Cass Business School Dubai is rolling out a new consulting service in the Middle East and Africa aimed at companies that want to spot growth opportunities and solve various corporate problems.
Here, Ehsan Razavizadeh, the school's regional director, discusses the balance of bringing in foreign faculty from its home partner, City University London, while providing localised advice.
How has Cass tried to generate revenues in the past?
We started our operation in the UAE in 2007, offering an executive MBA. Basically, this core source of revenue, if you will, is our executive MBA at the moment. In May 2011, we started offering post-graduate degrees in aviation ... under our sister engineer school. That was the second source or revenue.
And the third source of revenue?
The third one is we offer tailor-made programmes for big institutions in the region.
Why do business schools such as yours need to create different revenue sources?
We are non-profit. As long as we manage to pay our bills and have the space, we are here to stay.
What was the impetus for recently launching a consulting arm for this region?
We fly faculty members from London to Dubai - we don't have any based in the UAE. Since the faculty are flying to Dubai and spend at least four days to go through one subject with our current students, we thought we could utilise this opportunity and take advantage of making them available for companies and public sector to do some consulting work. Back in London, there's a very strong link for us between consultancy, research and teaching.
But companies here would be relying on faculty from afar. Would it not be better to find local experts familiar with how business is done in this region?
Of course, you're absolutely right in that regard, but there are two elements in this service: one is there are many companies in the region that are multinational like Microsoft, Google, Ernst & Young, Deloitte. They have offices in London, New York - all over. We've already done some work for Microsoft in London, and there are natural synergies between the office in the UAE and what they want to achieve here.
What is the second element?
The other thing we're looking to do is we have very good experts … within local industries here. We engage with lots of practitioners and guest speakers. If [we] start any consulting project we'll get advice and engage the local practitioner. But the areas [we'll be looking at including are] leadership, private equity, actuarial science, insurance. I don't see that much difference from Dubai to London and New York. Of course, there are some elements that may be different, like how to conduct a business here, but the principles are the same.
nparmar@thenational.ae
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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BeIN Sports currently has the rights to show
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The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now