A doctor of business administration (DBA) degree is harder and takes longer than an MBA. In January, Manchester Business School's DBA, which costs £50,000 (Dh290,782), was ranked number one in the world by the Financial Times. Jikyeong Kang, who directs the programme, was in the Emirates in January to seek suitable candidates. Here she discusses what she looks for, aside from a candidate's ability to pay.
What kind of person do you look for?
We are looking for someone with a bachelor's and master's degree, with a good grade, normally a first or a 2:1, but if it's a degree that they achieved 10 or 15 years ago, especially an undergraduate degree, we are not going to penalise someone … We are looking for someone who has shown a significant career progression, at least during the last six years. Sometimes what happens is we are very interested in somebody's work credentials, but on the other hand, if we do not see them as somebody who is able to create space to work on a doctoral degree, that person might not be the right candidate because it is a very rigorous programme.
Your DBA programme was ranked number one in the world by the Financial Times, so I guess you can afford to be choosy.
If [candidates] cannot complete the degree it does not reflect well on our achievement, so we are looking for people with the right kind of qualifications and the right kind of ideas … as far as their research programme is concerned.
How many people did you speak to on your trip?
Altogether we have probably had about 50 to 70 people. I had about seven people for face-to-face interviews, and I invited three people to formally apply.
What kind of people apply?
There are some very high-calibre people. I don't have the information to disclose their positions, so I will randomly talk about some of the students we currently have on the programme. There are about 20 people from this region who are working on a DBA programme, and they're at various stages. Companies represented [include] Emirates Group, Dubai Aluminium, Procter & Gamble, Saudi Aramco, Microsoft and Abu Dhabi Education Council.
These people are already very accomplished, so what is the point in doing a DBA?
This is one of the questions I ask as well, because it is very important that they start the programme with the right kind of motivation. I just interviewed a candidate who is a partner of a very large consultancy organisation that I do not want to name. He said 'I am in Abu Dhabi or Dubai once a week and the rest of the time I am travelling to see our clients'. I said 'do you think you can actually manage? Why do you want to do this?' You know, he gave me all the right answers in terms of why he wants to do it. And quite often, what they're interested in working on in terms of their research, their organisations are also interested in.
* Gillian Duncan
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
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- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
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