Greetings from dubai.
I am seeking advice please or student testimonials regarding two programs. I have been offered a place on the MBS global MBA based in dubai to start in jan 2012.
As yet I have not been impressed with the standard of the support staff in the dubai executive centre, they seem more interested in taking my money than being able to offer me solid information about the rigour of the course/ links to industry career services etc?
There is a difference of approx 11, 000 GBP between durhams MBA and MBS, both distance learning , MBS higher ranked, but durhams seems more flexible /has greater choice of electives.
My question being is MBS worth the extra fees and why?
My background:
health professional , 8 yrs experience,
seeking shift into mangement consulting, corporate communications/marketing and/ or R&D, within health but seeking to move into management and away from clinical practise.
I have no GMAT score, which also made me worried that i was accepted to MBS without it , which suggests to me the selection process may be less rigorous in the middle east??
Are both schools equally well linked access consulting/marketing opportunities in pharma/healthcare?

Appreciate any comments.

Well, these are both strong schools. I think you can see from the FT's rankings what the general strengths and weaknesses are, but you should certainly speak with some alumni. While the MBS Dubai admissions teams may be under pressure, at least there is a team in Dubai. After admitted you might not have much contact with the salespeople.

MBS and DBS have similar selection criteria worldwide: the GMAT are only needed for their full-time programmes.

Generally, both Durham and Manchester are strong for business developers and finance people. Consulting is certainly strong at both, although Manchester perhaps has more of a general management alumni base. But I would not place Durham as highly as Manchester for marketing or communications. Manchester, after all, has MSc's in corporate communications and in marketing on its main campus (unlike DBS).

More importantly for you perhaps, Manchester has both a location and an notable alumni network in the UAE while Durham has almost nothing. You can build a network and have lower travel costs.

That said, and while I am sure you can think of other ways to change function, but you are right that a full-time MBA with an internship is the most effective way to advance.

Thanks Duncan.
Good advice.
Am attempting to contact local alumni on my own.
That being said would appreciate any perspectives from anyone on this forum who has graduated from dubai MBS , or currently enrolled and residing in UAE.

Further to your comment Duncan, if I was to take the leap and consider FT, which would be the best full time options with interships you would recommend in the UK with good international mobility, good career placement and RoI?
Particularly for someone from a health background?
LBS would be first choice but again financially a little out of my league .
Also I see the term first tier , second tier b - schools being mentioned, would manchester be better recognised than say warwick, durham or strathclyde?ie MBS 2nd tier, durham etc 3rd tier?
Appreciate any comments.

Well, nationalisation means that few British business schools are great at supporting healthcare.

London Business School is certainly the leader, and I would also look at Henley Management College, Warwick Business School, Cranfield School of Management, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. The NHS, Bupa and pharma companies have many alumni of those schools.

Generally speaking, Manchester is certainly tier 2 and Warwick, which has been slipping, is on the border with tier 3. Durham's 'Ivy League'-like undergraduate status certainly counts for a lot in Britain, but it and Strathclyde don't have really strong alumni networks.

Don't count yourself out from LBS because of the finances alone. The RoI is astonishing, and the best investment you can make is to take on more loans/scholarship to get a better MBA.

Many thanks Duncan .
I spoke with an MBS MBA dubai graduate today , gave me some good insight but came from a very different background and stated that for him Manchester didnt actually create career progression or open up more opportunities , it was more of a necessity for him to have it.Whereas I will be using it as a tool for change and new career opportunities I know thats optomistic in this current climate, and they may not come from a part time program , so full time may be the way forward.
Astonishing is a big call Duncan, but astonishing it what I want, a career leap is what I need as health professionals are too often pigeon holed into only having clinical skills but a large portion of our role does involve hard and soft business skills we're just not as good as marketing ourselves for those roles.
I was told by the MBS alumni that he was intrigued to know some firms only recruit from top 5 FT schools but some are more flexible with top 30, is there any way to acqurie such knowledge in terms of which business schools recruit where and how to search within alumni for healthcare/pharma/consulting based alumni ?

You can use LinkedIn's advanced search very well to see, for any particular firm, which schools were attended by MBAs. Of course any of the larger MBA admissions consultancies will also have their own data on that.

If you really want to take a major step, then you need a full-time MBA with an internship option, high quality students and a strong careers service and alumni network.

One off-the-wall option is the Tuck/Dartmouth Institute course: http://mhcds.dartmouth.edu/index.html