Key information
The MBA with a Specialism in Professional Practice at Heriot-Watt University is more than just a degree—it’s a transformative experience designed to elevate careers and drive global impact. At Edinburgh Business School, we don’t just keep pace with the future; we define it!
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time, Part Time
- Degree qualification
- MBA
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Dubai
- Start date
- September, January
The MBA with a Specialism in Professional Practice can be completed through a full-time or part-time pathway at Heriot-Watt University’s campus in Dubai. The full-time option has a duration of 1 year, while the part-time option spans 2 years.
The MBA with a Specialism in Professional Practice Programme is licensed by the UAE’s Ministry of Education through the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) and the Royal Charter (UK).
We are a globally recognised institution with an international perspective which is reflected throughout the school. Students will share a classroom with like-minded individuals and join our growing network of global business professionals. Our seminar structure gives students the opportunity to share their experiences, exchange knowledge and learn from fellow students, creating a rich learning environment.
With the MBA in Professional Practice, you’ll learn directly from international faculty and industry leaders with world-class expertise, gain invaluable hands-on experience, and build a powerful global network that will propel your career forward. The eight courses within the Programme have been created and written by leading faculty and external experts.
Your student experience
Students are provided with all the relevant study materials, plus access to an interactive and user-friendly Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the Edinburgh Business School Student Portal.
Tutored interaction for each core course will take place over weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), and a large amount of each student’s time will be spent studying independently.
Go Global
There are currently no Go Global opportunities for this particular programme. However, other Go Global opportunities may be available. Please contact studywithus@hw.ac.uk for more information.
Course content
September Intake - Dubai
Leadership Theory and Practice
The course critically examines the concept of leadership in organisations, exploring major theoretical developments and providing opportunities for managers to reflect on real-life leadership issues. After defining what we mean by ‘leadership’ in the first module, the course delves into key developments in leadership theories and their application to modern organisations.
Recognising that leadership is enacted differently depending on the context, the course focuses on example settings, including creative industries and projects, to explore alternative approaches to leadership. Additionally, the role of leadership in shaping organisational strategy is explored, with contemporary issues of gender, culture, and ethics also being discussed.
Topics include:
- Introduction to leadership
- Traditional and contingency leadership approaches
- Modern theories of leadership
- Post-heroic leadership
- Leadership in contexts
- Leadership, gender and culture
- Leadership and ethics
- Developing leadership
The course ends by considering how leaders and leadership can be developed and provides insights into current trends and future directions.
Read the full Leadership Theory and Practice course syllabus and get an overview of the course content.
People, Work and Organisations
Our People, Work and Organisations course aims for students to develop a detailed appreciation of factors influencing how people behave at work and how these link to performance.
The course focuses on understanding individual differences, how these differences affect group dynamics and how organisational factors affect individual behaviour. At its core, the course aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to positively impact on individual, team and organisational performance in a variety of dynamic organisational contexts.
Topics include:
- Understanding behaviour in organisations
- Individual differences
- Motivation and engagement
- Work group dynamics
- Power, politics and conflicts
- Designing effective organisations
- Organisational culture
- Organisational change
The course concludes with a detailed case study that allows students to draw on their knowledge of organisational behaviour and recommend interventions to improve performance. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to think critically about their role as managers and to reflect on their practice in light of relevant theory.
Read the full People, Work and Organisations course syllabus and get an overview about the course content.
Strategic Marketing
Our strategic marketing course aims to provide students with the necessary tools and frameworks to enable them to make proactive marketing decisions. The philosophy underlying this course is that marketing-oriented companies put customers first, are geared for long-term success and that this orientation must be championed by top management and infused throughout the whole organisation.
Strategic marketing requires knowledge, skills and competencies in a range of techniques such as strategic analysis and planning, implementation – via a number of integrated and synergistic marketing functions and activities – and marketing control, aided by an array of marketing metrics and digital developments.
Topics include:
- Marketing management for a turbulent era
- Marketing fit with corporate and business strategies
- Marketing environmental insights
- Customer insights and customer connections
- Marketing insights for demand measurement
- Segmentation and target marketing
- Branding and positioning
- Marketing strategies for competitive and market scenarios
- The integrated marketing mix
- Organising, planning, delivering and measuring market performance
This course aims to provide students with a strong grasp of both the strategic elements of establishing a long-term customer orientation and the operational techniques that are required of marketing managers to implement a strategic marketing orientation successfully.
Read the full Strategic Marketing course syllabus and get an overview of the course content.
Financial Decision Making
Financial decision making aims to provide students with a set of accounting and financial tools that enables them to interpret and critique financial information from a variety of sources, and to make informed and effective financial decisions that directly impact company operations.
The course begins with a closer look at the current financial landscape. It then examines the application of financial and management accounting tools relevant to critical financial decisions, including key performance indicators, breakeven analysis, working capital management techniques and the budgeting process.
This is followed by a consideration of financial management and the decisions faced by organisations on investment (what projects), finance (what type of finance) and dividend (pay or retain) and how an organisation analyses takes action on each of those decisions.
Topics include:
- The financial landscape
- Financial accounting
- Working capital management
- Management accounting
- Budgeting
- Financial tools
- Capital budgeting and investment appraisal
- Financing, payout policy and management
The course concludes with an introduction to exchange rate and interest rate risk management.
Read the full Financial Decision Making course syllabus and get an overview of the course content.
Research Methods for Business
The first part of the course introduces key concepts such as identifying a strong research topic, conducting a thorough literature review, and understanding the underlying research philosophy and methodology. The second part shifts focus to research design and analysis, starting with qualitative approaches and then progressing to quantitative methods.
