Cranfield School of Management is Europe's first university to deliver executive development courses in Saudi Arabia. Eight academics including Dr Abdelkader Aoufi along with two executive education specialists from Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development, Doc McKerr and Imran Zawwar, travelled to the city of Madinah to teach over 100 business leaders, almost half of whom were women, about the fundamentals of business leadership and transforming knowledge into action in the workplace. .
Initiated by Namaa Al Mumawara, a local non-profit think-tank, Cranfield’s Executive Leadership programme attracted middle managers and senior leaders from small companies and public sector organisations.
His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Salman, the eldest son of the Saudi King and the Governor of Madinah set up Namaa Al Munawara with the aim to transform Madinah into a hub of growing SMEs and to develop it as a City of Knowledge which has a positive impact, economically and commercially, both in the local area and across the country.
During the two-week programme, delegates gained an in-depth insight into core business topics such as strategy, innovation, operational excellence, business finance, leadership and corporate use of social media, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to help drive their organisation.
Samar Showail a manager in the Saudi Arabian banking industry, commented: “I have been on these types of courses before. However, this course is more sophisticated and really puts knowledge into practice. The whole experience has been unique; the networking, in particular, was valuable because we had the opportunity to meet people from different background and industries. This meant that we could share our challenges and ideas and learn from one another.”
The programme was funded by the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) who are responsible for developing local business leaders to meet the country’s mission of evenly spreading the economy’s reliance across industries including education and commerce, rather than solely on oil, by 2030.
Ranked among the top 10 business schools worldwide for customised executive development, and first in the world for international reach, Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development delivers open and customised programmes to over 40 clients each year. Over 75% of these courses welcome participants from across the globe.
Notes for editors
For further information please contact:
Avni Thakrar, Cranfield School of Management. T:+44 (0) 1234 75 4806
Email: a.thakrar@cranfield.ac.uk
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About Cranfield University
Cranfield has been a world leader in management education and research for over 50 years, helping individuals and organisations learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action. We are dedicated to creating responsible management thinking, improving business performance and inspiring the next generation of business leaders. We work to change the lives of our students and executives by encouraging innovation and creative thinking, as well as the drive to succeed and make a real impact on their organisations.
Organisations as diverse as Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems, Royal Dutch Shell, L’Oréal, UNICEF and the African Development Bank have benefited from our work, which ranges from management research projects, through staff talent management development on our MBA courses, to customised executive programmes.
Cranfield is one of an elite group of Schools worldwide to hold the triple accreditation of: AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (the Association of MBAs).
We are in the Top 10 International Business Schools in the Forbes’ ranking.
Our open and customised executive education programmes are ranked in the top five in the UK, according to the latest Financial Times survey, and in the top ten in the world for international reach. Over 10,000 people come to Cranfield each year to benefit from our executive and professional development programmes.
