Story by Brett Ludwig
Image by M. Van Voorhis and Courtesy
Looking up, I was awed by the immensity of the construction in front of me. That was my immediate reaction as I gazed upon the Burj Khalifa, the largest skyscraper, not just in Dubai, but in the world. I’m no stranger to tall buildings, having grown up in Chicago where I visited the Sears Tower (Willis Tower) many times. The Burj skyscraper, though, is something different—it’s a monument to defying odds, to stretching the realm of human accomplishment, and to demonstrating what can happen when you set aside the limits of your imagination. I headed to the top floor of the Burj with 16 of my classmates.
All of this happened on day one of our Lehigh FLEX MBA Global Immersion trip to the United Arab Emirates.
An elective in Lehigh’s MBA program, the Global Immersion course takes students out of Bethlehem and creates opportunities to experience the financial, economic, political and cultural dynamics of how business is conducted globally. This year, the program was based in Dubai.
I joined my colleagues on this seven-day excursion to put my international business concentration into practice. I expected to learn about a few companies, try the local delicacies, and experience the Middle East for the first time. What I received was the gift of a more global perspective for how business operates in a region ripe for continued discovery and growth.
The program centers around a series of strategic business meetings designed to allow students to deeply explore the micro and macroeconomics of the region. We visited multinational corporations with large facilities and met with Dubai-based firms that had global impact. We even visited a company owned by the royal family who rules Sharjah, one of the Emirates of the UAE. A highlight of the program was witnessing the assembly of a $150,000 seal used in the oil and gas industry. Remarkably, the seal was small enough to fit comfortably in a college dorm room sized refrigerator. The employees assembling the seal explained the technology and showed us the two-micron-thin ridges that were engineered in Germany and then shipped to Dubai for the assembly process.
Additionally, we spent time with a major global ratings company, learning how Islamic financing traces its roots to the Koran. We heard the official, and unofficial, rationale for why the leading regional low-cost airline allows more legroom than their competitors—the reason is more about engineering than comfort. We toured the manufacturing plants for a multinational company headquartered ten minutes away from Lehigh’s campus. We began to understand the differences in the many free trade zones across the country.
Although the business meetings were incredible, the full value of the immersion program spans well beyond the boardroom.
Faculty sponsor Professor Doug Mahony and staff lead Megan Van Voorhis ensured that we received numerous cultural experiences as well as business fundamentals. The class met an Emirati guide with the Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Centre for Cultural Understanding.
At the Centre, we were treated to a deep exploration of historic neighborhood traditions, complete with an Arabic coffee tasting and tour of a preserved cultural settlement. Later in the week, we experienced a desert safari, complete with “dune bashing,” and the chance to enjoy local food, music and dance. We traveled to Abu Dhabi and absorbed the wonder of the Grand Mosque, observing the religious connections in all aspects of life in UAE. We sampled amazing cuisine at a variety of team dinners along the way.
As with any life-changing experience, the Global Immersion was over far too quickly. But what persists is a series of deep friendships with members of the Lehigh FLEX MBA cohort and a deeper and broader understanding of how the principles we explore in the classroom come to life in the marketplace.
Brett Ludwig is a student in the Lehigh FLEX MBA program. He serves as the Vice President of University Communications and Public Affairs at Lehigh University.