E12 NYU Abu Dhabi MBA Explained: Admissions, Scholarships & Global Career Paths w/ Arnold Longboy

Very important, though specific to this program is that we're really looking for candidates who want to either start or build their career in the MENA region. And again, also because of the dual campus format, we try to look for kind of a global mindset as well. And someone has that global mindset or at the very least be open and curious to the diversity that they're going to be surrounded by. And to be inspired by that, to be open to that.

Hi everyone. Welcome back to MBA Golden Buzzard. Today I'm joined by Arnie Longboy, Executive Director of Enrollment Management and Marketing at NYU Abu Dhabi mba. This is one of the most exciting additions to the global business education scene. A one year program designed for bold, globally minded professionals located in one of the world's most dynamic cities. Today we're going to talk about what makes this MBA unique, what kind of candidates thrive here, and what you'll need to know if you're planning on applying. So let's get into it. Arnie, thank you so much for being with me here. Those who might be getting to know you for the first time, could you maybe introduce yourself to us?

Ellen, thanks for having me here and for inviting me to the, to this podcast. Yeah. I'm Arnie Longboy, the Executive Director for Market recruitment and Admissions here at Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi. I'm from an island called Hawaii, which is really far away from here, but you know, the significance of that is where I am currently at. I'll connect the dots very quickly. But after undergraduate, I started off as an accountant in one of the big four, which was probably Big six or Big eight when I was there, but soon after that went into higher education more recently. Before coming here, I was at London Business School and before that at Chicago booth for 20 years at the London campuses, but now here for the last year and a half on another island which is called Saadiat island and is where our campus is located. So full circle.

Yeah, definitely. And also lots of sunshine in both places. So with a little pause in London.

Yes.

And the Abu Dhabi MBA is a really new program. What inspired its launch and how does it align with the evolving landscape of global business education?

So NYU is not new actually to this area. So NYU New York University started their undergraduate program here in Abu Dhabi about 15 years ago. And there was a, there's a fascinating story behind that with the then president John Sexton and the leader of the country getting together and deciding that, you know, they wanted something new. They wanted to kind of transform undergraduate education in this country as well, as in the region. So a lot of the inspiration for why Stern came here was established kind of when NYU established itself 15, 15 years ago. But the more the inspiration for the business school has a lot to do with, I would say Abu Dhabi, as we like to say in New York. Stern and NYU in New York is in and of New York City. Stern and nyu. Abu Dhabi is really in and of Abu Dhabi. And it is really. Abu Dhabi is one of those cities that's plugged into everything these days. It's more connected to other global hubs every day. And it's really growing into the center of, for example, finance being called the capital of capital tech. You have renewable energy, sustainability, consumer products, you name it. And the UAE and especially Abu Dhabi is really putting serious effort into shifting from oil economy into one that is more knowledge based and service based. And when we ask companies and governments, what is it that you need in order to reach this goal? And we keep hearing the same thing, that's that they need talent that knows how to manage and lead really well. So of course, our program here just starting, just, you know, addressing some of that gap, some of that need. But I feel like our 50 to 60 students that will be graduating every year will be the leaders of, you know, the managerial leadership class that's going to help shape this transformation that's happening.

Absolutely. And to also be able to translate that business knowledge to the local scenario while also having that global vision is a really unique opportunity to build your career.

Yep, definitely.

How does the one year format with different modules around the world enhance learning experience for students?

So the one year format really keeps the momentum going, Ellen. It's fast, it's focused and designed for students, people who want to make an impact without spending too much time away from their jobs. Absolutely. And the exciting thing about this program as well is you get to study in these two major business hubs. You get the best of both worlds. You get exposure to Abu Dhabi, which is this rapidly growing business hub in the region. And then you get the energy and global perspective of New York. This mix gives a broad view of how businesses operate and specific companies as well, how they operate across regions, but also helps our students to gain this global network and develop the kind of adaptability that today's leaders really need. I mean, it's a truly immersive experience, one that's both culturally and academically in both of those major cities.