The course is enriched with interactive activities that allow students to engage with thought-provoking research questions, receive real-time feedback, interact with peers, and gain insights into diverse perspectives on similar issues.
Topics include:
- Identifying and justifying compelling research topics
- Conducting comprehensive literature reviews and research
- Understanding and applying research philosophies
- Designing and implementing effective research methodologies
- Exploring qualitative research fundamentals: reflexivity, sampling techniques, and interview strategies
- Analysing, processing, and reporting qualitative research data
- Mastering quantitative research: foundational and advanced concepts
Delivering Successful Projects
Delivering Successful Projects equips managers and business professionals with knowledge, understanding and skills to manage projects using integrative concepts, tools and techniques.
The course opens by setting the mind-set for project decision-making and covers the fundamental concepts of the project management discipline and how it assists organisations in materialising their strategic and change objectives.
Topics include:
- Projects in the organisational context
- Leadership and behavioural aspects of human resources
- How the project manager and the project team work
- Project success criteria
- Qualitative and quantitative planning and control processes
- Project conclusions, strategic intent, final evaluation and reporting
The course concludes with a closer look at current topics trending the project management profession, such as the project management office function, ethics, sustainability and agile project management.
The course explores a firm’s response to the challenges of internationalization by examining the strategic foundations, methods, and directions of international strategies, while also analyzing both multi- and micro-nationals using conventional strategic tools.
Read the full Delivering Successful Projects course syllabus and get an overview of the course content.
Developing and Executing Strategy
Effective business planning requires setting clear objectives and developing, implementing, and measuring strategies. This course covers key areas of strategic management, integrating concepts from the core MBA disciplines within a general management context. Developing and Executing Strategy starts by exploring the evolution of strategy and strategic management over the past 50 years, reviewing the diverse landscape of contemporary strategy theory and practice, and analysing the role of strategy in managing various types of organisations.
The course then examines a variety of aspects of strategy, such as strategic intent, analysis, strategic options and implementation. At each stage the links with other management disciplines, such as leadership, organisational behaviour, economics, marketing and finance are considered. Finally an integrative framework for strategic decision-making is presented, which facilitates a holistic approach to complex business and management issues.
Topics include:
- Introduction to Strategy and Strategists
- Strategic Intent
- Strategic Issue Diagnosis
- Interpreting and Analysing the Environment
- Analysing the Organisation
- Generating, Selecting and Evaluating Strategic Options
- Strategy Implementation and Practice
The course encourages students to think and operate at the strategic level in a range of dynamic settings through integration of ideas across core business disciplines.
Read the full Developing and Executing Strategy course syllabus and get an overview of the course content.
Business Project
The Business Project course is the final course of the programme, allowing students to demonstrate their accumulated knowledge in a real-world setting. This project involves analysing a business issue or challenge faced by an organization, using relevant data and information, while drawing on academic literature and existing knowledge. The project may cover topics such as innovation, digital transformation, supply chain futures, the development of new products or services, market expansion, business model changes, or the shift towards greener and more sustainable operations.
Topics include:
- Identifying the most relevant business challenge or issue
- Developing a comprehensive business research proposal
- Employing effective data collection methods and techniques
- Structuring a clear and impactful business report
- Presenting key findings and recommending actionable solutions
Mandatory AY
- Leadership Theory and Practice
- People, Work and Organisations
- Financial Decision Making
- Research Methods for Business
- Strategic Marketing
- Delivering Successful Projects
- Developing and Executing Strategy
- Business Project
Student testimonials
Ishu Miglani
Student, Master of Business Administration
It is appreciative to see Heriot-Watt's effort in providing UAE students access to a high quality UK degree in Dubai.
Ahmed Essam
Student, Master of Business Administration
The first thing that attracted me to the Edinburgh Business School was that the programme is very, very flexible. It helps people to develop while concentrating on their business life.
Bernadette Ngwanguong
Student, Master of Business Administration
The programme rekindled my intellectual curiosity and my sense of ‘giving back’ was reawakened – I now regularly volunteer my time with local charities.
Fees and funding
AED 114,900 per year
- All tuition fees inclusive of VAT.
Additional information
The above fee is a special, one-time introductory offer for students applying for the September 2025 or January 2026 intake.
For further information on our fees and payment options, please contact our MBA programme advisors at DubaiMBA@hw.ac.uk.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
Admission to the MBA programme is by application and acceptance.
You're expected to have:
- A recognised first- or second-class honours degree, or a qualification deemed to be equivalent by Heriot-Watt University
- A minimum of two years' post-qualifying full-time professional work experience.
To find out more about the specific entry requirements for your country, please refer to our International Entry Requirements.
If you hold a degree from a different background and believe you may qualify for this programme or to find out more about the entry requirements for this programme, please send an email to DubaiMBA@hw.ac.uk
Why Heriot-Watt
As the first British university to set up a campus in Dubai in 2005, we have established ourselves as a pioneer in the higher education market in the UAE. The three consecutive five-star ratings by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is a testament to our reputation for world-class teaching.
The futuristic Dubai campus is designed to offer interactive and collaborative learning experiences with innovative classroom styles fostering group work and engagement like Collaborative lecture theatres, Digitally Classrooms and Seminar rooms. The campus also has dedicated cutting-edge laboratories and workshops that span various engineering disciplines along with Psychology, IT, Photography, Design and Architecture.
Our practical, leading-edge research combined with strong links to business and industry, have made our graduates highly employable and sought after by the best organisations worldwide, with over 90% in graduate-level jobs or further study within six months of graduation. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education through our Go Global programme.
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