The University of Manchester-Dubai – the Middle East regional branch of one of the world’s leading universities – has welcomed its new cohort of students from the Middle East joining the University’s part-time MBA programme study pathways. The new cohort has the highest proportion of female students admitted by the University in the Middle East, since opening the regional branch in Dubai, in 2006. Professional women accounted for more than one-third of the total cohort, and almost double the ratio of female students in the January 2025 cohort (the University offers two intakes per calendar year – January and July).

Across the new MBA cohort in the Middle East, there are students from 13 different nationalities residing in eight countries, with the two biggest contributors being the UAE and Saudi Arabia. All the new students are highly educated and qualified working professionals and bring significant international and regional experience from a range of industries, including Financial Services; Real Estate, Oil and Gas; Engineering; Hospitality; and Technology sectors.

Commenting on the new cohort, Randa Bessiso – Founding Director, Middle East at The University of Manchester-Dubai, said: “We are seeing continued strong demand for our range of part-time MBA programmes among more female working professional professionals in the region, especially in the UAE and KSA. This indicates rising interest in post experience qualifications and also reflects the evolving workforce in the region with more female graduates coming to us with the prerequisite education, qualifications and experience necessary to join a demanding academic master’s programme. This increasing diversity is very positive for all our students and enriches the learning experience and professional networking experiences for our growing alumni community. Many of our new students join through personal recommendations from our alumni and many are also looking to continue their personal and professional development beyond the master’s programme, indicating a growing commitment to lifelong learning, which is very encouraging.”

Alliance Manchester Business School’s (AMBS) full-time MBA is ranked 46th in the world, 14th in Europe, and 5th in the UK in the 2025 Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Ranking. The FT also ranks AMBS 1st in the UK and Europe and 3rd globally for Careers Service. AMBS marks its 60th anniversary in 2025 – the school was one of the first two business schools established in the UK, in 1965.

The University of Manchester-Dubai (UoM-D) has been granted Institutional Licensure by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research UAE (MOHESR) and accreditation of all its academic programmes by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA). UoM-D also recently announced the appointment of its first Dubai-based teaching faculty and academic leads in the key areas of Research, and Teaching & Learning.