And how long does that module in New York last? Is it a full semester? Is it a couple weeks?

Yeah. So the way the program works is they start in January, so January start every year. And from January to May they're in Abu Dhabi. And then from mid May to August when it's really hot here, they go to New York. And so our current students are actually in New York and taking some of their courses there. And then at the end of August they come back to Abu Dhabi where they start taking their electives and complete their coursework and graduate in December.

That's yeah, really well timed and again allows you to be really efficient with your career planning, especially with today's world moving so fast. That sounds like the best of all worlds. And how integrated are those students in the NYU New York campus while they're there?

So of course the two year full time program students are not there, at least most of them are because they're in the summer internships. But there are also other one year programs in New York that they get to meet. And then there's also this large part time program, the Langone program where our students, if they choose to do so, get to take some of those electives there as well. So I was just there a couple weeks ago getting to see them kick off the program in New York. So we got the chance to meet some of the student leaders of some of the other programs and it was really interesting for some of them, first time, you know, in the U.S. like I said, a lot of them mentioned the energy of New York and the diversity of New York and the excitement of there and getting experience the main campus too.

What's kind of the typical profile of the student who does the MBA in Abu Dhabi?

What we're really looking for is someone who is wanting to start or, you know, continue their career in the Middle East. When someone comes to me and says they want a stern degree but really want to then go to New York post mba, then the programs in New York are really the ones that they should be looking at instead. So again folks, the reason why we developed this is to address that gap of talent that the companies need in order to reach the aspirations of the country and the region. So that is foremost the kind of profile that we're looking for in terms of careers, but otherwise very similar to what other MBA programs are looking for. You know, our, our current cohort has about five years of average work experience, but the range is anywhere from about 6 months to 16 years. Average age is, is 28. The industries they come from are, you know, the top three of consulting, financial services and tech. Although interestingly number three for this group at least what they said when they were applying. So number one in terms of what they want to go into is consulting. Number two, financial services. And then three was entrepreneurship and family business.

Interesting.

Fourth is in tech, which is often, you know, the top three in any other of those MBA programs.

That's cool. That's really cool. And I think with the NYU program in Abu Dhabi, you have a lot of experiential learning components, which makes sense that people looking more towards entrepreneurship and family business would also be very attracted to that. And I think one of those is an internship project with a local organization. Can you share a little bit more about what that looks like?

Definitely. It's a key feature of Stern MBAs in general. So I think one of the things that also makes Stern MBA distinct is this focus on experiential learning. And hands on applied learning is a key component. And when the current cohort started back in January, their first course was this course called Strategic Communications. And of course where they get to practice strategic communications, what they learn and they get feedback in real time. And the amazing thing is in this one week I got to see their first presentation and their final presentations. And even for some really seasoned presenters or communicators, the difference, you know, the improvement from just that one week wasn't, was incredible. And so that was a really hands on course at the very beginning. But then of course you have this, what we call the Stern internship projects. There's one in the very first term in Abu Dhabi and then there's a second one in that last term when they come back to Abu Dhabi. But what it really is is companies coming to us and saying we have this challenge, we have this question that we would really love a group of your students and some of your professors to help us address. And the number of companies that came to us and say, you know, we really want, you guys want to work with you was a lot more than we actually had need for. With 54 students, you know, you could only have, I think was it maybe about 10 groups, whereas we had probably about 30 different potential projects from a bunch of different companies in this country and in this region. Right. And some of the things they had to address were helping a tech, you know, ecosystem market itself, to working with sovereign wealth fund on benchmarking investment success, to, to, to mapping the, the, the regional impact of integrated resort development. $4.5 billion mapping what the regional impact would be of that integrated resort, to, you know, helping a huge global brand about how it should launch a new product that it was thinking about. In this market and then helping another organization think about climate, tech investments. And those are just some of them really fascinating topics. And there are a lot of companies, big companies, big names that, you know, weren't necessarily selected but will hopefully have a chance in the, in the third term. And the reason why they weren't selected is in this first set, what we did was companies gave us descriptions of the projects, but we stripped the company's name. So then the students were just choosing the project they wanted based on description and what they would be working on without necessarily looking at the name. You know, so some big companies, some really big companies who didn't necessarily maybe put enough work into marketing the project enough didn't get chosen.

