January 2010:
Business & Cultural Immersion in the United Arab Emirates

Students learned about The World and The Universe Islands, and the Palm Islands, three man-made palm tree shaped islands off the coast of Dubai, while on board a boat around Dubai Waterfront with representatives from real estate giant Nakheel. Next they toured DP World, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world with 30,000 employees, 49 terminals across 31 countries. Other business visits included the Dubai Aluminium Company, one of the largest industrial companies in the UAE; Emaar Properties, one of the world's largest real estate companies; CNBC Arabiya, the Arab World's preeminent and only 24-hour Arabic language financial and business information Channel; Dubai NASDAQ and the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Center). Students were also among the over 20,000 attendees expected to attend the 2010 Abu Dhabi World Future Energy Summit.

To round out the course, students learned about UAE culture by enjoying dinner, dancing and horseback riding at Mohamed Al Ansari’s Farm outside Dubai; attending an open prayer and info session at the Jumeirah Mosque; swimming in the cool waters surrounding the Hajar Mountains and Heritage Village and riding camels and dune buggies and sleeping overnight in the desert encampment.