First of all, the participants visited Masdar City, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

This combination of landmarks is not accidental, as they together reveal the specifics of modern Dubai. Masdar City is the world's first green city project, operating exclusively on renewable energy with zero carbon emissions. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is equally exemplary, being one of the six largest mosques in the world, named after the first president of the UAE, and open to anyone regardless of their faith. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an innovative cultural project, created in collaboration with the Louvre, serving as a cultural and museum space aimed at fostering productive interaction between Eastern and Western traditions, forming a comprehensive understanding of human history.

Ecological sustainability, openness, representation, and involvement.

This is how Dubai appears through the prism of cultural landmarks. This approach allows the UAE to rank first in the world in 23 vital sectors, be among the leading countries in 59 indicators, and one of the top 10 in 106 indicators.

The second day of the module was dedicated to getting acquainted with the business sphere of Dubai and began at the Digital Dubai Authority. This government institution works alongside the private sector and government partners. Its mission is to promote the intellectual and digital transformation of Dubai.

The visit to DIFC, the Dubai International Financial Centre, was particularly eventful for the participants. DIFC is a special economic zone in the city, operational since 2004, with an independent and internationally recognized regulator, judicial system, common law framework, global financial exchange, and a favorable tax regime. Companies in DIFC are offered 100% ownership without the need for a local partner. The selection of companies allowed to operate in DIFC is evidently stringent, with over-regulation being a challenge in such large-scale projects (as mentioned by a Centre representative during the meeting with participants).

Invaluable were the comments and explanations from kmbs alumnus Mykola Sushko (who joined the module's work) — founder of the international fintech company group Smart Team, represented in the DIFC and DMCC clusters. Mykola discussed with the program participants the specifics of startups and innovations in Dubai, the risks to be managed here, and how ten years of challenges ultimately lead to becoming a company in DIFC.

The day concluded with a visit to the DIFC Academy and a conversation with Karim El-Jisr, Director of Sustainability at Dimond Developers. They talked about the principles of Net Zero Energy & Net Zero Carbon in the practice of developers.

The outbound module PMBA will continue until December 16.

Participants of the Presidents' MBA kmbs program study in the United Arab Emirates