That's awesome. I love that too. And then it's so student guided. So you're really responding to what students want, what's current, instead of having. Okay, we always work with these five partners. Choose one of them because it's always, you know, the usual suspects. I love that. That's really cool.

Yeah, yeah.

And what kind of career support does the program offer?

Students come here for career transitions, career pivots for career development. Right. I mean, the content. The academics help them in that regard as well. But ultimately it's about, you know, advancing your career. Advancing your career. Exactly. Advancing your career is what our career management colleagues like, like to talk about. It's not placement. Right. It's about support. So we have a career Management center team that is kind of split into two areas. One part of the team is what I would call employer engagement, where they're, you know, they're working with companies to host these, these projects that I just talked about, the Stern internship projects, and mostly about creating relationships with companies that want to hire our graduates. And even though it's still, we're only what, five months into the program, there have been quite a number of big brands as well as more local brands that have come and presented to our students and, you know, saying, why you should come work for us. So we've had a lot of those presentations already. They're also in charge of what we call networking events as well with companies too. So that is the employer engagement side of the Career Management center team. And in the other half of the team focus on career coaching, advising and professional development, working on assessments that, and diagnostics that students can take even before they start to program to how to enhance their LinkedIn profiles, to their resume, to, you know, once they get to that point, how to negotiate your salary. Important one thing they've been really Working on these days, a lot of is case interviewing. About a third of our students said they want to go into consulting. So case interviewing or casing is something they really need to work on. Some of our students have been exposed to that previously, others for the first time, and they're really humbled by what, you know, they don't know and what they need to know in terms of just how to structure your thinking and what to expect. But the career support is really focused on getting them opportunities or helping them with opportunities in the region. Going back to why someone would do this program. But, you know, if they want to go and do something globally, then that's a different story. But also they're going to have career support for life. Yeah. If they do want to go out. So that's where I would then say it's about leveraging the network that they become a part of. The Stern Alumni Network is pretty strong. It's 110,000 strong in 130 different countries all over the world. They also become part of what we call the Violet network. They become part of that network, which is 700,000 strong and, you know, includes graduates from the undergraduate as well as, say, the engineering school, the medical school, law school. Those are people now in business roles as well. But they become part of the network, and that's where they get their career development as well, as well as their career connections.

That's awesome. Yeah. Because definitely being plugged into such a prestigious network, such a large network, I think sometimes people don't think about the advantages that that has over the long haul of your career. Right.

It's true. Our career team will help them get that first job. Right. And the second, third, and fourth, if they come to a career center for support. But those other jobs are going to come from your social capital, your. Your community that you belong to. Right. It's those hidden jobs that they'll probably end up getting through this network.

Absolutely. And let's talk a little bit about admissions. What qualities and experiences do you and your team prioritize when you're evaluating candidates for this program?

So it's very similar from a big picture point of view of what our programs in New York look for. We did not want to differentiate because it is a Stern mba. And so we want to have very similar admissions criteria. And so they fall into. And it's holistic, revolving around three areas. That is the academic readiness, professional profile and aspirations, and then personal characteristics. And underlying all of that, of course, is this Stern core value called IQ + EQ. I mean, what is academic readiness? It's really just, you know, assessing if someone, you know, can thrive in the academic rigor of this academic program.

Yeah, it's hard.

