Public Affairs

The Center of Continuing Education (CCE) at AUK Introduces its First Executive Mini-MBA Program

20th Dec 2016 | by the Department of PR & Marketing

The Center of Continuing Education (CCE) at AUK announced the graduation of its first group of professionals from the Mini-MBA Program. The program was launched in November 2016 in partnership with BEYOND Consulting and Training, a company based in Lebanon that offers professional development services in the MENA region. The objective of the program was to train professionals on a wide spectrum of competencies that grant them competitive advantages within the business market.

The Mini-MBA Program is designed to provide professionals with the essential theories, practices and techniques needed to succeed in their professional roles. Over a 5-day course, the program provides an experiential overview of five key areas in business operations, strategic planning, finance functions, marketing strategies, leadership roles and human capital.

Buthaina AlKhubaizi, Director of CCE, explained that the CCE/BEYOND Executive Mini-MBA Program does not only provide a comprehensive understanding of each of the five key business competencies, but also identifies their interdependencies. AlKhubaizi explained that the idea of offering a Mini-MBA Program was inspired by the success of the Emerging Leaders Certificate Program, which CCE has been running for three successful years. "Through both programs, CCE tries to offer opportunities for business managers and emerging leaders to reflect and recalibrate, allowing them to disrupt old patterns and discover new approaches to management and leadership," she said.

The CCE Executive Mini-MBA Program is designed for professionals who wish to gain the business skills offered in traditional MBA programs without the time and costs incurred by pursuing an MBA degree. The program employs techniques and methodologies that are typically covered in MBA programs, while utilizing David Kolb Experiential Cycle learning model (heavy emphasis on practice, simulations, role-plays, case studies and videotaping exercises drawn from the real work environment, and job realities and situations.)

The Mini-MBA Program was conducted by instructors who are experts on the different business domains including, organizational strategic planning, leadership styles and behaviors, accounting and finance, marketing strategies, and human resources management.

Upon their completion of the Mini-MBA Program, the participants received professional certificates from CCE at a graduation ceremony held on the center's premises in November. Following the ceremony, AlKhubaizi announced the launch of CCE's Emerging Leaders Certificate Program 2017, which is expected to start mid-February 2017. The Emerging Leaders program was developed in early 2014 to offer an introductory model on leadership and cover subjects such as Communication in the Workplace, Building and Leading High Performance Teams, Conflict Resolution, Exceptional Customer Care, Creative Problem Solving, Motivational Leadership, Achieving Successful Results, Human Intelligences and Well-being and Carving the Leader Within.

About CCE

CCE was established in 2004 and, in addition to offering language courses in Arabic, English, French and Spanish, offers an array of courses and workshops aimed to assist in the personal and professional development of individuals and groups within the public and private sectors. Course offerings are specifically tailored to meet the needs of their clients, whether they are independent groups or corporations.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 20th December 2016

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2016