Interview: Umit Bititci, University of Strathclyde

Professor Umit Bititci from the University of Strathclyde explains why the institute is bringing its masters programme in logistics to the Middle East.

What prompted the University of Strathclyde to launch its postgraduate logistics course in the Middle East?
To support the growth of this region as a major distribution hub, there is a strong requirement for knowledge and skills in supply chain and logistics management as a whole, in addition to specific skills in operations management for airports and seaports. This is recognised by the local authorities, who convinced our team that a practically focused programme such as ours would attract a suitable number of quality candidates from the industry.

Why have you decided to base the programme in Abu Dhabi?
A number of factors led to this decision, including the quality of facilities available, proximity to our existing MBA operations, accessibility to candidates and Abu Dhabi’s economy stability.

With a growing number of logistics courses in the region, what makes the University of Strathclyde different?
We are aware of the competition, but our programme is different in a number of ways. Firstly, the course has been fully accredited by the UAE authorities. Secondly, Strathclyde Business School is one of the world’s leading institutes with a reputation for practically focused programmes that are aimed at practicing managers. This means our students will add value to their employees from day one. We have many examples of student assignments that have achieved considerable benefits for their companies. One such assignment resulted in a saving of over US$1.5 million in 2006. Thirdly, our programme is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), which is the professional organisation for supply chain managers.

Will the course modules remain the same as your programme in Scotland?
The structure of the programme will essentially remain the same, although the delivery of content will change to suit the needs of individual cohorts. We believe that each student is an individual and they have individual objectives and learning needs. As the programme is delivered in the style of an executive education programme, there is a lot of room for customised discussion in the class, as well as with individual students out of the class. We also believe that our approach to assignments allows students to customise the content of each module to suit their specific needs and interests.

Will you have a local team to teach the programme?
We are using the existing team from Glasgow to deliver the programme, with support from local employees. The Glasgow team are experts in their field and involved with research programmes across the world. Our studies have implied that students in the Middle East will truly benefit from direct engagement with global experts.

What type of students is the university expecting to attract with this course?
We are looking for professionals that work in the supply chain of their organisation, for example a management position in operations, planning, procurement or logistics. Having said that, we have also attracted students from engineering, marketing and finance functions, as they felt a solid understanding of how the entire supply chain operates would allow them to perform their jobs better. We are hoping to attract people from a variety of different industries too, including the commercial, industrial, public and military sectors.

Do you plan to develop your logistics courses in the future for the Middle East?
Yes, this is definitely something on our future agenda. As the programme starts taking roots and we get talking to students and their companies, we will get valuable feedback which will influence how the course should shape from here. It is highly conceivable that the UAE programme will change and shape in a different direction to the programme in Scotland, depending on the specific feedback of students that are attracted to these programmes.

In general, what are your views on recent developments in Middle East logistics?
Until the recent global economic crisis, the Middle East was seen as offering more growth potential for logistics and transport than either North or South America. The phenomenal growth of global trade has provided the Middle East with opportunities to capitalise on its strategic geographic location and excellent accessibility by air, land and sea. We are aware that things have slowed down significantly in the past year, but we see this as a temporary problem possibly lasting until the end of 2010. With some European and the US economies now showing signs of recovery, we believe that the rate of trade between Asia and Europe will continue to grow, therefore increasing the need for quality supply chain executives in
the region.