Yeah, no, it's hard, right. A lot of work and there, there's aspects of, of the application that go and help to assess academic readiness, you know, path performance as well as the standardized test, then professional profile and aspirations, progression. Someone has had their promotions and expanded responsibilities. And if someone's coming from an entrepreneurial venture, like what kind of growth and learning they've had. As I said earlier, the average of our current cohort is about five years of work experience, with the range being anywhere from six months to about 16, 16 years. And then the third bucket, equally as important, is what we call personal characteristics. That's their leadership potential, their communication skills, and of course, their emotional intelligence, you know. And what is emotional intelligence? The way I like to define it is your ability to form and maintain relationships, have meaningful dialogue, you know, your leadership potential, your collaboration skills, your self awareness, your ability to contribute to the community. That's what I mean by emotional intelligence. But again, going back to what I originally said when you asked the question, very important though specific to this program is that we're really looking for candidates who want to either start or build their career in the MENA region. As you know, many programs are a great channel to work in the country that that program is located. So again, like I said, if someone wants to go work in the US post mba, then I steer them towards the programs there. And again, also because of the dual campus format, we try to look for kind of a global mindset as well. And someone has that global mindset or at the very least be open and curious to the diversity that they're going to be surrounded by and to be inspired by that, to be open to that.

Does the Abu Dhabi program also accept the Executive Assessment like you guys do in New York? And if you do and candidates apply with that exam, will they be at a disadvantage?

So we accept the six tests. I think that the MBA program in New York accepts as well. So gmat, gre, the Executive assessment, the mcat, LSAT and the dental exam, dat. And no, they're not at a disadvantage. Right. The test for me, for us, is really helping us to determine academic readiness, program readiness. And I think the executive assessment, along with their past academic performance in their undergraduate and or other qualifications that they have, you know, gives us enough data to, to determine their academic readiness for a program.

What advice would you give to candidates who are hoping to receive a scholarship.

So I am really lucky to have a pretty generous merit scholarship pool. So that I'm blessed to have that. There are. They can range from 35%, meaning there are a handful of 100% scholarships, but for tuition only. So the way we determine merit are those three buckets of academic readiness, professional profile and personal characteristics, and IQ and eq. That is how we determine merit. And someone will get their decision on a scholarship on the same letter as the decision for their offer letter as well. But another way they can really kind of help prepare or think about from a scholarship perspective is I like to see someone who's thought about how they're going to finance the balance. Right. Either the balance of tuition and for everyone, how they're going to pay for their living expenses. You know, New York and is. Is not cheap. Right. And they have to pay for the part of the living expenses is. Is getting there as well. And then we have the Abu Dhabi living expenses too. I want to make sure they've at least thought about that and not come in thinking, I'm expecting 100% scholarship plus living expenses. They're not going to get the expenses. They may get 100% if they're really good. So I like them to think about that. On the standardized tests, someone can get admitted without submitting one. Because we do offer waivers, standardized test waivers, and that's based on a form that they have to fill out and uploading their resume as well as their transcripts from undergrad. And you can usually get a standardized test waiver if you've done really well in your undergrad and. Or if you've got a qualification like a cfa, passed all three levels or a CPA or you're a chartered accountant, but. So you can get it. You can get admitted without a test. However, if you do well on tests. Yeah. And you're trying to maximize your scholarship, then do that test and submit it with your application. That can only help maximize the scholarship that you may potentially get. Right.

That makes sense. And I think one of the things that goes in as kind of a through line through this is plan ahead. Right. Think about your budget in advance.

Plan ahead.

If you're going to apply for a waiver, apply for that in advance. Make sure you know, if you need to take a test, a good application is not one that you put together right at the. At the end, right before the deadline.

Yeah. And it's amazing how many people we see like that.

What's your golden buzzer insight about showing great fit for the Abu Dhabi mba.

Okay. So it really is, again, maximizing on those areas that we've talked about and then really showing an interest for the region. And then FIT comes across too. If they've done their homework, their homework being what makes this program different and how they're going to take advantage of what makes us different. I mean, they should be doing it for any program they're applying to. What makes our program different and how are they going to take advantage of that? And the differences for us are that we're the only top US business school that's offering a one year intensive MBA in this region. We've got the dual campus experience of Abu Dhabi and New York City. And then we've got these partnerships with these companies that, you know, want our students to work on a challenge or question that they're. They're struggling with this experiential learning. And then of course, again, I go back to. And they have to have this interest in starting or expanding their careers here and explaining how they see themselves as really contributing to the future growth of the region. Regional experience isn't required for this, to be admitted to this program. In fact, about 63% of our current students were actually from outside of the UAE. Of our 54 students, 25 different nationalities. So even with 40 or so percent, close to 40% of our students coming having resided in the UAE, I think it's a true testament to how diverse the UAE is as well, and how more diverse it's even getting.

