GBSN has been invited to put together a session for the Innovation Arabia 8 Conference happening in Dubai on February 16 – 18 at the Hamdan Bid Mohammed Smart University. The session will be at noon on February 17th, and will be a plenary session of the conference.
Innovation Arabia 8 will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of HBMSU. The main theme of this year conference is “Innovate, Collaborate, and Differentiate: Honouring the Past, Treasuring the Present, and Shaping the Future.”
This theme reflects the university belief that, innovation is the path towards growth, progress and a better tomorrow for the Arab World. Innovation can drive sustainable economic and social development for the region. Countries in the Arab World will need to embark on a journey of innovations, prepare the ground for the rise of the creative revolution, creative class and creative society, so their economies are transformed into knowledge economies.
GBSN Session Description
“Excellence and Innovation in Management Education for Emerging Economies”
Businesses in emerging markets are struggling to recruit and retain people with the skills necessary to operate successfully in challenging, and ever-changing political, social and economic climates. But are the models of business education established in the US and Europe appropriate incubators of effective managers for the developing world? How can industry communicate and collaborate with academics to ensure they have access to the talent they need? What role does the development sector have in ensuring education is relevant to local markets?
Join the Global Business School Network (GBSN) for this interactive discussion between academia, industry and the development sector about preparing talent to lead, manage and grow businesses in emerging economies. This session will explore how these sectors can collaborate to find innovative and effective approaches to the management talent shortage.
Panelists
Dr. Geralyn Franklyn
Dean, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University
Prof. Geralyn McClure Franklin is an experienced academic leader, having served as dean of business at three different institutions for 11.5 years and interim dean at one institution for two years, prior to becoming dean of the College of Business and Economics at United Arab Emirates University in August 2014. Dr. Franklin received her PhD from the University of North Texas.
Dr. Franklin has involved faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders to set new, and in some cases transformational, strategic directions and initiatives at all four of the business units she has headed previously. She has been successful in securing external funding for student scholarships, faculty professorships, development and support of academic programming, faculty and staff development, building renovations, and the general needs of her units. Additionally, one of Dr. Franklin’s business schools was successful in achieving initial business accreditation from AACSB International, the premier accrediting body of business programs globally. Another college was able to expedite the initial business accreditation process while she was dean and later received initial business accreditation, and two colleges achieved maintenance of accreditation or continuous improvement accreditation under her leadership.
As an academic, Dr. Franklin has published more than 80 journal articles and 50 conference proceedings on human resource management, employment law, and small business and entrepreneurial issues. In addition, she has co-authored five textbooks, most recently Employment Regulation in the Workplace, 2nd Edition (M.E. Sharpe, 2014).
Professionally, Dr. Franklin has been involved in numerous organizations and served in leadership roles throughout her career. She is active in AACSB International, previously serving two three-year elected terms as a member of the board of directors and currently serving as a mentor and peer review team member. Since June 2012, Dr. Franklin has been the senior vice president of finance and control for the International Council for Small Business, the first international membership organization to promote growth and development of small businesses worldwide and now with 15-country based or regional affiliates and members from more than 70 countries. Dr. Franklin is a past president of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Small Business Institute Directors’ Association, the Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and the Southwest Academy of Management. She has been named a Fellow of the three small business and entrepreneurship groups.
For almost 30 years, Dr. Franklin has consulted with small and entrepreneurial firms along with some larger organizations. Dr. Franklin advocates for faculty to engage students in real-world business projects and encourage students to seek internships and study abroad or student exchange opportunities as part of their academic coursework and educational experiences.
Dr. Zaki Khoury
Regional Director, International Organizations, Middle East and Africa, Microsoft
Dr. Zaki Khoury leads Microsoft cooperation with International, Multi-lateral, and Bi-lateral Organizations, across Middle East and Africa.
Dr. Khoury is bringing over 25 years of experience in Business Development, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), ICT for Development & Innovation. Previously, he was Gulf Business Manager overlooking the business strategy and operations in the six Gulf countries. He worked closely with governments in the region to leverage ICT for increasing economic competitiveness, addressing social development, and enhancing Business development climate.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Dr. Khoury held senior leadership roles including the International Rescue Committee’s Regional Director for the Middle East region (New York); Principal Development Director for Post-Conflict countries in the Near East at DAI (Washington DC); Director of Education & Employment at the International Youth Foundation (Baltimore), and the World Bank as Regional Coordinator of the Urban Management Program for the Arab States (Cairo). He also provided consultancy to OTI, USAID, and CIDA on Economic & Social Development in Middle East, Africa and West Asia.
Dr. Khoury has a PhD in Planning (Montreal), a Master in Economics & Urban Development Planning (London), a Master in Environmental Management (Senghor), and a BSc. in Engineering. Author of a number of articles on Urban Economics, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Development, and Innovation – he is a member of the US-Dubai Business Council, Society of the International Development and EF Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation. In 2007, Dr. Khoury moved with his wife and two kids, Alex (13) & Annie (9), from Maryland (US) to be currently based in Dubai.
More information is at http://www.
Nicole Zefran is the Network Coordinator at the Global Business School Network