UB School of Management, Chicago Institute of Business Partner to Offer Online Mini-MBA

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Beginning Aug. 1, individuals in the Middle East and North Africa will have access to an innovative Online Mini-MBA program offered by the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Management in collaboration with the Chicago Institute of Business (CIB).

While the UB School of Management has offered its regular Online Mini-MBA program in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for some time, the partnership with CIB will provide participants with enhancements that make it even more valuable.

UB’s Online Mini-MBA is designed to provide a basic introduction to business and management practices. It fosters an understanding of the most important functions of business and management, and builds a foundation for making sound business judgments and decisions.

The new program will be targeted to the 22 Arab countries, Turkey, Kenya, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and will include the 17 modules that the School of Management currently provides in accounting and finance, marketing and communications, technology, human resources, economics and general management.

The enhancements will come from modules customized for each individual market, such as Islamic finance, Islamic jurisprudence and Egyptian labor law, developed by CIB. Similarly, the UB School of Management has created specialized modules in global business and entrepreneurship that are important in certain MENA markets. An estimated 23 modules will be launched this year, with more likely to be developed in the future.

“This Online Mini-MBA program is the first of its kind offered by a U.S. university in the Middle East,” says Nehad El Gamal, CEO of CIB, who first proposed the idea to UB in 2011. A 2002 graduate of the UB Law School, El Gamal says the program will make a positive difference in the future economies of these countries.

“Business education is deeply needed in this region,” he says. “This program will offer flexibility and will benefit individuals who do not have access to this type of education.”

Course materials are presented in English, but CIB has created instructional videos and print materials in Arabic as reinforcement for all of the modules. CIB is an organization that strives to provide world-class education at affordable costs for developing countries.

“We believe this partnership will help us bring our programs to the citizens of the MENA countries in a more comprehensive fashion,” says Courtney J. Walsh, assistant dean for executive education at the UB School of Management." Adding the tutorials in Arabic will be extremely beneficial to our participants.”

The Online Mini-MBA program is a non-credit-bearing program and upon successful completion, participants will receive a certificate issued jointly by CIB and the UB School of Management. In addition, graduates of the program who enroll in UB’s full-time MBA program within three years will be given a $750 credit towards tuition. To learn more, contact the UB School of Management's Center for Executive Development at 716-645-3200 or mgt-ced@buffalo.edu.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.