Dubai, January 26, 2015: Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and Chancellor of City University London, hailed Dubai as leading light in the diversification of the Gulf economies, singling out their investment in education, during a recent event in Dubai's DIFC.

Attending a reception for the City University London's Dubai Centre, the Lord Mayor spoke on the importance of education, training and qualifications and how a mutual exchange of talent, ideas and capital between Dubai and UK can help both countries.

Speaking at the event, Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and Chancellor of City University London said: "The city of Dubai is not just a thriving, diverse economy, but also one that invests in its greatest asset - its people. London and the rest of the UK have seen the benefits when upskilling its workforce and Dubai fully recognises how this can help support economic growth.

"As the only overseas location for City University London, the Dubai Centre remains part of the world's top tier of education providers, helping tutor the business and world leaders of tomorrow. I wish it all the success in the future."

Bilateral trade ties between the UAE and UK have never been stronger. Figures released by the UK's Office for National Statistics last year showed the AED 70bn bilateral trade target between the UAE and UK by 2015 was met and surpassed two years ahead of the deadline.

Ehsan Razavizadeh, Regional Director & Head of Dubai Centre, City University London said: "City University London has built a strong reputation for academic excellence over the years, and the recent acknowledgement by the Research Excellence Framework, indicating City research has been rated world-leading and internationally excellent, is a proof point of this success and quality.

"At City University London's Dubai Centre - we bring the UK's world-class learning experience to the UAE and its people. Looking ahead, we plan to invest further into the region, bring more courses and further develop the region's knowledge economy."

City University London's Schools have seen impressive growth in the past year.

Last year students from 22 nationalities are taking part in Cass Business School's two-year EMBA course, which runs until the autumn of 2016. The students already have an average of over ten years business experience and include executives from National Bank of Fujairah, Microsoft Corp., Panasonic Avionics Corp., Citi Group, L'Oreal, Dubai Properties Group, HSBC, Nokia Networks UAE, and Jumeirah Group.  The School of Health Sciences are holding their inaugural Health Conference later this week at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre, DHCC. Whilst the Dubai Centre also hosts the School of Mathematics, Computer Science & Engineering's MSc Aviation programmes.

For further details please contact: Iain Munro, Bell Pottinger: +971 55 559 7389, imunro@bell-pottinger.com

The Dubai Centre was established in 2007 in collaboration with Dubai International Financial Centre, as a regional centre of educational excellence for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).  The Centre operates as a not-for-profit venture. It offers the internationally acclaimed Cass Executive MBA (EMBA), tailor-made executive education, business services including consulting and high profile networking events and MSc programmes in Aviation.  The EMBA offers MENA-based executives and professionals the opportunity to combine demanding work schedules with study near their home and work environments. The programme also attracts students from as far afield as Singapore, the USA and Azerbaijan.  It was the world's first EMBA programme to offer specialist Islamic finance and energy modules and students can choose to specialise in entrepreneurship, finance or general management.  The quality of education is guaranteed with London-based faculty flying in to provide the programme:  www.cass.city.ac.uk/dubaicentre.

Cass Business School in London is part of City University London.  Located in the heart of one of the world's leading financial centres, Cass is the business school for the City of London.  It delivers innovative, relevant and forward-looking education, consultancy and research.  Cass offers one of the widest portfolios of specialist Masters programmes and has the largest faculties of Finance and Actuarial Science & Insurance in Europe. It is ranked in the top 10 UK business schools for business, management and finance research with leading research centers in areas including Mergers and Acquisitions and Pensions.  Entrepreneurship is another strength with Cass's Peter Cullum Centre for Entrepreneurship, venture capital fund and sector research.  The 2012 Financial Times EMBA rankings placed Cass fourth in the UK and tenth in Europe.  The School is in the top one per cent of business schools worldwide to have received the gold standard of 'triple-crown' accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).  It has a strong alumni network of over 35,000, which extends worldwide across a wide variety of companies and professions: www.cass.city.ac.uk.

City University London is a global University committed to academic excellence, with a focus on business and the professions and an enviable central London location.  It is in the top five per cent of universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012/13 and in the top thirty universities in the UK according to the Times Higher Education Table of Tables 2012. It is ranked in the top 10 in the UK for both graduate-level jobs (The Sunday Times University Guide 2013) and starting salaries (Which University?).

The University attracts over 17,000 students (35% at postgraduate level) from more than 150 countries and academic staff from over 50 countries.  Its academic range is broadly-based with world leading strengths in business; law; health sciences; engineering; mathematical sciences; informatics; social sciences; and the arts including journalism and music. The University's history dates back to 1894, with the foundation of the Northampton Institute on what is now the main part of City's campus. In 1966, City was granted University status by Royal Charter and the Lord Mayor of London was invited to be Chancellor, a unique arrangement that continues today. Professor Paul Curran has been Vice-Chancellor of City University London since 2010:  www.city.ac.uk.

© Press Release 2015