The British University in Dubai announced on Tuesday the launch of a new professional development unit (PDU) in response to the growing regional demand for specialized fast track training. The region's leading research based university, BUiD, will work closely with major corporate clients to create tailored educational and practical programs that will provide a continued professional development route to enhance participant's roles in the workplace. “The university is committed to encouraging professional development across regional public and private sectors,” said Dr Abdullah Alshamsi, vice-chancellor at BUiD. “We are pleased to welcome Ms Mary Mayall to head this new unit of study that will offer expert instruction and industry specific tools across fields that complement BUiD's current academic disciplines.” BUiD's current master's programs are available across the fields of Education, Human Resource Management (HRM), Finance and Banking, Project Management (PM), Information Technology and Information Technology Management, Sustainable Design of the Built Environment and Systems Engineering. Under the professional development unit, organizations and individuals have the option of taking independent masters' units as a “continued professional development” course in their specific area of interest. “The professional development unit is designed to allow business organizations the opportunity to gain key industry specific skills through BUiD courses,” said Mayall. Alshamsi added: “The urgent need for professional development across regional businesses is re-emphasized by the immediate requests BUiD has received to create customized programs for corporate clients. At the launch of this unit, we have partnered with Merck Serono Middle East, a division of Merck KGaA, the German pharmaceutical and chemical company with operations in 61 countries across the world.” “The first customized course for Merck Serono has been designed to advance project management skills within all areas of the company,” Mayall said. “In a changing climate, it is crucial that businesses invest in their current staff by providing superior training opportunities to keep them motivated and at the forefront of the industry,” said Karim Smaira, general manager of Merck Serono Middle East. “Merck Serono believes in achieving success through employee excellence and therefore wants to ensure that our staff have specialized tools that will enable them to develop professionally and in turn our clients are offered the best in industry services,” he said. “The British University in Dubai provides us with both quality academic instruction and specialist practical training that meets the hands-on approach the company believes in,” he added. __