That's incredible. I love that. Yeah. Because, you know, that's something that when we talk to clients who are interested in this program, they're always worried about is how diverse is it. You know, I'm not from the Middle east, but I want to work there. I have some ties now there. So it's good to know that it's such a diverse program.

You know, a question that always comes up, Ellen, is do I need to know Arabic? No, you don't.

Yeah.

A lot of business is conducted in Arabic. If you're interested, you can learn it so you can understand the culture as well. They're only 20% of the population here in the UAE are Emiratis. 80% expats.

Wow.

80% expats. So that goes back to again of why they need talent. They can't fulfill all those leadership roles just from their local population. They need bright leaders, managers, leaders coming from abroad as well. And then, you know, with an MBA.

Like this, and for our final round, what are some of the long term goals for the NYU Abu Dhabi mba. And what are some exciting things that you guys have planned?

You know, it really comes down to this. It's that we're trying to build a new business leadership model for a new global business, one that's more interconnected, dynamic, and more and more centered in places like the Middle East. Abu Dhabi is at the heart of this massive regional transformation across tech, energy, finance, sustainability. Our school and our program is really designed to prepare our future alumni to step into that momentum and help shape it. Our goal for our future alumni is for them to go and lead across MENA and beyond, and not just at their organizations, but also to become part of this, this leadership cohort that is not only going to be globally aware, but locally grounded. That's what makes this program so unique, Ellen, is that, you know, our students are stepping into a program at the exact moment that business is being redefined, and it really is across these major areas. And Abu Dhabi is really kind of leading on that. Our students have a front row seat to this economic transformation. I take that back. They're not just sitting in the front row. Our students, as well as our faculty are going to be the actors, they're going to be the playwrights, they're going to be the directors of this transformation. You know, not just watching it, but actually helping to shape it. And that's what makes this initiative so exciting. We're not just giving out degrees, but we're actually part of something much bigger.

That's awesome. That's awesome. And a really exciting program, I think, especially considering, you know, how many clients we've had relocate to the Middle east from all over the world. So many opportunities there. And to really be able to plug into such a robust network, such a unique program with so many opportunities, and really have that be your gateway to building a career in the Middle east is really incredible.

And I said, we're still the only top US Business school during this. You know, the IMF recently came up with statistics of economic growth. And I think the growth predicted for this, for this country in this region is about 4 to 5%. And then you compare that to, say, the UK, which is about maybe, you know, 1.2%, and the US is about 1.8%. The opportunities are here.

Well, thank you so much for your time. Before we end today, is there anything else you'd like to share or anything else you'd like to promote about the program?

You had asked about what was a unique thing that students didn't realize, and I went to ask a couple of the students what did you think? And one of them came up with this great answer, which I think is really fitting of the opportunities here as well. And he said the proximity to power and peacefulness and peace in the Arab. And he said what he meant by that was in the morning, you could be meeting with a senior executive of a company and or government. In the morning, we're hearing them talk, and in the afternoon, sunset kayaking in the mangroves, you know, looking at the sunset. And I think I told you we live. It's situated on this island called Saadiat Island. And that roughly translates into island of Happiness. Our campus is on Saadiat, I live on Saadiat, and I couldn't be happier.

That's nice. That's. Now I've got to come visit.

Yeah, you really do. Yeah.

Well, thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure having you here. I really appreciate your time. And for all of you who might be interested in applying, make sure that you check the links below to get more in touch with the NYU Abu Dhabi MBA program. And here at Ellen Lawley's Consulting, we specialize in helping applicants apply for unique, robust programs like the NYU Abu Dhabi mba. So if you're interested in learning more about working with us, visit our website at ellenlawleys. Com or check the links in the description. We'll see you guys all next time.