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You are never too old to enroll for business courses

Dubai - Business studies has the highest enrollment rate in Dubai. Khaleej Times finds out why

When Pakistani national and Dubai resident Umair Tariq finished his Bachelors in Commerce in 2008, he decided to work for a popular bank in Dubai. "After working for a few years, I decided to do an MBA at the HULT Business School in Knowledge Village," he said.
Tariq insisted that the main reason he did an MBA was not because it was a 'fad' or 'something his parents forced him to do'. "It was the best experience of my life. I learned immensely from the experience of studying for my MBA and I did it because I knew I would grow vertically up the career ladder."
Universities in Dubai have become a hub for higher education in business studies, for both local and international students. Since 2012, business education has been the pick of courses among young and older graduates.
According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) private sector education landscape report of 2015-16, business studies has the highest enrollment rates in higher education sector, with 53 per cent of the student population opting for courses in business. Only 16 per cent opted for engineering and 7 per cent opt for media and design.
Vertical growth
Arindam Banerjee, director of admissions and professor of finance at SP Jain School of Global Management, said business management can be learned at any age.
"You can be a 23-year-old student of management or you can be 53 years old ... Unlike other sectors, you can learn management at any ... age," said Banerjee.
According to the professor, you cannot decide that you want to learn medicine at the age of 50. "It is also a matter of mindset. After working for a few years in the corporate sector, people realise that for vertical growth in the career ladder, they need to take a course in management."
Joseph John Nallur, programme coordinator for the School of Media at Murdoch University Dubai, recommended students in the arts fields to undertake a management degree to grow vertically. "I've asked some journalism students to take up a course in management."

Banerjee defined management as a way to 'manage men tactfully'. "That basic principle has not changed. Learning business or management is not about understanding finance, but it gives you an overview on how to be more resourceful."
Speaking about the most popular business courses in Dubai, Banerjee said: "Dubai is a marketers' paradise and considering that trend, the largest number of people go in for marketing, shortly followed by logistics and supply chain, and finally, students also opt for finance and information technology."
Experts like Banerjee also said that to learn management you need a few years of work experience.
Students who have completed their business studies have also found it highly beneficial to branch out to enterprise and entrepreneurship. Mexican national and graduate of the Hult Business School, Carlos Moreno, said: "I used run a restaurant franchise in Mexico before I did my MBA. I realised that once I'd completed my studies, I became far more efficient with management of people and funds. My businesses have done really well as well."
TOP five apps for college students
 This application is perfect for students who need to create a to-do list. It also synchronises all tasks with other devices so that the list can be accessed from anywhere.
Dropbox lets you upload different files (documents, photos, videos) in the cloud and get them online whenever you need, even if you forget your phone at home.
 3. Scribd
Scribd helps students find millions of different documents and books that are important for your studies. All those data are shared by people from all over the world
 4. Studious
How often do you forget about the date and time of your test? All you need to do is to enter all information about your class, time, professor, location, etc., and this cool application will remind you about it just in time!
 5. SelfControl
To avoid distractions, the SelfControl application blocks certain websites that can distract you from studying, and it does it for a set period of time
(Sources- Bijal Oza and Lifehack.org)
 Grad school Checklist
Prioritising: Understand the main reason as to why you're joining a programme. Higher education is expensive, so make it count
Goal setting: Write letters to yourselves on where you want to see yourself in a year and reflect on those goals after a year
Wellness: Take care of your mental and physical health and practise time management
Focus: Stay focused on what you want to do and keep scalable goals
 
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com