United Arab Emirates, 8th December 2010: In line with its CSR commitment towards education, Mashreq collaborated with Murdoch University and announced a marketing competition for Murdoch's MBA students. Students were asked to conduct research into the financial industry and come up with new marketing ideas tackling the remittance market.

Murdoch University Dubai is an accredited official branch of Murdoch University, which is based in Perth, Western Australia.

The competition was part of the Marketing Management course at Murdoch Dubai. Students were asked to deliver a comprehensive marketing approach for one of Mashreq's new initiatives. This competition constitutes 70% of the course grade and covers market research, analysis, environmental scanning, consumer behavior understanding and financial projections amongst other topics.

Murdoch Dubai's Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor John Grainger recognized the significance of the partnership: "This marks the beginning of an important period in the lifestyle of Murdoch." He reminded the MBA students that "this is what the MBA is all about, challenging students and challenging teachers with difficult but rewarding projects."

"The initiative with Mashreq has given our students the opportunity to experience and work on a real-life case study exposing them to the competitive market out there. They have done exceedingly well and we are proud of the ideas they have put forward. We hope to replicate the success of this competition by hosting many more in the future." added Grainger.

The competition allowed students to experience real life challenges to enhance their learning ability and their readiness for real marketing jobs. All 11 groups of 53 students were given 12 weeks to come up with a comprehensive plan, which was presented to Mashreq Executives during a three-day assessment at the Murdoch campus.

Mohd Ayman Al Atassi, Head of Corporate Communication, commented, "Mashreq has always believed in the significance of education and empowering students. Such competitions play a vital role in enhancing student experience and self-development. This will certainly equip them with the tools required to tackle challenges arising in their careers.  Our partnership with Murdoch has been extremely fruitful and Mashreq would like to confirm its commitment to the education sector."

An awards ceremony was organized to announce the winning team and recognize the efforts of other teams. The winning team was presented with a cash prize, while other groups were given certificates for their participation, enthusiasm and commitment towards the project.

-Ends- 

About Mashreq:
Mashreq is one of the leading UAE National banks in the UAE. Founded in 1967 as Bank of Oman, the bank has played a pioneering role in the industry, particularly in retail banking. Among its many firsts, it was the first to launch such products as travelers' cheques, credit cards and ATMs.

Mashreq has received numerous international awards such as the Best Bank in the UAE in 2008 from Euro money and various awards particularly for quality management. It's most recent acknowledgement was Best Consumer Internet Bank in Qatar 2009 & 2010, Best Consumer Internet Bank regionally by Global Finance Awards 2009 and Best Emerging Market Banks Middle East  by Global Finance Awards 2010.

As a leading financial Institution in the UAE Mashreq aims to be world class in every facet of its business, including its social responsibility to the community it serves. Towards this goal the bank pays particular attention to recruiting, training, developing and retaining UAE National employees.

Nancy D'Souza
Gulf Hill & Knowlton
Tel: 04 334 4930
Email: Nancy.DSouza@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2010