credit course provides a great opportunity to working executives in Saudi Arabia to acquire a full-time degree from a reputed international institution without giving up their jobs. YIC's Managing Director, Dr. Ahmed M. Dabroom, who signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the University of Indianapolis, spoke about the new program in an interview with Saudi Gazette. How did the collaboration between YIC and the University of Indianapolis come about? The University of Indianapolis is a reputed institution that is accredited by the Higher Learning commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in the US. Their School of Business receives further accreditation from the Association for Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) that recognizes excellence in business programs. US News & World Report consistently ranks the University of Indianapolis in the top tier of master's degree-granting institutions in the US and Midwest. YIC, on its part, is a fast growing technical college and the Bachelor degree program provided by our Industrial Management Technology department is also accredited by ACBSP. The executive MBA program with the University of Indianapolis was a great opportunity for us to provide world class education at an affordable fee and we grabbed it. What value addition will this program provide to the CV and career of an individual? The executive MBA will be a world class qualification aimed at strengthening the managerial skills of working executives here. It is an application-oriented program and by helping to hone the student's management competence, will help get graduates better managerial positions as well as a boost in their career. It will teach them the most effective ways of decision-making and problem-solving in the commercial and managerial environment. What is the duration and structure of the program? It is a two year program. However, if students are unable to do all their papers within this period, they will have a maximum of five years to complete it. The program consists of 15 courses of three credits each. Seven of these will be taught by Yanbu Industrial College and eight by the University of Indianapolis, which includes four at the Athens Campus and the remaining four through distance learning. Faculty members from the Athens campus will visit Yanbu to work with YIC facilitators for some part of the distance learning courses. Teachers at YIC to be involved in this program must have proven business and academic experience which will enhance the integration of real world cases with textbook theory. The YIC faculty for this program will be selected and appraised by the University of Indianapolis. Can expatriates living in Saudi Arabia enroll in this program? Yes. This program is offered to Saudi as well as non-Saudi working executives. The only condition is that the person taking admission to this program must be a Saudi resident and should be able to visit the YIC campus for classes. It is not a distance learning program. YIC will hold the classes during weekends and evenings on its campus to make it possible and convenient for working executives and self-employed Saudis to pursue the program along with their job. The semesters have also been carefully planned to minimize inconvenience to working executives. How much will the executive MBA program cost? The entire two-year program will cost SR65,000. Students will spend two semesters (six weeks each year) on the Athens campus of the University of Indianapolis. Are there any scholarships? There are no scholarships but companies that sponsor at least 10 candidates for the executive MBA program will get a fee concession of 10 percent on each student. Which degree will a student get after finishing the program? Whether a student studies in YIC, Indianapolis or Athens – at the end he gets a degree from the University of Indianapolis. When a working executive joins this program, he becomes a student of the University of Indianapolis. He has the option to go to the US and complete his studies there or in Athens. He gets access to all their resources including the library, faculty support, the transcripts as well as the degree. Thee university has an international campus in Athens and all the courses have the same value as those at the home campus in Indiana, US. What is the criteria for admission? The general eligibility for admission to the MBA program is to have a Bachelor degree from an English medium institution. However, a good TOEFL score is required if the bachelor degree courses were not taught in English. The applicants must also have a minimum of five years of managerial experience or a good GMAT score to compensate for experience. Why did you choose the university's Athens campus for collaboration? Coordination with the Athens campus is easy. It is just a 2.5-3 hour flight from here to Athens so our students can easily go there. Is this the beginning of more Masters degree courses to be provided at YIC? YIC teachers involved in the executive MBA program will also visit the Athens campus for faculty training and learn the management of an MBA program. One of the main purposes of such an exercise is to start our own independent MBA program at a later stage. So YIC will certainly have master degree programs to offer to locals in Saudi Arabia. YIC is committed to achieving educational excellence and our collaboration with the University of Indianapolis is a step in this direction. The executive MBA Program combines cutting-edge techniques with an emphasis on application to real-life situations. It promises to take the career graph of its graduates to an all time high. 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