a deeper understanding about the local recruitment trends, with many employers revealing they were looking for managerial skills and value the “plug and play” model. That means, it’s not only about which prestigious programme you graduated from, but what actual value you can bring to the table.
I also connected with a few company representatives who are INSEAD MBA alumni, graduated a decade ago, and now work at these large multinationals.
With more than thousands of alumni working and living in the UAE, INSEAD fostered a lifetime relationship with a unique community that can lend its support both personally and professionally.
The career team also hosted several mixers and alumni networking events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. For example, the INSEAD GEMBA/TIEMBA/MBA Mixer offered us a unique opportunity to break out of the MBA bubble and connect with senior peers across the degree programme community (Global Executive MBA, and Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA).
With an average 14~15 years of work experience, the GEMBA and TIEMBA candidates brought in seasoned perspectives from leading organisations around the world. Through chatting with a few management consulting professionals and healthcare leaders, I gained valuable insights into the sub-sectors of interest, while giving back to senior leaders by addressing their queries on Hong Kong’s IPO market.
Events can be student-led, too. As the VP of INSEAD Healthcare Club, I organised an Alumni Career Sharing Session by inviting two MBA alumni from Eli Lilly Mideast to share on the pharma landscape as well as international job hunting strategies. Beomsik Kim (INSEAD MBA ’24D), who successfully landed an offer at Eli Lilly's cMBA programme in Dubai, illustrated what enabled him to pivot into one of the world’s most rigorous leadership development programmes from Toronto.
“[It was] the ability to navigate through ambiguity, to take charge, and to build meaningful relationships”, Beomsik said, “I really believe these three competencies are what the companies here are looking for.”
Another speaker, Maram Alshail (INSEAD MBA ‘23D), is a 10-year Healthcare veteran from Saudi Arabia. She provided a holistic introduction to the pharmaceutical sector in the GCC. Apart from answering many of the participants’ questions, she emphasised the importance of regulatory compliance. This is absolutely critical, yet many candidates forgot to mention it during the interview. It also truly amazed me when one participant told me after the session that this was “one of the best and most informative sessions” he ever attended at INSEAD.
Gateway to Arabic culture and Mena
Apart from the hectic schedule, INSEAD enriched our Mideast journey with carefully curated cultural activities, including a Desert Safari. In the first week, we travelled to the Al Khatim Desert, where we experienced Dune Bashing, Sandboarding, Tanoura Dance, Camel Rides, and dinner in Bedouin style.
If the lectures finished early in the weekdays, we would visit some of the local attractions to experience Arabic art, history, and culture while expanding our views of the world. Within 30-minute driving distance from the campus, we could access the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Abrahamic House.
One of my favourite spots is the Heritage Village, which has replicas of traditional Emirati architecture, such as an old souq (market) filled with small shops, a mini museum, and areas showcasing ancient agricultural techniques. Through interacting closely with the cultural artefacts and immersing in the essence of the region, I felt equipped with a deeper understanding of international business practices while enhancing cultural intelligence.
What’s more, during the weekends, you could find us in different parts of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Oman. Personally, having been to Morocco and Egypt nine years ago, I decided to explore the GCC countries this time. During the Oman trip, we visited the Mutrah Souq as well as Al Alam Palace, and chased dolphins in the Gulf of Oman.
The cultural immersion helped me build empathy, gain confidence, and become a more informed global citizen in today’s interconnected world.
Venture forward with high aspirations
We left this vibrant country full of memories and knowledge developed both within and beyond the INSEAD walls. As I look back, one keyword popped up in my mind: venture. Because of its courage to take risks and embark on ventures, the UAE evolved from a fishing village to a global hub, apart from oil exporting. It was because of the spirit to explore uncharted territory, INSEAD ventured into the Middle East and opened its Executive Education and Research Center in Abu Dhabi in 2007.
This year, INSEAD announced that it had expanded the use of its U.S. campus for exchange for the MBA Class of 2026. This further enhanced its philosophy of “The Business School for the World”.
As MBA candidates, the venture enabled us to leap into the unknown to shape our future for the better. As encapsulated by one of our professors, we are entering into an era full of uncertainty and changes, and we are facing trends that might go against the core value of INSEAD: globalisation.
However, as the next generation of leaders, we should always equip ourselves with the skills and mindset needed to drive meaningful impact, and venture forward with high aspirations.
This article was originally published on Poets & Quants.
