{"id":348,"date":"2009-04-24T14:45:01","date_gmt":"2009-04-24T18:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=348"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:01:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:01:06","slug":"the-intersection-of-the-modern-and-traditional-in-dubai-captivates-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2009\/04\/the-intersection-of-the-modern-and-traditional-in-dubai-captivates-students\/","title":{"rendered":"The intersection of the modern and traditional in Dubai captivates students."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSeeing the desert for me was like someone who had never seen the ocean,\u201d said Jessica Aristizabal <\/strong>(IMBA \u201907), program coordinator, international graduate programs, who helped plan the latest Master of International Business (MIB) trip, which took her and 51 others to Dubai from March 14-21, 2009.<\/p>\n

Like all MIB trips, this one involved a mixture of company visits and sight-seeing opportunities. But the inaugural excursion to Dubai presented the organizers with some special challenges.<\/p>\n

[flv:http:\/\/business.fiu.edu\/newsletters\/BusinessNetworks\/2009\/04\/videos\/dubai.flv 500 334]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trip prompted lots of interest because of the exotic destination,\u201d said Paola Moreno<\/strong> (MBA \u201903) associate director, international graduate programs. \u201cThat meant trying to accommodate as large a group as possible. We also spent a lot of time negotiating with the company that helped us plan the trip to get the best itinerary\u2014good companies and good accommodations\u2014at the best price.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group got an inside view of business in the region through meetings at construction management giant Parsons Brinkerhoff; real estate development company Nakheel, noted for its Palm Island and other reclamation projects; the Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Emirates Group, parent company of the Emirates Airline, Dubai\u2019s national airline.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Master of International Business group assembles in front of the landmark Jumeirah Mosque, the largest mosque in Dubai. Built in 1978 in the medieval Fatimid style, it is the only mosque in Dubai open to non-Muslims.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Six months of planning paid off.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once the complex logistics fell into place, the trip went off smoothly. Aristizabal and Isabel Lopez<\/strong> (MIB \u201906, BBA \u201903), assistant director, Master of Science in Finance program, handled details on site, and got to enjoy the experience as well.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A trip to the desert gave the students the chance to experience its vastness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe saw how the country runs,\u201d Aristizabal said, and Lopez, who had attended MIB trips to Europe and China was \u201csurprised to find the culture very open, having expected it to be closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

MIB student and an academic advisor in the college, Ira Turner<\/strong> (BBA \u201905) was one of several students who would like to work in Dubai.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to get a job there for a year or two,\u201d said Turner who hopes for a career in government or with a multinational corporation. \u201cI was blown away by the land reclamation and the creativity that made the land worth so much money. It was good to see another culture, and to open the horizon to new experiences.<\/p>\n

Tomislav Mandakovic<\/strong>, associate dean, Chapman Graduate School, was also \u201cstruck by the magnitude of the unusual infrastructure construction being undertaken, and its contrast to the harsh environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the real estate boom was appealing, but some of the traditions remain unbeatable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were taken across the dunes, watched a sunset in the desert, were entertained by belly dancers, and got to ride on camels,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSeeing the desert for me was like someone who had never seen the ocean,\u201d said Jessica Aristizabal (IMBA \u201907), program coordinator, international graduate programs, who helped plan the latest Master of International Business (MIB) trip, which took her and 51 others to Dubai from March 14-21, 2009. Like all MIB trips, this one involved a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[1158,1170,1177,1290,1805,1869,2587],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24074,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/24074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}